The Revolutionary Camps in Egypt

By: Alaa Bayoumi

Many inside Egypt and around the world find it easy to divide Egyptians today into two camps; those who are pro the revolution and those who are against it. But, the more challenging and divisive fault lines are those within the revolutionary camp itself.

For years, it was not difficult to unite Egyptians against the Mubarak elite. Actually, the political movement that ousted Mubarak last February finds its roots in older groups and movements, such as the Human rights organizations and movement and the Islamist groups, which have been challenging  the Mubarak regime for decades.

These groups and many others fought the Mubarak regime at many fronts and paved the way for the new youth groups and the successful uprising.

But, they often failed to unite or to offer a comprehensive roadmap for change in the country. After all, they did not expect the regime to fall and they worked under huge political pressures and difficult circumstances.

This is partly why the ongoing revolution is a headless one an many say. It is a large body of opposition groups that are anti-Mubarak and his loyalists in the military, business, economic, and cultural spheres.

These groups are not only divided by political ideology, but they are also divided by religious, social and economic classes, and age.

Ideologically, Egypt has liberal, leftist, Islamist and centrist groups. Religiously, the country has a large Muslim majority  and a 10 percent strong Christian Coptic minority. The two sides have been growing increasingly religious since the 1960s and find it difficult to work with each other. Economically, the gap between the rich and the poor has never been wider. And, the youth led revolution has clearly exposed a generational divide throughout the country and its various institutions.

The  opposition is also divided between organized groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the older political parties, like the liberal Al-Wafd and the leftist Al- Tajamou and the newly more loose youth coalitions, such as April 6^th and the many youth revolutionary councils established since the revolution.

Last events have also exposed another division between two visions for the future of Egypt, an idealistic full change now camp versus a realistic gradual change group.

Both groups are equally patriotic and revolutionary. They both want a full rapture with the Mubarak regime and a new System loyal to the people as soon as possible. They both have deep roots inside the Egyptian collective national identity and psyche and can appeal to many Egyptians at Tahrir Square and around the country.

The idealists want full change now led by youth and new leaders who can speak to the country and the alienated masses. They want leaders who can rise above narrow political ideologies and interests. They  are presented by the youth in Tahrir and by the alienated activists throughout Egypt who want to contribute to the political process and can contribute by they distrust all political groups.

A poll published last June by the Information and Decision Support Center affiliated with the Egyptian cabinet found out that 82 percent of Egyptian adults follow political news. But, it found out that only 12 percent have participated in political rallies, 6 percent have attended political seminars, 2 percent have joined a political movement, and only 1 percent who are members of an existing political party.  

This low participation levels are the result of the Mubarak years during which political participation was discouraged and penalized. They also show a high level of political alienation and disenchantment.

On the other hand, the realistic camp in Egypt find its roots in the country’s religiously and politically conservative culture. Egypt is also under severe economic pressures crushing the aspirations of the middle and lower classes. Surveys conducted since the revolution show that the number one priority of Egyptians are improving economy and returning security to the streets.

The realists are not only represented by the Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, who refused to call on its members to join that last Tahrir protests despite increasing internal and external political pressures . Many patriotic Egyptians around the country could be part of such camp.

They basically want a gradual and tidy solution for their problems. Years and hardships taught them to be patient and accommodating. They think free and fair elections are the first step to get out of a mess that they did not create.

A serious challenge for democracy in Egypt today is to how accommodate the two camps. Political extremism or opportunism could push some to play the two camps against each other. Opportunists will  try to portray one camp as more patriotic and revolutionary and to portrays the other as defeatists and selfish.  But, this will only hurt the two sides and will further alienate the country’s silent majority and weakens the fragile political consensus.

What Egypt needs today is political leadership that can speak to the various camps of the Egyptian revolutionaries, unite them, and keep moving forward without falling into anarchy or pessimism.  Egypt needs a leadership that can recognize the diversity within the revolutionary camp, respect it, and challenge into a positive direction.