Following days of protests and army ultimatums, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was deposed on July 4th, 2013. Now, with an interim President ruling the country, an election date next year, and protestors of both sides filling the streets of Cairo, the question must be asked – what now?
On the Thursday, July 11th A Public Affair, host Allen Ruff was joined by Joel Beinen, history professor and expert of Egyptian studies at Stanford, to talk about where Egypt might go from here.
Beinen explained the political history of Egypt and the different political factions in Egypt that led to the current protests. He explained the make-up of the pro- and anti-Morsi supporters – for example, those who support the Muslim Brotherhood are often educated only or chiefly in a scientific track, so although they are often quite intelligent, they have no philosophical or humanistic background which could relate to how to run a functioning democracy. On the other hand, the anti-Morsi factions are hugely diverse.
He also elaborated on the relationship between both the army and the civilians, as well as the U.S. and the Egyptian army. Since 1952 the military has been a pillar of power in Egypt, and although once feared and hated, most Egyptians now see it (perhaps too simply) as just carrying out the will of the anti-Morsi majority.
For the future, Beinen is particularly worried about radicalization of the Muslim Brotherhood – since they were elected democratically then deposed in a military coup.
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