MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis|669|February 22, 2011
Egypt
The Popular Uprising in Egypt in Search of a Leadership
By: L. Azuri*
Introduction
Thanks to the possibilities afforded by modern communications and internet
technology, the Egyptian youth managed to stage mass demonstrations and
force Hosni Mubarak to abdicate power without first forming a solid
leadership to steer their campaign and present their demands. Hence, the
Egyptian protest movement is currently in search of a leadership that will
preserve the achievements of the uprising and champion the cause of reform.
Since the start of the protests, on January 25, 2011, several groups have
emerged that claim to represent the protesters. Some are made up of public
figures of the old guard, such as the Committee of the Wise, which met with
vice president 'Omar Suleiman before Mubarak's resignation to state its
demands. Other groups, such as the Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution,
comprising members of Egypt's popular opposition movements and young
internet activists, are gaining momentum. These movements, identified with
Egypt's younger generation, refused to be represented by the existing
parties or to parley with vice president Suleiman prior to Mubarak's
resignation; following his resignation they took their demands to the
Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Since the dissolution of the
parliament, numerous movements and political streams have taken steps
towards forming political parties.
This report is an overview of the main groups and organizations emerging as
representatives of the Egyptian public.
The Committee of the Wise
This group comprises Egyptian politicians, intellectuals, and artists
representing a broad spectrum of political affiliation, whose
representatives met on February 5, 2011 with vice president Suleiman and
Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq.[1] The Committee issued three communiqués
detailing its demands, which included: dissolving the two houses of
parliament and forming a judiciary committee to draft constitutional changes
(this demand was met by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on February
13); establishing a transitional government composed of independent figures
and experts acceptable to the people; lifting the state of emergency and
prosecuting the officials responsible for the security anarchy during the
protests; and ensuring the protesters' safety and ending all acts of
brutality against them. The Committee of the Wise praised the army and
pointed to it as the key element that will ensure a smooth transition to
democracy.[2]
Among the prominent signatories to the Committee's communiqués were Arab
League Secretary-General 'Amr Moussa (who is one of the potential candidates
for the presidency)[3]; Egyptian-American scientist Ahmad Zewail, winner of
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, who is serving as President Barack Obama's
special envoy for science and technology to the Middle East; Kamal Abu
Al-Magd, former vice-president of the Egyptian National Council for Human
Rights; Coptic businessman Naguib Sawiris; Wahid 'Abd Al-Magid, director of
the Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing; Nabil Fahmy, former
Egyptian ambassador to Washington and Dean of the School of Public Affairs
at the American
University in Cairo; Salama Ahmad Salama, head of the editorial board of the
independent Egyptian daily Al-Shurouq and former deputy editor of the
government daily Al-Ahram; and Sami Mahmoud Zein Al-Din, chairman of the
Cairo Criminal Court.[4]
Image Source: The Committee's Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ljnt-alhkma/12389600101717
Some raised doubts as to where the Committee's loyalties lay. 'Abd Al-Bari
'Atwan, editor of the London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, warned that it was
trying to rescue Mubarak, rather than Egypt, explaining that many of the
Committee's members had formerly served the regime.[5] It should be noted
that the Committee has not been heard from since Mubarak handed over power
to the military, and its stance on the changes that have thus far been
implemented, such as the suspension of the constitution and the dissolution
of parliament, remains unclear.
The Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution (aka "The January 25 Youth")
This group, also called "The Coalition of the Revolution of Rage" or "The
January 25 Youth," is a coalition of several popular movements: the April 6
Movement, the socialist Al-Tagdid movement, Shabab Al-Ikhwan (the Muslim
Brotherhood Youth), Youth for Justice and Freedom (an organization founded
in July 2010 to combat corruption in the Egyptian regime), the Free Front
for Peaceful Change, and the Democratic Front Party. The coalition also
represents young people who participated in the protests but are not members
of any organized group, as well as internet activists. Its leaders, ten
young men who were among the organizers of the recent protests, claim that
the groups and organizations formed before the coalition have ignored the
young people who actually led the demonstrations.[6]
The Coalition decided to form a committee of 20 leading figures, including
prominent intellectuals and oppositionists such as Muslim thinker Muhammad
Salim Al-Awa, Al-Ghad party head Ayman Nour (who ran against Mubarak in the
2005 elections and was imprisoned on charges of election fraud), Democratic
Front party leader Osama Al-Ghazali Harb, and Muslim Brotherhood leaders
'Abd Al-Mun'im Abu Al-Fatouh and Muhammad Al-Baltagi.[7] According to some
media reports, this Coalition also represents the Popular Campaign for
Supporting ElBaradei, and Mohamed ElBaradei is one of the members of its
proposed committee of experts. However, the coordinator of the ElBaradei
Campaign, Mustafa Al-Naggar, has denied this."[8]
Among the demands of the Coalition are to limit the military rule to no more
than nine months; make temporary amendments to the constitution pending the
People's Assembly elections, and subsequently draw up a "popular and
democratic" constitution as a basis for the parliamentary republic, which
will provide for the separation of the branches of government, limit the
president's powers, and abolish the Emergency Law and emergency courts.
Further demands are to establish an interim government of professionals who
enjoy the people's trust and are not affiliated with the army; lower the age
at which citizens are eligible to run for parliament and for the presidency
(to 25 in the former case and 35 in the latter); allow the free
establishment of associations, unions, newspapers, and media outlets; pass
laws regulating the election of trade unions and student unions; release all
political prisoners; dissolve the NDP and nationalize its assets; dissolve
the State Security Investigations apparatus; implement court orders that
ban police guards from university campuses; stop the export of natural gas
to Israel; revoke the Political Parties Law; and dissolve all the local
councils.[9]
Some prominent young activists in the Coalition are Ziad Al-'Alimi, who acts
as a spokesman for the Coalition and was one of the prominent organizers of
the protest movement; Ahmad Maher (30), a civil engineer who serves as
coordinator of the April 6 Movement and is considered to be the founder of
the Facebook group that initiated the general strike in Egypt during the
protests; medical doctor Shadi Al-Ghazali Harb, who is related to the head
of the Democratic Front party and is an activist in the National Society for
Change;[10] and Muhammad 'Awwad (27), the general coordinator of the Youth
for Justice and Freedom group and a former activist in the oppositionist
Kefaya movement and in the April 6 Movement.[11]
Another prominent young activist in the protest movement is Egyptian blogger
Wael Ghoneim, whose thousands of supporters have nominated him spokesman of
the protest movement in a Facebook page opened for this purpose.[12] Ghoneim
(31), who has a degree in computer engineering from Cairo University and
another in business management from the American University in Cairo, works
as a marketing manager for Google Middle East and is the founder of a
Facebook group called We Are All Khaled Sa'id, which played a key role in
organizing the mass demonstrations in Egypt starting January 25. After the
protests began he was arrested and held in detention for 12 days.
Image Source: http://www.facebook.com/Authorize.Ghoneim
In interviews he gave after his release, he asked not to be given credit for
starting the revolution and not to be called a hero. He called it
inconceivable that "parties that cannot fill a sports stadium with their
supporters are jumping [on the bandwagon] and sitting down to negotiate on
behalf of the protesters." He added that the real leaders of the protesters
were Facebook activists, stressing that Muslim Brotherhood members did not
comprise more than 15% of the protest movement.[13] For now, Ghoneim has
decided to join the Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution.[14] On
February 13, Ghoneim met with the army leadership to present the demands of
the youth and hear the army's position.[15]
In his dialogue with the opposition representatives, 'Omar Suleiman agreed
to recognize the January 25 Youth (i.e., the Coalition of the Youth of the
Revolution) as a national movement. However, this movement announced that
the figures who had met with him did not represent it and that their demands
did not reflect its demands, accusing the Committee of the Wise of treason
and of betraying the values of the revolution.[16] The independent Egyptian
daily Al-Masri Al-Yawm reported that the January 25 Youth meant to form a
new political party because the existing parties did not represent it. A
Facebook campaign has been launched to promote this idea.[17]
Images taken from Facebook page of the January 25 Youth movement
http://www.facebook.com/pages/hzb-shbab-25-ynayr/196468220363858
It should be noted that the protesters received relatively sympathetic
coverage in the Egyptian government press. Journalists encouraged the
movement to form its own party, apparently with the aim of appeasing the
demonstrators and helping to quell the protests. For example, the editor of
the government daily Al-Gumhouriyya, Muhammad 'Ali Ibrahim, wrote: "It's
time the effort of the youth in Tahrir Square evolved into high-level
political action. They ought to have a [political] party to express their
opinions... If the youth want their voice to be heard, there is no
alternative but [achieving] political legitimacy, because street legitimacy
has its limits... A party of the Tahrir [Square] youth would be Egypt's
salvation..."[18]
Following Mubarak's resignation, the Coalition of the Youth of the
Revolution announced the establishment of the Committee for the Defense of
the Revolution and of the Trustees Committee. The latter was formed on
February 16 to conduct negotiations with the Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces regarding Egypt's transition to democracy. Its members include former
general coordinator of the National Association for Change Hassan Nafa'a,
Egyptian writer 'Alaa Al-Aswani, former Muslim Brotherhood MP Muhammad
Al-Baltagi, former television broadcaster Mahmoud Sa'd, and others.[19] On
February 17, the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution held a press
conference, at which it announced its intention to form a party called "The
Liberation Revolutionaries" and presented a list of 70 figures who would be
its "spokesmen." This list sparked a controversy because of the large number
of Muslim Brotherhood members it included, which prompted members of the
audience to complain that the Muslim Brotherhood was trying to take over the
revolution of the youth.[20]
Image source:
http://www.facebook.com/sortalshohadaa#!/sortalshohadaa?v=wall
New Muslim Brotherhood Party
The Muslim Brotherhood, which played an active, albeit not central, role in
the uprising against the Mubarak regime, has announced its intention to form
a party called "Liberty and Justice" after the necessary changes are made to
the constitution.[21] The movement's leaders have stressed that it does not
advocate establishing a religious state, but is in favor of a civil state
"with Islamic sources of authority." The Muslim Brotherhood has also
announced that it will not run a candidate for president, and that, in the
parliamentary elections, it will compete for no more than 25-30 percent of
the seats, because a larger representation would not be feasible in the
current political and international circumstances.[22]
Other Parties
After the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces dissolved the two houses of
parliament and suspended the constitution pending changes to some of its
articles, several movements announced their decision to form 13 new
political parties. Among these movements is Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya, which
announced that its party would be "civil" in character but with Islamic
values.[23] Several left-wing movements have formed a committee to establish
a new socialist party to represent the working and middle classes."[24] The
Egyptian Supreme Court has legalized the Al-Wasat party, a splinter group of
the Muslim Brotherhood, which was formed in 1996 but was not approved by the
former regime.[25]
Groups representing religious minorities have also formed with the aim of
advancing their demands for change. Egyptian intellectual Tarek Heggy said
he has contacted Michael Meunier, president of the U.S. Copts Association,
with the aim of establishing a party to promote the goal of abolishing
Article Two of the constitution, which defines Islam as the primary source
of legislation." [26] A new group called the National Front for the Defense
of Minorities and the Civil State includes Copt, Bahai, Shi'ite and Nubian
activists – such as Shi'ite activist Muhammad Al-Darini, Nubian activist
Haggag Adoul, and human rights activist Mamdouh Nakhla. Some of their
demands are to establish a ministry of religious affairs, to draft a new
constitution denouncing discrimination and ensuring equality for all
Egyptian citizens, and to establish an interim national unity government
representing all Egyptians regardless of faith, religious school and
ethnicity.[27]
*L. Azuri is a research fellow at MEMRI.
[1] Elaph.com, February 5, 2011.
[2] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), February 2-6, 2011.
[3] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 14, 2011. A Facebook group has been
formed promoting Moussa's candidacy.
www.facebook.com/pages/ljnt-alhkma/123896001017179.
[4] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), February 2-6, 2011.
[5] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), February 4, 2011.
[6] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 6, 2011; Al-Ahram (Egypt), February
8, 2011.
[7] Onislam.net, February 5, 2011.
[8] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 10, 2011.
[9] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 16, 2011.
[10] Al-Arab (Qatar), February 8, 2011.
[11] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 9, 2011.
[12] Facebook.com/Authorize.Ghoneim.
[13] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), Al-Arab (Qatar) February 8, 2011; Al-Masri Al-Yawm
(Egypt), February 9, 2011.
[14] Al-Ahram (Egypt), February 9, 2011.
[15] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), February 14, 2011.
[16] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), February 6, 2011; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London),
February 7, 2011; Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 8, 2011.
[17] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 5, 2011.
[18] Al-Gumhouriyya (Egypt), February 8, 2011.
[19] Al-Misriyyoun (Egypt), Al-Ahram (Egypt), Al-Gumhouriyya (Egypt),
February 13, 2011; www.alarabiya.net, February 17, 2011.
[20] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), February 17, 2011; Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), February
18, 2011.
[21] As a matter of fact, the Muslim Brotherhood announced a plan to form a
party in 2007, but desisted from these efforts in light of the NDP's
monopoly over the committee authorized to approve new parties. For the draft
platform of the proposed party, which was leaked to the press in 2007, see
MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3556, "An Overview of the Egyptian Muslim
Brotherhood's Stance on U.S. and Jihad; Translation of Its Draft Political
Platform," February 3, 2011,
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4970.htm.
[22] Ikhwanonline.com, February 14, 2011; Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), February
16, 2011.
[23] Egyig.com, February 16, 2011.
[24] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 17, 2011.
[25] Al-Ahram (Egypt), February 20, 2011.
[26] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 17, 2011.
[27] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 10, 2011.
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