CAIRO – It seems that post-revolution Egypt is a newly discovered land. Its explorers have introduced themselves to the bewildered aborigines (the mute majority) as liberals, secularists, Muslim fundamentalists, Salafists (ultra-fundamentalists), Ashraf (self-proclaimed descendants of the family of the Prophet Mohamed) and Sufis (self-proclaimed devotees and dervishes, who, while advising their followers not to give in to the temptations of this world, indulge themselves in its pleasures). The explorers also include moderate Muslims and Copts, who claim that their ancestors built Egyptian society. Since late January this year, the Egyptian nation has become a mosaic of religious and other ideologies and thoughts, mostly imported from Muslim or Western countries; home-grown thoughts and ideologies are rarely found in Egypt these days. The imported proposals for the new identity of Egypt are so many and widely conflicting that it might be impossible to hold the nation together any longer; unless they intervene heavily and influentially, the aborigines will pay the price. If Egypt, God forbid, falls apart, the liberals and the secularists, many of whom have dual nationality, will return to their second homes abroad; Salafists and fundamentalists will pour more oil on the raging fire and declare themselves martyrs, yearning for the unimaginable pleasures of Paradise. At the conclusion of a journey that lasted nearly 60 years, the self-proclaimed explorers landed in Tahrir Square. The pioneers were the liberals and the aborigines (ordinary citizens); the fundamentalists arrived next and secured a foothold there. Reviving the era of the dawn of Islam in Egypt, the fundamentalists set up tents - all that was lacking was the camels tethered outside. Their white galabiyas and long, black beards made the fundamentalists much more visible than anyone else. The cacophony of voices belonging to liberals, fundamentalists and ultra-fundamentalists reached the ears of moderate Muslim and Coptic clergymen, who went to Tahrir to claim their role in the allegedly new discovery of Egypt, in the wake of the success of the January 25 revolution. The unintelligible voices in Tahrir Square grew louder, whetting the curiosity of the aborigines (the mute majority of ordinary citizens). They trekked to Tahrir to welcome the 'aliens' (the explorers), whose faces they'd seen in the media. The aborigines liked the idea of 'the newly discovered Egypt', especially when the explorers mobilised armies of propagandists in the press, on television and on street corners, to explain to the aborigines the merits of this discovery. Because the aborigines had spent most of their lives marginalised under former regimes, they refused to question the sincerity of the new explorers. Moreover, motivated by nationalistic enthusiasm, the aborigines have now divided themselves into liberal aborigines, fundamentalist aborigines, Coptic aborigines, ultra-fundamentalist aborigines, moderate aborigines and more. Everybody is claiming that Egypt is his own land and his ancestors'. But the explorers have turned against each other when it comes to establishing the identity of the newly discovered land. Ultra-fundamentalists have unsheathed their swords, declaring that the new land should be a religious state, where the Shari'a (Islamic Law) prevails. In such a state, a thief would have his hand chopped off at the wrist. Many Egyptian citizens have to steal because they are so poor, so the newly discovered Egypt would soon be the Land of the Maimed. There is also that category of powerful officials and wealthy businessmen, who are also fond of robbing the nation on a far grander scale. The ultra-fundamentalists have also threatened to stone adulterous women to death (if they are married) or give them 80 lashes (if they are not married). In short, the ultra-fundamentalists could turn Egypt into a place like the Taliban-controlled Kandahar in Afghanistan. Their opponents would be branded as kafirs (non-believers) and face charges of blasphemy, which carries the death penalty. Alarmed by this, the liberals and secularists have vowed to frustrate the ultra-fundamentalists' religious project in Egypt. Hostilities broke out when liberals, supported by the Copts, intimidated their opponents by declaring that the newly discovered Egypt would be a civil state. Al-Azhar (the highest Muslim institution in Egypt) and the Coptic Orthodox Church (the biggest church in Egypt) refuse to keep silent: they have suggested their own visions for the newly-discovered Egypt. It's worrying that no-one is ready to listen to what the speaker is saying: in Egypt, when two people are talking to each other, you can't tell who's speaking and who's listening. Everybody speaks at once. This mayhem could prove tragic in the end; the self-proclaimed explorers could flee the land and leave us to bear the brunt of their new identity.
