On the 30th June 2012 Mohamed Morsi was democratically elected as president of Egypt. However, his presidency ended after one year.General Fatah Al-Sisi, head of the Egyptian Army, brought the new Egyptian government down. Was it a coup or a revolution? Was this a democratically legitimized operation? Is there a future for Egypt? These topics were discussed on the 22nd of August 2013 at the International Forum called “The Downfall of Morsi and the Future of Egypt” in the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies. The speakers Dr.Chandra Muzaffar, Tan Sri Ahmad AlFarra, Professor Dato’ Mohamad Abu Bakar and Professor Daoud Batchelor mainly share the same views on the current issue. Without any doubt the removal of President Morsi was not by any means a democratic act and led once again to the rise of the military regime.
Dr.Chandra Muzaffar (President, International Movement For A Just World (JUST)
- Morsi’s downfall was neither legally nor ethically justifiable. He was legally elected and his election was even legitimized by a referendum.
- Muslim Brotherhood focused on the wrong aspects of Egyptian society.
- Opponents agenda
Military: scared of losing their long-term power in Egypt.
Israel: publicly declared their enmity towards the Muslim Brotherhood; deep relations with the Egyptian military.
Saudi Arabia: Backing Salafis and the military; Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood – since Saudi Arabia is trying to curb Qatari politics and power -Saudi Arabia takes the Egyptian military’s side.
- The Muslim Brotherhood will not be able to regain power in the near future.
- The stabilization of Egypt’s economy is important for its survival.
Tan Sri Ahmad AlFarra (Former Ambassador of Palestine to Malaysia/ Visiting Fellow, ISIS)
The destruction of Egypt has been one of Israel’s main goals, using the well-known, undercover divide-and-conquer strategy to achieve it. The events in Egypt, were neither a coup nor a revolution, rather it has resulted in a “state of confusion”, partly because of Israeli manipulation. To overcome this State, democracy has to be given another chance, which means that all the detainees including Morsi have to be freed and the results of a new election have to be respected. Furthermore, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has to resign.
Professor Dato’ Mohamad Abu Bakar (Department of International and Strategic Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences )
The Arab nations have always been attacked by the Western world, which tried to implement western and modern values in Arab countries. This was facilitated for the West through the military regime in Egypt. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood has been a barrier for this previous relationship between the West and Egypt, due to the different political agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has reached out to Turkey, Iran and the Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood should be given some time to prosper. It would be a miracle that after years of dictatorship a perfect democracy would arise immediately.
Professor Daud Batchelor (Environmentalist and Economic Geologist)
According to Islamic teachings Morsi is the legitimate president, since he was elected by the majority of the population. It is a Muslim’s obligation to obey him until he acts in a non-Islamic way, he becomes a tyrant or he is physically not able to fulfill his duties in a proper way. Any opposition to Morsi can be seen as kufr (denying the truth).
Report prepared by Nahid Ghulami and Yasmin Sarwar (They are the interns of JUST from August to September 2013)