It is time for all of the nonsense to stop. Legitimate protest is to be encouraged in a democracy. The lawlessness we have seen in recent weeks, though, is not. The criminals and thugs who are destroying property and creating fear and confusion in the hearts of ordinary Egyptians, urged on by many of the remnants of the old regime, must be brought to account. In the handing over of power by the military to a civilian government, many thought that the months of uncertainty would end. Unfortunately, though, that has not happened.Those remnants of the old regime have shown since then that they will just not give up and relinquish the system of corruption and theft they enjoyed for decades. The old system was a very lucrative source of finance for them and gave them positions of authority, privilege and power they could never hold in a democratic society. Many commentators agree that the recent situation in Egypt left the President and the National Security Council no choice but to invoke the Constitution and declare a State of Emergency in certain governorates. A situation could not be allowed to continue, they asserted, where ordinary people and their property were being threatened by criminal gangs and groups of discontented youths roaming the streets destroying, looting and harming the innocent. But there seems to have been no other alternative in a situation fast getting out of control. Democratic politicians do not resort easily to states of emergency or extraordinary powers. Lawlessness, however, cannot be allowed since it threatens the very fabric of the state. This was the warning made by the head of Egypt's army earlier this week when he said that failure to get the lawlessness under control could lead to a complete collapse of the Egyptian State. Egypt's fragile democracy is being threatened by those forces who care nothing for the ballot box. Scenes of looters carrying computers and television sets out of government buildings brings shame on the whole country in the eyes of the world. There is no National Democratic Party any more. Many of its members are now in prison for corruption and theft. Most of them are barred from holding political office. Many of them, though, still have the money to cause trouble and they have tried consistently to undermine the new system since the fall of the now jailed former president. Their supporters in the media have refused to let go. Television presenters (and their wives) have relentlessly made fun of the country's elected President, using sarcasm as their weapon. Endless hours of television footage showing a Tahrir Square mostly empty of protesters have created he feeling of danger and imminent chaos in the minds of Egyptians. Twenty-four hour news coverage and interviews with one member of the old regime after another have ridiculed whatever the government has tried to do. Many news editors were replaced in the months after the Revolution of January 25, but many of the news presenters on TV were not. Once the darlings of the old regime, specially chosen to interview the former president and his ministers in the most favourable light, they now claim to be supporters of the revolution. Or at least, they were until the opportunity arose to start pouring scorn on its achievements and on the men chosen through the ballot box to replace the former regime. Honest debate is healthy, but making personal attacks and pouring scorn on democratically elected leaders is to pour scorn on democracy itself. If people do not hold with democracy, that is a legitimate opinion for them to hold. After all, the freedom of expression won by those who gave their lives in Tahrir Square and other places throughout Egypt means freedom of expression for all, regardless of their political views. But those TV presenters must not disguise their views under the pretence of wanting the country to be better within the existing system. Not many of them called for freedom, dignity and social justice when it was denied for the people of Egypt for so long. They were too busy praising the former leader to do that. It is true to say that many people are disillusioned after two years. None of the things they hoped for have been achieved. Most were looking for jobs and lower prices, not for freedom of expression and dignity for all. It is one of the failures of the Revolution of January 25 that it was not explained properly to people from the outset that none of these things would be achieved until the fundamental problems within Egyptian society were first of all fixed. And that was always going to take a long time. All of this, of course, is the legacy of a corrupt regime. Those who took over from it, though, have completely failed to make the people of Egypt understand this. When he first took office in the United States, President Obama inherited a crippling national debt and an economy in crisis, but he managed to persuade the nation of that and they have given him time to put things right. They even re-elected him in November even though the US economy is still by no means fixed. Such a convincing explanation of the way things are has not been given here in Egypt. At every turn, remnants of the old regime have successfully managed to lay all the blame for the country's ills on those who were elected to fix them. Their television allies have brainwashed people into thinking that ideological goals are preventing the government from acting responsibly for the good of the nation. Those who responded to the President's call for dialogue this week concluded, according to a Presidential statement, that Egyptians must distinguish between peaceful, legitimate demonstrations and acts of violence, thuggery, murder and fire-raising. Yesterday's men and those who came from abroad to join them failed to convince the majority of Egyptians of their message. The honest and honourable men among them who oppose the government have every right to do so. They must be careful, though, that they are not being manipulated by others whose agenda is less than honourable. And if their intentions are honourable they must dissociate themselves from the criminals and condemn those who are taking advantage of the current chaos. Their refusal now to take part in national dialogue for the sake of the nation is not helpful.The reckless call for further protests in Tahrir Square in an already volatile situation is both foolhardy and dangerous. Egyptians chose something else to those disguising themselves as revolutionaries. Many of the remnants of the old regime wouldn't know what a revolution was if it came and punched them on the nose! No, the people made their choice. The democratic voice of the majority must now be allowed to prevail and what they chose must be given a chance to come to fruition. Inshallah, with God's continued help, this will be so. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, teaches at Al-Azhar University and is the author of nine books about Islam. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com, you can join him on Facebook at Idris Tawfiq Page and you can listen to his Radio Show, “A Life in Question," on Sundays at 11pm on Radio Cairo 95.4 FM.
