Salonaz Sami reports on the first independent movement in support of President Mubarak "We wanted to create a counter-movement to Kifaya, Youth for Change and all other movements that only have one purpose in mind: defame Egypt worldwide," Khaled El-Ghazali declared to Al-Ahram Weekly. Through his recent travels abroad, El-Ghazali came to realise that the campaigns and protests organised by opposition movements are gravely harming Egypt's reputation in the world. This caused the 34-year-old businessman to create the Free Egypt movement. The founding statement of the movement describes Free Egypt as "the first independent movement in support of the current Egyptian leadership against interior plots and false accusations which harm the security and stability of the country." Free Egypt is not an anti-opposition movement, El-Ghazali noted, because it believes there is corruption in certain segments of society. "But we need to analyse the reasons behind the corruption and find a solution, not just criticise it," he expounded. El-Ghazali further described many of those involved in opposition movements as "mercenaries who only complain, criticise and insult the president", without any real plans for reform. He feels that given President Hosni Mubarak's history and conditions in the region, there is "no one more eligible than President Mubarak to lead the nation and maintain Egypt's central role in the Middle East". But Hani Anan, a prominent figure in Kifaya, finds the pretext for the new movement false. "I recently attended an event with representatives from many nationalities who expressed their esteemed opinion of Kifaya, and the fact that this is a grassroots movement," Anan said. El-Ghazali is adamant that such movements convey a very grim picture to the youth. "They brainwash our youth into believing that the government is pushing us in the gutter, and give them misleading information about the various crises the nation might be going through." They also paint a bleak picture of the future, exaggerating problems and blaming it all on the government, according to him. The founder of Free Egypt feels that opposition movements do not encourage the young to "light a candle, instead of cursing darkness". In El-Ghazali's mind, the government should shoulder all the blame for Egypt's problems, and fiercely came to the defence of Mubarak by urging his detractors to look at his achievements before scrutinising his shortcomings. He added that political activism and self-expression are not synonyms with "insulting the president and undermining the regime". Anan countered that although sometimes offensive language is used during demonstrations, this doesn't represent Kifaya itself. "The coordinating committee always denounces the use of such language," Anan insisted. He added Kifaya is not against Mubarak's person, "but opposes the decaying regime". Ironically, despite crticising such movements for using derogatory language to express themselves, Free Egypt's founding statement uses distasteful language in describing opposition movements. "This is the only language they understand," said El-Ghazali in his defence. "I tried to open a dialogue with them many times, but they refused because they are nothing but dictators who only want their voice to be heard." He continued that, "these people go on the defensive the minute they realise you will not participate in tarnishing the image of the president." Naturally, El-Ghazali vehemently denies he is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), saying that the only party he joined -- briefly -- was Al-Ghad. But Mohamed Habib, deputy supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, insisted that Free Egypt is nothing but the "masked daughter of the NDP". "Despite all the resources, media and tools at the fingertips of the NDP, the party has failed to prove its worthiness to Egyptians," Habib told the Weekly. "On the contrary, it created a state of political impasse in the country which in turn led to a social, cultural and scientific stagnation." He believes the NDP is responsible for "marginalising Egypt's substantive and strategic role in the Middle East and on the international arena." Hence, it was inevitable that the party "reinvent itself" in a new movement that holds the same principles and beliefs, but under another name to reach a wider base. In conclusion, Muslim Brotherhood's Habib predicted that Free Egypt would be short lived. "I don't expect this movement to last long," he said, since unlike Kifaya it is not representative of the Egyptian street. "Kifaya represents all walks of life which is the reason behind its success," he said. "It grows from the ranks of real people."
