The Islamists after the Egyptian coup

Some Arab circles which backed the coup in Egypt are quoted as saying that what has happened is a step towards wiping out the Muslim Brotherhood in the region, adding that this will happen to all Islamic political forces.

The truth of the matter is that success breeds success and it is natural for those who believe that their coup in Egypt has been successful, despite the continued protests and the difficulties of the overall situation, to turn their attention to Tunisia and Libya, as well as the Gaza Strip and even Turkey. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara is often held up as the regional sponsor of Sunni political Islam. Iran does not figure at this level as Shia political Islam is not considered to be a serious threat to anyone except the government of Bahrain.

What these people are forgetting is that what occurred in the Arab Spring and the results achieved by the Islamists was not an overnight sensation; it was the product of decades of Islamic activism that overcame serious security conditions, including the most fiercely oppressive regime in Tunisia, in which religiosity of any kind was targeted by the government. Such extreme oppression produced an extreme reaction in the form of “Salafist Jihadi” political Islam, given the government’s targeting of “moderate” political Islam, represented by Al-Nahda Party.

Despite the current setback, political Islam as a phenomenon cannot be erased without erasing religion from society in its entirety. That would not be easy in any case, as Islam is deeply rooted in the popular consciousness across the region; even the speeches of non-Islamist politicians depend on religious legitimacy; traditional Salafi imams speak about the religious command to obey legitimate rulers who cannot even be criticised publically.

Critics of the Islamists forget that to bypass the most powerful civil force in society the country has to be turned into an oppressive military state. In an age of globalisation, especially post-Arab Spring, this is an impossible task; the people have lost their fear and do not hesitate to show their displeasure of government policies in peaceful protests.

The other side of the coin is that those who have lost the political battle in Egypt are unlikely to give up. They will regroup and develop new strategies to assert the will of the people for open and democratic government. The ongoing demonstrations against the coup are evidence of this happening already.

As such, triumphalism about what has happened in Egypt seems both childish and premature. Islamism did not begin with President Mori’s election victory; its rise took decades. It will not disappear just because members are arrested or the movement is banned by the authorities. A political force with intellectual and social dimensions cannot be eradicated by kneejerk decisions; it may be slowed down but it will not die. Repression produces a powerful reaction by the youth, who will go about their movement work in much the same way as the current leadership did during the Mubarak era.

It is my belief that the Islamists will absorb the blows of the coup authorities and begin a counter-movement to regain what it has lost. More importantly, the Arab masses will soon join it in a new struggle to restore the momentum of their revolution, the Arab Spring, against the fierce efforts to abort its reforms in Egypt and other places.

This is a translation of the Arabic text which appeared in Ad Dustour Newspaper on 22 September, 2013

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.