The Manipulation of Islam by Thugs

The Egyptian Revolution of January 25^th, 2011, which led to the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s government, ahs been recognized worldwide as a model for a peaceful revolution. The success of that uprising is attributed to the support of tens of millions of different socioeconomic backgrounds and people of different religious affiliations. The support of the Egyptian military forces contributed to the success of the revolution.

It is regretful that the past few days there have been reports of clashes between Muslims and Christians, which led to the deaths of 15 people, the injury of more than 90 and the burning of two churches in Imbaba, a low income residential area of Cairo.

It was also reported that the Egyptian military forces have arrested 190 suspects who will be prosecuted by military courts. If the suspects are found guilty, I hope they will get the maximum sentence, which is “death”, in order to set a standard so the other thugs will not initiate more religious confrontation in the future.

Nevertheless, in certain countries, when drastic changes taken place, such as what happened in Egypt, some of those who have lost their influence and privileges will attempt to start a counter-revolution by creating instability to discredit the new, transitional government. Such attempts are usually instigated by some national groups who hope to regain what influence they lost. Other groups who were politically suppressed by the previous regime want to reflect their influence in the new democratic setting. The latest reported clashes against Christians were investigated by a Salafi Muslim group. They are religious fanatics. This group is not going to achieve their goal, because they are not supported by the majority of the Egyptian population.

There is another type of national group who is manipulated by foreign powers who want the disposed regime back. The previous regime facilitated and implemented their agendas and national interests. A clear example of this is the Israeli and American governments previous relationships with ex-President Hosni Mubarak, who facilitated and implemented their political agendas, which was not in the national interest of Egypt. As a matter of fact, both governments have already expressed concern about the newly merging Egyptian foreign policy. During the previous four to five decades, the Israeli government tried, through its American Jewish Zionist supporters, to manipulate some American Egyptian Copts to accuse the Egyptian government of discrimination against Christians in Egypt. One of the basic reasons behind this negative propaganda was the continuous pressure on the previous Egyptian government to let them know that they are under their observation. It is not unusual that foreign powers in many cases tried to play on the religious or ethnic factors to apply pressure on foreign governments when their policy required it to implement their foreign agenda.

Nevertheless, what took place, especially in Egypt, will not provide the opportunistic foreign interferences. The reason behind that is the massive population support of their government. The impact of the Arab spring revolutions will ultimately bring an end to Western domination and it will usher in a new democratic trend in the Middle East region.