05-22-2012, 05:50 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/opinio...d=fb-share
CAIRO — A few days ago, I watched a debate between Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, two of the leading candidates among the 13 running for president of Egypt. This stunning debate went on for more than four hours and was watched by millions of Egyptians and other Arabs. Contrary to the perception around the world that Egypt is inexorably sinking into chaos and intolerance, this debate in many ways reflects the hope for a new Egypt following last year’s revolution.
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Amr Nabil/Associated Press
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Times Topics: Amr Moussa | Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh
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.From the time of Ramses II, the strong pharaoh who ruled Egypt thousands of years ago, until last year when Hosni Mubarak’s reign ended, Egyptians were never able to witness a debate over who should take over the democratic reins in the highest office of the land. Our new culture of debate, together with the election of the Parliament last December, are milestones in the history of the nation, paving a new, but rocky, path toward democracy.
Unlike in nearby Syria or earlier in Libya, the Egyptian Army has taken the high road and protected the revolution in its infancy. And it has been the guardian of these unprecedented transparent elections.
The challenges facing the country, of course, are still monumental.
Among the most serious problems are economic hardship, the uncertainty of the political climate and the deterioration of security — a feature that Egyptian society faces anew. These problems have been compounded over the past 15 months as each of the three main constituencies involved in the revolution — the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which is in charge of the transition period; the politically liberal as well as Islamic-oriented parties; and the youth who triggered the uprising — have stumbled in one way or another.
Even some of the people most thirsty for transforming Mubarak’s stagnant nation from a democracy-deficient to a democracy-rich society have, in despair, been yearning for the old stability.
True, there are chaotic symptoms — such as the conflicts among the different political parties and the occasional clashes between the SCAF, the Parliament and the government — but this is a form of the “creative chaos,” in the words of Condoleezza Rice, that is a consequence of revolutionary changes that ultimately will lead to a stable democracy.
The recent French election is a lesson for us in the peaceful, civilized transfer of power. Looking back, we know the French Revolution some two centuries ago, through a liberation movement not unlike ours, was accompanied by widespread bloodshed and ugly political conflicts for many years.
It is a hopeful sign indeed that we Egyptians are still marching forward toward democracy with relatively little bloodshed. All signs indicate that a counterrevolution is not in store for Egypt. We will not turn back to a totalitarian governing system.
Perhaps the most encouraging of all is the confidence of Egyptians in their future.
The governor of the central bank of Egypt, Farouk Al-Okda, recently informed me that the hard-currency revenues coming from expatriates are the highest ever. Even the many strikes for betterment of education, improvement of health care and increase in salaries can be read as acts of high expectations for the future.
A rise in violence between some Muslims and Christians is cause for concern. But its origin and intensity are exaggerated in the media.
Egypt’s Christian history is part of the fabric of the society. Egypt does not have a ghetto for its minority population nor segregation of students at schools, but indeed has some solvable problems to address, including those of civic society issues and representation in governance.
Growing up in Egypt, I witnessed the harmony between the peoples of the two of faiths. Together we celebrated Eid al-Fitr, Easter and Christmas, and together we lived in the same buildings and went to the same schools. The late Pope Shenouda III used to say: “We do not live in Egypt, but Egypt lives within us.”
The current grand imam and sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, has signed on a new constitutional paper demanding unity and human rights for all Egyptians.