An Egyptian coup d'état

The recent violence in Egypt surrounding the removal of their Islamist President ties in nicely to the discussion topics for this week. After several were killed and over 260 people injured, the new Egyptian government is appointing their leaders. Unfortunately, as with any coup, there are two (or more) different sides to the argument, each with different views and opinions.

In an article by The Associated Press, it is noted that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Islamic group in the country, is in strong opposition over the recent coup. ““It's an illegitimate government, an illegitimate prime minister, an illegitimate cabinet. We don't recognize anyone in it. We don't even recognise their authority as representatives of the government," spokesman Gehad El-Haddad told Reuters.”

As protestors have made their opinions known, danger in Egypt has greatly increased. The Huffington Post reported that the United States has ordered all diplomats, family members, and nonessential embassy personnel to leave Egypt earlier this week.

Violence continues to be an issue. Another protest between Morsi supporters and the new government left seven people dead and many others injured this week. This is just the most recent episode in what has proven to be a very troubling week for the new Egyptian government.  

New York Times Op-Ed columnist David Brooks published an article earlier this month outlining the two most popular ideologies taken by Egyptians. He emphasizes the difference between those who “emphasize process” and those who “emphasize substance”. Those who emphasize process believe that Mohammed Morsi was a democratically elected leader and, as such, should be supported. “Democracy, the argument goes, will eventually calm extremism. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood may come into office with radical beliefs, but then they have to fix potholes and worry about credit ratings and popular opinion. Governing will make them more moderate.” On the other side, those who value substance believe that “when you elect fanatics, they continue, you have not advanced democracy. You have empowered people who are going to wind up subverting democracy. The important thing is to get people like that out of power, even if it takes a coup. The goal is to weaken political Islam, by nearly any means.”

Only time will tell if Egypt’s newly formed, non-democratically elected, government will bring Egyptian government forward, or if it will be yet another set back in the already troubled history that has become a reality for this country.