A Moslem blogger that I follow sees it as a conservative move by Egyptian security services (SCAF) and an attempt by them to creat discord in order to bolster their own position.
In his first post for a month Sandmonkey
describes the events thus
"a huge demo held by Coptic Christians & muslim supporters protesting against yet another fight over the building of a Church was attacked by the Egyptian armed forces there to protect it and plainclothed thugs. Shots were fired at protesters killing them, rocks were thrown by protesters in return, protesters were overrun by armored vehicles, the Egyptian State TV issued a plea asking Egyptian citizens to come to the Demo and “protect the army from Christian thugs”, and a street battle that resulted in over 24 dead and 150 injured. The street battle after a while turned into Egyptian citizens fighting each other, without any of them being able to figure out who was fighting who. Pandemonium, for a lack of a better word."
Pandemonium, Recidivist military types love a bit of that especially when it is sectarian.
" (SCAF) After believing the political street to be dead, and that the revolution is almost dying, they figured they now have the power to put “people in their proper place” like the old days. So, they went down yesterday to terrorize the Christians, counting that they won’t put up a fight (because they never really did before).
"This was obviously planned, so what the hell was the SCAF thinking? How could they attack and kill Egyptians on the street so casually, while their sole purpose is to protect them from getting killed? How could they risk enflaming the country into a huge sectarian battle by having state Media so conscientiously attacking the Christians and promoting violence against them? How did they not see that the choice they made is an inherently flawed one that it could spell their doom?."
Happily Sandmonkey then goes on to give four good reasons why their actions will backfire.
For any that are interested in what is going on in Egypt I urge you to read this account from a Moslem on the Cairo street.
14 comments:
Cheers Banned,
The question remains open due to the fact (or on the surface) that this account is from a moslem.
I speak with Iraqi Chaldean's on a daily basis and have done so in the past as well and without prompting they will point to what is clearly a thug, black or white, and tell you quite vehemently that that particular thug is just like a moslem!
Then there is the moslem tradition in their devil worship of abrogation i.e.; What I said yesterday means nothing, this is what I say now and on and on it goes!
I take no moslem at his word period!
It is precisely because he is a Moslem that I find his position interesting Chris. He would appear to want a secular form of Government and it was trying to create the sort of mayhem that occured in Iraq that lay behind the Egyptian army creating pandemonium.
I am aware of the bad situation faced by Iraqs Chaldeans, or those that are left, they were relatively left alone under Saddam as were the Egyptian Copts under Mobarak and this is why the Christians of Syria by and large support Assad.
There will be no secular governments emerging from the "arab spring" that's simply a pie-in-the-sky dream of liberals across the globe.
It's a crazy place. I'm glad I'm no where near it.
Given that Sandmonkey is the Shot By Both Sides category, I'm inclined to accept his analysis.
I don't doubt that the hardline Islamists will take any excuse for a ruck, but on this occassion they have probably been beaten to the draw by the Egyptian security services making sure that who ever is in office, they are in power.
Hi Ron, I think that you may be surprised if you look to Tunisia.
I know that 'liberal' means something quite different in your version of English so I wont take offence as none was intended.
I've studied a lot of revolutions, including your own and our own, in an amateur kind of way; the Arab Spring now faces it's Karensky moment where it might go either way.
The best way to ensure a militant Islamist victory is to decry their secularist opponents.
Ho Woodie, Egypt certainly is a crazy place but it's people are well aware of their unique place in the history of civilisation. That aside, our cut-price airlines resumed their budget holiday flights to Sharm El Sheik some months ago and they have some very clever loss adjusters working for them.
Woman on a Raft, blimey, some support!
I don't think that this was a powerplay by hardline Islamists, just a traditional intervention by revanchist elements (see, I know the slogans) of the old regime who, according to Sandmonkeys analysis, will now be undone.
Revolutions move along well worn lines. The PTB try to put a liberal face on the regime with everyone staying in place except the face - the Cult of Personality. . But if they can't convince the population that the change is real then they are generally replaced by the most organized and brutal opposition.
The liberal urban elite may want to believe in the tooth fairy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/10/attack-on-egyptian-christians-not-sectarian?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSc4oYfgw9I&feature=feedu
But the reality is much less photogenic.
Egypt is a land of peasants - hell they still have child slavery there - and most of those peasants are the pawns of Islam. There is no question that Egypt is an Islamic country and, although the Urban Elite may fantasize about a secular democracy, it ain't in the cards.
The true face of the "Arab Spring": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67xaZChxeU
Egypt will be an Islamic theocracy or a Military Dictatorship. My bet is on the former. But the present regime ain't dumb - and they're auditioning for the part of enforcer.
Possibly true Mr McD but isn't that what they used to say about Indonesia, the worlds largest Moslem democracy?
I remember that second youtube vid but you will find rapists and women beaters everywhere, that incident just happened to get caught on camera.
@ McGonagall. I just checked your excellent al Jazerra link.
That old chestnut of inventing a foreign threat to bolster domestic support.
The Egyptian army clearly takes the population for naive fools which in the day of telly and internet they are not.
Look back to Frances war in Algeria; the Generals attempted a coup d'etat but it failed because the troops refused to join in. The reason that they refused was because de Gaulle had issued them with transistor radios so they had independent access to news and information, clever chap de Gaulle.
Update on my YouTube Troll. He must have done this to a few people. His YouTube account was closed.
Well done Woodie or,as you might say, W A Y T O G O!!!
The world is going nuts! And, I thought our place was bad.
Odie, what youtube troll, do tell!
My comments must be approved on YT, and I block nit wits by the hundreds on there.
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