These last weeks have been difficult weeks for Egypt. Profound disagreements over the new Constitution and over the kind of nation people want to see in the future have left the country itself deeply divided. The language used has been hurtful and the actions of some elements of society have left people dead and injured. What sort of Egypt is this? Different groups of people have been living together in peace here for over fourteen centuries. From time to time, disagreements have broken out into violent clashes between different communities but, on the whole, Egyptians have lived peacefully with their neighbours and accepted that their neighbours have the right to believe something different to them. Indeed, Egyptians have been known the world over for their easy-going nature and for the smile and the joke they have been able to give as a response to life's difficulties. After all, they were able to put up with decades of authoritarian rule, where the ordinary citizens had no influence at all on the decision making process. It is of the very nature of authoritarian rule that those in authority seek to divide the people under their control, using their differences to make different groups look to the country's leader for theirs security. The former regime used to exploit these differences. History will show us the extent of that exploitation. Its result, though, was that a tight lid was kept on dissent and disagreement. Public protest was not the hallmark of the former regime. The revolution of January 25, though, took the lid off that tight control. Since then, people have been able to say anything they wish. Freedom of speech and the right to protest have opened the doors to a free for all. For many, this has been a sign of great progress. For others, it is a sign of the nation falling apart. When he sailed off into exile from Alexandria harbour in 1952, King Farouk remarked to Mohamed Naguib, the leader of the Free Officers who had overthrown him, that he would find Egypt a difficult country to govern. Since that time, Egypt's leaders have used strong arm tactics to maintain that control. In an autocratic system, it is easier to govern. The leader decides the policy and the people are required to accept it. In a democratic system this is not the case. The leader may propose a policy, but the people are free in a democratic system to listen to him or not. This is what we have been witnessing for these last two years. Democracy is untidy. Leaders are not able to control the way people think, let alone the way they vote. After years of allegedly strong leadership, which incidentally left the country on its knees in terms of development, a new system is beginning to emerge in Egypt. Everyone is now entitled to his or her own voice and they are free to express it. For many, this is an uncomfortable transition.Their lives, they say, have not changed much since the revolution of January 25, except that the country now seems to be in chaos. They see the expression of a range of different ideas and opinions as confusing and they see those as weak who allow such public disagreements. Unfortunately, in recent weeks, we have seen these feelings exploited. Many international commentators suggest that amidst the legitimate protest of many honest citizens, some of the supporters of the old regime have been fuelling dissent and encouraging violence. Their refusal to accept that things have changed and that Egypt will not go back to the days of the past has left people dead and at war with one another. Some people believe with all sincerity that the goals of the revolution have been hijacked. Others see Egypt's current leadership as the very guardian of that revolution. That is the impasse we have reached. Egyptians are not extreme. On the whole, the vast majority of them have a religious sense. Praying is as natural to them as the air they breathe. Mosques and churches are a normal part of the urban and rural landscape. The majority of Egyptians adhere to one religion or another, and the majority of those are Muslim. They don't seek to impose their beliefs on others, but they love Islam and its Messenger (PBUH). Egypt is a Muslim-majority country. Those who would impose a secular way of life on Egypt and its people are in the minority. Politicians who have lived abroad all their lives are not in touch with this reality. The vast majority, though, don't want to see Egypt as a religious state either, where clerics have the last word. The vast majority want a country where the citizens have a comfortable standard of living and where they are free to worship as they choose. Religion and life, for them, go hand in hand, but they are not to be dictated to by either the mosque or the church. The argument over the Constitution is about this choice for the country. Whatever the result of the referendum on the Constitution, Egypt now needs to move forward. Most people have, for now, had enough of political debate. The deep wounds that have been caused by harsh words and actions will be hard to forget. It is in the country's best interests, though, to heal those wounds. Dialogue is important. Dialogue is not just about talking, but about listening, too. Those who govern the country must listen to the voices of all the people. Perhaps mistakes have been made in wanting to move forward too fast. It is a truism that the fleet can only move as fast as the slowest ship. Those guiding the nation need to take all the citizens along with them. They can't afford to leave anyone behind. In pursuing dialogue with their political opponents, Egypt's leaders will be teaching the citizens an important truth: that in a democratic system people have the right to express themselves. And when all the dust has settled, people will come to realise that disagreement is OK and that it is not the end of the world when others believe something different to us. In a democratic society people are free to disagree with one another without recourse to violence. In these last weeks and months, Egyptians have come to understand the first part of that truth, that it is OK to disagree. It will take more time before they are comfortable enough with it to understand the second part. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, teaches at Al-Azhar University. The author of nine books about Islam, he divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com and join him on Facebook at Idris Tawfiq Page.
