All eyes in Egypt and beyond are now firmly focussed on the pair of Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins of Rabaa and Nahda and when and how they will be broken up. So far, the two sites, the flashpoints of Egypt's current political crisis, are calm with no sign of security forces either besieging them or even approaching. Of course, by the time Al-Ahram Weekly goes to print the scene might change drastically. The important thing is that each side refrains from causing bodily harm to the other to minimise the number of casualties, for casualties there will almost certainly be. The Muslim Brotherhood, to which ousted president Mohamed Morsi belonged, and which is opposing Morsi's ouster via the sit-ins, has warned of bloodshed if they are forcibly dispersed. Reports suggest that many inside the camps are heavily armed and dangerous and experiences in past episodes show the police can be heavy-handed. The combustible mix could produce blood which has flown too easily in the recent past. More than 250 people have already been killed in clashes since Morsi was deposed on 3 July. Enough blood has been shed; blood now needs to be spared. Naturally, the security forces should be mindful of the need to bring the stand-off to an end with as little bloodshed as possible despite the Muslim Brotherhood's insistence that it will hold fast to its position, that Morsi, now in detention, must be reinstated, as must the previously elected parliament, and the constitution. None of these demands will be met; the new government has made it clear time will not go backwards. So any settlement would have to involve other factors, including a dignified exit for Morsi, Brotherhood acceptance of the new situation, the release of political prisoners arrested since the takeover, and a future political role for the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood though is not ready to give up. Protesters insist they will not be swayed by threats of action and will quit neither the squares nor their demands that Morsi and his government be reinstated. At the moment it's a very tense environment, a much polarised political landscape with no sign of a political solution or reconciliation. These days, there are two Egypts and two kinds of Egyptians. Neither side acknowledges the other, and each side firmly believes the other is simply not thinking straight. The sit-ins have only turned up the volume a few notches. The government, media and anti-Morsi population probably made the sit-ins too much of an issue. There are things of concern other than a couple of sit-ins: an ailing economy, lax security and an insurgency in the Sinai. Nor will the break ups suddenly make Egypt rosy. The Brotherhood will not go gently into the night if they are dispersed; they will spring up elsewhere. But after repeated warnings by the government that the sit-ins must be removed, and following a call by the army to take part in mass rallies to give it a mandate to crack down on what it called terrorism, officials have no choice but to evacuate the sit-ins or they will never be taken seriously thereafter. But the sit-ins are being given undue attention, overshadowing one of the biggest achievements of the revolution — Morsi's removal. Morsi mismanaged the country so badly during his one year at the helm, turned Egypt's friends into foes, took the law into his own hands, entrenched the Brotherhood in politics regardless of qualifications, endangered national security, and was so polarising a figure that a civil war was bound to erupt had he remained in office. His removal was a huge step in rerouting the country which was heading for the abyss. Morsi's departure was a monumental moment and should dwarf any impact Rabaa and Nahda can generate.
