The Clash Of The Thugs: Shall We Take Sides?

First, let us assume that there is no current disguised understanding between SCAF and the MB; instead they are engaged in a dogfight over who will have the upper hand in Egypt. Should we take sides?

I would never side with SCAF even if it meant the weakening of the MB, whom I despise so much. SCAF is a bunch of army generals who are working frantically to preserve the privileges they enjoyed under Mubarak.  They are old, undemocratic and will never relent their position in the country without a fight. Nevertheless, the most important reason why I would never take the side of SCAF in this current political struggle is the fact that I have seen their crimes during that past year and a half. I was in Abasiyah, in Maspero, in Mohamed Mahmoud, in the Council of Ministries. I have seen people killed, maimed and beaten ruthlessly by army soldiers; taking the side of SCAF means supporting people with blood on their hands.

I would never side with the MB either. Just as I saw SCAF for the past year and half, I also saw the MB. I have seen how they sold the revolution for their own self interests. I have seen how they have slept with SCAF on the same bed and turned a blind eye when revolutionaries were killed in Mohamed Mahmoud and at the Council of Ministers. The MB and SCAF are two sides of the same coin. They are two institutions who are only after their own self interests. Thousands of MB youth participated in the revolution in January 2011, but their leadership is far from the revolution that these youth believed in. They were far more comfortable forging backdoor deals with the army generals. It is interesting to note that the MB never really amassed their followers and flexed their muscles in Tahrir unless it was for some political gain of theirs. In short, what the MB leadership did during the past year and half brought my trust in them to its nadir.

So which side should we take? While some revolutionaries chose to side with the elected MB against SCAF, I made up my mind to grab the pop corn and watch the dogfight. As far as I am concerned, SCAF and the MB are exactly like two thugs fighting each other and the revolution is caught in the middle. Neither thug gives a hoot about the revolution. Why would I support a side while I know beyond a shadow of doubt that the winner will evetually turn against me.

Aren’t the MB elected? Yes they were. However, who said that democracy is all about a ballot box? Give me a country with a constitution, a viable civil society and laws that will protect me from MB greed and betrayal and I will support the elected faction. Until now, we have nothing that safeguards us from the obvious plans of the MB to become another National Democratic Party (but with the addition of a small beard). If we assumed that the MB managed to win the current fight against the Constitutional Court, do you think they will tell us “hey, we got rid of Mubarak’s courts, let’s build a modern independent judiciary system”? In your dreams! They will replace Mubarak’s court with their own court instead.

On a different note, President Morsi won by just 51.7% of the votes. Only 800,000 votes separate him from Ahmed Shafik. And to be honest with you, 800,000 votes are not enough for me to throw myself in the bosom of the MB!

So what should the revolutionaries do besides watching the unfolding power struggle? First, they should correct the mistakes I’ve wrote about here. Second, Egypt needs an alternative to the MB and the army generals. There must be a third option provided to the people in the upcoming elections. If that third option did not arise, we’ll remain enslaved to the outcome of the MB and SCAF dogfight.

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