Saturday, July 27, 2013

Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, "Egypt’s Missed Opportunity": If Pigs Could Fly

The Muslim world is ablaze:







Commenting on the chaos in Egypt, Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, writes in a guest New York Times op-ed entitled "Egypt’s Missed Opportunity" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/opinion/sunday/egypts-missed-opportunity.html?_r=0),:

"Things might have been different if reformists within the Brotherhood had set the group’s agenda after Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Hosni Mubarak, fell in 2011. Unlike the group’s hard-liners, the reformists had embraced more progressive interpretations of Islam that emphasize ideas of pluralism, tolerance and human rights. They had also come to view secular groups more as potential partners than as rivals. Yet over the past decade, the reformists were increasingly marginalized within the Brotherhood’s ranks. Some left by choice; others were expelled."

In other words, there are no "reformists" in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Or stated otherwise, if pigs could fly . . .

Meanwhile, I guess Egypt must continue to contend with dwindling foreign reserves, soaring unemployment, a devastated tourist industry, chaos caused by Islamic militants in Sinai, a weakening currency, poverty, illiteracy, discrimination against women (90 percent of whom have had their genitals mutilated), oppression of its Christian Coptic minority, and a population that is growing far beyond the country's means.

Good luck to all.

1 comment:

  1. Pigs can't fly. Period. But birds can fly and have various experiences. One such bird was released by our fearless Turkish leader after this bird had been arrested, accused of spying, interrogated, tortured, and x-rayed.
    Bird, James Bird, is now free and ready for a sequel.

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