See below a sample of the thoughtful reactions my last week’s column with the above title generated . I must commend your “Notes from...
See below a sample of the thoughtful
reactions my last week’s column with the above title generated.
I
must commend your “Notes from Atlanta” which are usually profuse with poignant
analyses of contemporary issues around Nigeria and the globe. Your “notes” of
today offered various reasons why different segments of Nigeria reacted to the
military coup in Egypt that ousted Morsi from power.
I
wish to add that what you called the Nigerian Shitte`s community`s “excitement”, much as they were snippets of
individuals` kneejerk comments than a
formal reaction of the community, had less to do with solidarity with Assad of
Syria but more grounded in disgust for an “intolerant Sunni theocracy” that
Morsi had unfortunately come to personify.
Under
Morsi, religious minorities like Shiites and Copts began to face waves of persecution.
There were reports of churches and Coptic men and women being attacked and
raped by “Allahu Akbar”-chanting Muslims, reminiscent of the videos of
human-organ-eating rebels of Syria. Only few days before Morsi was ousted, four
Shiites were murdered in cold blood and their corpses, in bestial glee, dragged
along streets, very much like Ghaddafi`s corpse was treated. Please see the
link below.
Morsi`s
government was so afflicted with a rabid phobia for Shiites that a Salafi
member of its parliament campaigned
against allowing Iranian tourists into Egypt, arguing that it was safer to have
bikini-clad tourists swarming Egypt than to allow the Shiites in who would
spread their “dangerous” ideology! Morsi failed to adequately present himself
as the President of Egypt, leaving gaps for Egyptians to see him as the
President for the Brotherhoods.
Thank
you once more for your riveting weekly notes.
I'm
in the fourth group. I think secularism is the best system for the modern
nation state, and I might not have supported the Brotherhood if I were an
Egyptian. But I oppose Morsi's removal based on principle. Electoral outcomes
must be respected and people should not use non-legal means to overturn such
outcomes. I also believe that Morsi is being judged unfairly because what
happened in his one-year rule was a direct consequence of a flawed transition.
No one can rule democratically without a constitution and a parliament and it
wasn't Morsi's fault that he ruled without these organs. I also believe that it
is unfair to conclude that he had failed after just one year in office in a
country that has no existing culture of democracy; there will inevitably be a
learning process. But if the liberals truly felt they must remove Morsi, then
they should have worked to elect a liberal majority parliament which would then
impeach him and revise the constitution. But inviting the military was dumb (I
have never thought of Egyptians as dumb until now) and they will surely regret
it. I agree with the points in your July 7 column (which I’d missed) about the
limited power of mass uprisings to effect wholesale and enduring change.
Dr. Raji Bello, Abuja
It
could happen, but it would not. The government of Nigeria is more than ready to
murder whoever tries to rebel against it. Recall the anti-fuel subsidy removal
demonstrations? Why was it not very successful? It's because of the merciless,
brutal killing of the protesting citizenry by the government of various states,
Kano, for example. By the way, I was surprised at your mentioning that hitherto
you didn't know Bashar Al-Assad was a Shi’ite.
Muhsin Ibrahim, Jalandhar, India
I
must say I fall under the first group. I couldn’t sleep that night and I almost
cried for what they did to the Brotherhood. I never realised what I was doing
till I read this column. But, Alhamdulillahi, I still like Morsi and The
Brotherhood for Allah's sake, not for sectarian reasons.
Ummi Noor, Abuja
I
wanted to Google “Misralogist,” wondering what that could mean. I'm not a
Shiite but I fall into the second category, and I see the build-up of political
Islam from its height in the days of Sayyid Qutb and the gradual death of
political Islam. The admixture does not work and cannot work.
Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, Belleville,
Michigan, USA
The
events in Egypt throw up new challenges for modern secular democracy. When you
elect a government and, after a year in office, it begins to show signs of
failure or it fails to deliver to the electorate its promises, as obtained in
Nigeria and Egypt, what do we do? What is the way out to avoid a military
incursion as evident in Egypt? I fear worse scenarios in Nigeria as evident
also in the current crisis in Rivers State and many other places.
Dr. Muhammad Kabir Isa, ABU, Zaria
You
obviously missed the sixth group of Misralogists, the Marxist/International
Misralogists. This is what we wrote:
The
tragedy of the Egyptian revolution is essentially one of lack of genuine
(Marxist) revolutionary leadership. So far, the great movement of the workers
and other oppressed layers of the society has come under the leadership of
three main political forces: the Military, "Political Islamists" and
Liberal Democrats. None of these forces is revolutionary and herein lies the
contradiction of the Egyptian revolution: revolutionary masses coming under
reactionary leadership. Understanding this contradiction is necessary for
understanding the dynamics of Egyptian revolution.
Muslim
Brotherhood had exposed its bankruptcy when it went into alliance with the
Military and therefore betrayed the revolution. By preserving the capitalist
order and shielding the wealth of Army Generals as well as their
(Brotherhood’s) capitalist backers, the Brotherhood oversaw an economy
characterized by worsening unemployment and standard of living of the masses.
This is the objective basis for the rise of Egyptians against Morsi rule and
Brotherhood. The fact that Muslim Brotherhood went into alliance with American
and Israeli imperialism to further consolidate the blockade on Gaza population
reveals the utter reactionary character of the party.
Musa Bashir, Kano
This
piece provides more insights on the turmoil in Egypt. Those of us who blame the
whole episode on the West will have to look further. I must confess that this
is the best analysis of the crisis I have read.
Aminu Isa, Lokoja
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