Egypt is slipping down a treacherous slope, and it didn't have to be this way. The Muslim Brotherhood, once removed from office, took leave of its senses, its appetite for boundless revenge growing by the day, eclipsing any appeal for self-preservation. The Muslim Brotherhood didn't have to jeopardise its political future or that of the nation. It didn't have to scream for blood, but it did. The Muslim Brotherhood refused to acknowledge the fact that a majority of this nation was fed up with their rule. Its reaction to the 30 June Revolution was one of utter denial, reinforced perhaps by the infantile hope that foreigners and a handful of Arabs would come to its rescue. Sympathies for the Muslim Brotherhood existed no doubt, as evidenced by the offers of mediation and frequent expressions of outrage from foreign officials, or occasional lamentation of the Muslim Brotherhood's “unfair ending” in the press. But this is nothing but misplaced sympathies embraced by outsiders who may or may not know all the facts, and who may or may not have much respect for Egyptians to start with. The bloodshed was totally unnecessary, and no one was pushing for it — except the Muslim Brotherhood and its friends. Many innocent lives could have been spared had Muslim Brotherhood leaders showed any appetite for reasonable and responsible behaviour. This country didn't have a quarrel with the crowds that came out to the streets to express their opinion, for or against the Muslim Brotherhood's rule. The only quarrel we had was with Muslim Brotherhood leaders who portrayed this conflict as a battle between good and evil, and who asked their followers to act accordingly. The Muslim Brotherhood not only deceived its followers, but incited them to violence, whipping up their emotions, driving them into a frenzy, and then sending them off to commit attacks of vandalism and arson, against government institutions, against private property, against churches, etc. Since the 14 August dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Nahda sit-ins, the Muslim Brotherhood has never let down on its threats. It brought gunmen to its demonstrations, and sent its goons to fight with police as well as ordinary citizens. The Muslim Brotherhood is going for broke, wagering its entire future on the slim chance of foreign intervention, on utter chaos in which jihadists would fight on its side, and vowing to turn the current conflict into a matter of life and death. As a result, the Muslim Brotherhood is losing more than power. They are losing any compassion the nation may have for them. By acting as a threat to the country's stability and national cohesion, the Muslim Brotherhood is turning itself into a public enemy. Here is a fact of history. The moment a group takes up arms against the state, it loses public support. In Algeria before, when the Islamic Salvation Front started a bloody campaign against the army, it lost all public sympathy in a matter of months. The Egyptian Islamists must reconsider the consequences of their actions. The Algerian model doesn't suit them, and the Syrian one — featuring imported Islamists joining the fight — is even more unthinkable. The Turkish Islamists, by contrast, played their cards right. When they were forced out of power, at the time of Necmettin Erbakan, 15 years or so ago, they thought seriously of the reasons that led to their exclusion, made adjustments, and came back to power, where they remain. What the Turkish Islamists didn't do was get mad at the army and the judiciary that forced them out of power, although they probably had a good reason to. In Egypt's case, the Islamists' removal from power was a lot more legitimate, as millions of people — not only the army and the judiciary — clamoured for their ouster. Hence, the Muslim Brotherhood had an even better reason to search its soul. It is fine to oppose, and even to resent, one's removal from power, but using arms against one's compatriots is totally suicidal. To be fair, not all the current mess is the fault of the Muslim Brotherhood. The transitional government and the security forces made a mistake when they used disproportionate force to break up the sit-ins — something that impelled Mohamed Al-Baradei and a spokesman for the National Salvation Front to quit. Still, have no doubt about it. No country in this world can tolerate indefinitely groups that propagate violence.
