HT Home / Blogs Home >
They Call Me Muslim / World / The pharaoh’s last sigh; what it means for Islam
The pharaoh’s last sigh; what it means for Islam
Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s second president and one of the most important political figures of the Arab world, would often proudly say: “Nah-nu Abna-ul Feroin.” That’s Arabic for “We are sons of the Pharaohs”.
Unless used to historically describe the pharaohs, feron, the Urdu word for pharaoh, is often used to describe somebody stupidly stubborn. Example, “That guy is such a feron.”
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is often dubbed as a “modern-day Pharaoh”.
He must be aware that, 3000 years ago, when the boy-king Tutankhamun died, chaos resembling the one in modern Cairo broke out.
Like Mubarak, the pharaohs ruled with iron fists. Pharaonic regimes created cult personalities like that of Mubarak.
And the seemingly unshakeable empire disintegrated after its last ruler died, paving the way for instability. As a mighty wave of protest lapped at his presidency for 18 days, Mubarak met a similar pharaonic end.
The world and indeed the West need not fear Egypt’s transition. Mubarak had been holding on to power with backing from the West, which has preferred a dictator like him to Muslim Brotherhood, one of the world’s most powerful Islamist movements.
The overthrow of a Muslim dictator in Tunisia and Egypt’s own shake-up all point to the Muslim world gravitating towards democracy.
The Muslim Brotherhood has itself evolved from its radical “anti-West” stand of its ruling ideologue, the radical Sayed Qutb.
Though it still avows conservative pan-Islamism, the Brothers have generally been talking of steering clear of violence and agreeing to democratic norms. It will continue to be harsh on Israel and friendly towards Hamas though.
If democracy is to be allowed to take roots in Egypt, then the Muslim Brothers must be allowed to participate in elections. They already do.
Egypt could be the bellwether for many near-dictatorial Arab regimes. Jordan, Iran and others could be prodded into bringing more reforms into their systems to accommodate people’s aspirations for more freedom.
This is clearly the way to go. Dictators can plant themselves in, but democracy can hardly be foisted from above. It has to strike roots from within.
(21 votes, average: 2.43 out of 5)
Loading ...
ram autar Reply:
February 13th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
true in 1920s when Indian Muslims rioted to establish Caliphate back in Turkey
roiting was instigated by seargent major M K GHANDHI of south african white forces.later converted into mahatama by british rulers of india.
[Reply]