To every revolution there is indeed a price to be paid if real change is to be realized. One may argue that the seeds for the Revolution were planted with the coming of Sadat to power and the introduction of the so-called “Open Door Policy” which had devastating implications on the Egyptian economy. Such devastating effects had their direct impact on the educational system in Egypt and the ever-increasing unemployment rate that continued to deteriorate under Mubarak. Today, poverty rates as high as 41% and illiteracy stands at 28.6%. Moreover, the Egyptian educational system suffers from rigidity and what can be termed as the “private lessons syndrome” and has in recent years started reflect the class divide in the country offering the best Western education to the upper class that is able to afford it while offering free public education to the rest of the population and taking with it any hope for a good job. What’s more, with the initiation of the “Open Door Policy” a large number of young Egyptians unable to find work were forced to seek labour in the Gulf and neighbouring Arab countries thus importing with them cultural and religious beliefs and practices that slowly added to the social divide. All these factors have unfortunately created cultural disparities and some sort of “clash of civilizations” within one society. The different “civilizations” were visible during the Revolution as they gathered in Tahrir Square determined to bring down a totalitarian regime. What they didn’t know at the time is the direction that Egypt will end up taking.

Thus the question that follows and one that no one dares to ask today is whether the Egyptian society was ready for such sudden and drastic change? There is no doubt that there had to come a time when Egyptians had to be faced with the paradox of the democratic process, which would reflect the social and cultural disparities in the society. With a large majority of the population being poor, illiterate or uneducated in addition to lacking experience in democratic governance, it was largely expected among intellectuals and scholars that the strongest and most organized power on the ground– namely the Muslim Brotherhood and its newly established political party, the Freedom and Justice Party – was going to take over the scene and rise to power. In fact, pressure on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to rush into parliamentary elections without allowing enough time for political parties that were either newly formed after the Revolution or already weakened under the Mubarak regime to prepare for the parliamentary race has made this an almost inevitable turnout of the elections.

According to the results of the parliamentary elections, in the newly and first freely elected post-revolution Parliament, the Freedom and Justice Party of the Muslim Brotherhood took over the majority of seats by a sweeping 47%, whereas the Al-Nour Party of the Salafi Islamic group landed second with 25%, comprising a total of 72% of the seats to the Islamists. It would be a fallacy, however, to look at both the Brotherhood and Salafis as one block with no ideological differences even within each block. The Brotherhood is an organized calibre that has extensive political experience nationally as well as internationally (though working for almost 60 years underground) with almost all its senior members being well-educated and even Western-educated. As such, they seem to be interested to have a moderate political face, especially internationally, as well as willing to engage in political dialogue, which is an advantage that can be used to create a system of checks-and-balances. The challenge would be a hardline Islamic group like the Salafis, who have never engaged in politics and whose rise to power with such a majority came as a shock to many Egyptians.

Egypt’s economy, on the other hand, is posing another serious challenge to the country’s path to democracy. The country’s foreign reserves have fallen from $36 billion to a mere $10 billion and there are speculations that they are to run out completely by March, according to the NY Times. During Egypt’s uprising the economy has suffered the most and since then economic conditions seem to be worsening with increasing inflation, unemployment and prices in addition to the recent gasoline crisis. All fingers seem at this point to be pointing at the protestors in Tahrir Square. After months of hailing and praising the young Egyptians that ousted one of the most diligent leaders in the region and brought him to trial, those young Egyptians have disappeared from the political scene and stand without any representation in Parliament. But, without their role on the political scene we risk going back to totalitarianism. As such, it is vital at this point to keep on open dialogue with the major political powers, especially when voting on the Constitution in the coming weeks that will not only determine Egypt’s identity and future, but more importantly will determine Egypt’s path to democracy for future generations and realize the much-awaited hopes and dreams of a New Egypt – one that preserves the emblems of democracy and justice.

At the end, however, one cannot help but ask whether Egyptians will be blinded by the ‘opium of religion’ and forget their dream of democracy, freedom and justice? This is a question that unfortunately only time will answer.

Photo by Maged Helal Photography (cc)