Although the Tunisian “revolution” that erupted in December 2010 was the first of the series of “revolutions” that followed in various Arab countries, the uprising of 25 January 2011 in Egypt was probably the greater event in view of its huge impact on the most populous Arab nation and on other Arab countries. It was also an event that underwent revision during a subsequent revolution in Egypt on 30 June 2013. Looking back on that journey from the first revolution to the second, we see, firstly, a manifestation of a youth phenomenon: young people with passions fired through social networking instruments and driven into Tahrir Square and other squares in other governorates to press their demand for change in government and other noble aims. But the young revolutionaries seemed not to know exactly what they wanted and, more importantly, they had little clue as to how to achieve whatever it was that they did want. Eventually, when those youths were given seats in various ministerial chambers in their capacity as “the flowers that are blossoming in Egypt's gardens” they had nothing more to offer than infantile revolutionary slogans gleaned from other countries' revolutions. As it quickly became clear, the only organised force, structurally, financially and militarily, was the Muslim Brotherhood which strummed some “revolutionary” harmonies during the first few days and then sent in its forces on the “Friday of Rage” to organise the squares and to release its members from prison and, along with them, the members of all other terrorist organisations. Some of these set off towards their own countries, be it Palestine, Lebanon or elsewhere, while others remained in Egypt to help pave the Muslim Brotherhood's path to power. At the same time, there remained one organised force that embodied the spirit of patriotism and that represented the Egyptian state. This was the Egyptian Armed Forces which assumed the mantel of responsibility from president Mubarak and then worked to foster reform and change while protecting the safety of the country. As more time passed, the January Revolution proved to be one of the quickest, if not the quickest revolution in world history to lose its aura of sacredness and virtue. Although it earned a place in the Egyptian constitutions of 2012 and 2014, it owes its continued legitimacy to its coupling with another revolution, which occurred on 30 June 2013. In spite of the foregoing, we continue to commemorate the January Revolution. Egyptians do not give up their memories easily and, in all events, their history is a long and interconnected flow, whether the driving force is the government, the people or both together. As occurs every year at this time, Egyptian writers and intellectuals are divided over this most important event in their contemporary history. As is generally the case in Arab countries, the divisions are black and white with no neutral or subtle shades in between. On one side are those who pine away for the glorious days in Tahrir Square, when the iconic square stood in the global limelight and it succeeded in overthrowing a regime that had fossilised after being in power so long. On the other side are those who see those events as the darkest days in Egypt's contemporary history because they paved the way to the fascist rule of the Muslim Brotherhood. Among this camp, moreover, are some who claim that it was not a revolution at all but a foreign “conspiracy” plotted and prepared in foreign capitals. As the burning and destruction spread during the weeks and months that followed the revolution, the Egyptian people and, above all, the millions who followed the events on their television screens, sided with the armed forces and relaxed in its embrace. The army offered them the answers to their greatest and most immediate needs which were, firstly, to free themselves from Muslim Brotherhood rule and, secondly, to proceed through a process of gradual reform that would steer the country away from the precipice to which it had been brought by stagnation, revolution or both. What happens in Egypt on “Revolution Day” is not unique. On the 4th of July every year in the US, flags are hoisted, streets fill with parades and people party in public parks. Meanwhile, intellectual circles remain divided with a good many of them wondering whether the revolution was really necessary and others recalling those who fled to Canada out of loyalty to the British king and took part in the 1812 invasion in which Washington, itself, was burned. One of the most commonly mentioned facts that people recall about the American Revolution these days is that it did not free the slaves. It left the institution of slavery very much intact. For all their talk of basic human rights, the US's founding fathers drafted a constitution that legalised slavery. The French Revolution remains a source of debate up to the present. Among the consequences of historic divisions over that event were the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1815, followed by the restoration of the Napoleonic dynasty, and then another revolution in 1848 which founded the first republic. At the moment, France is into its fifth republic which was established by De Gaulle in 1958. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia came to an end 70 years after the establishment of the Soviet Union by means of another revolution that split the union into 15 republics. But before Russia disintegrated entirely a counterrevolution was launched by Putin in order to revive what Yeltsin had destroyed. However, the Bolshevik Revolution has been consigned to the annals of history and few are keen to recall it today. China invented its own way of dealing with the Maoist Revolution. When I first visited China in 1998, at the invitation of People's Daily newspaper, our hosts asked us to visit Mao's mausoleum in Tiananmen Square. When we arrived, we were given plastic roses and then we took our places in a kilometre-long queue of school children. Eventually we entered the hall of the eternal leader to see a portrait, statue or wax effigy. After we re-emerged, we handed back our plastic flowers so they could be used by others. When we asked our Chinese colleagues who were accompanying us about Mao and his era, their response was silence. Evidently, they were not keen to recollect those times while standing there in the middle of that historic square. In Egypt, the revolution of 23 July 1952 is also an occasion for celebration every year, on par with the anniversaries of the January and June revolutions. At the moment, moreover, many are preparing to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the 1919 Revolution and a number of intellectuals want to revive some of that revolution's symbols. Nobody has suggested reinstating the monarchy, but there has been talk about reviving Egypt's green flag with its crescent and three stars. They argue that this flag is unique to Egypt as opposed to the current flag which resembles so many other national flags. Yet, the old flag is not all that unique. It resembles the flags of Algeria and Pakistan and the crescent exists in the flags of other countries such as Singapore. In all events it is another revolution to commemorate. The commemorations come with the occasion but the event itself is part of history, which is very important to learn, but the realities of the present compel us to look towards the future. As for the January Revolution we have just commemorated, it seems lightyears in the past, even though it only happened eight years ago. 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The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.
