Stig Östlund

fredag, januari 28, 2011

Egyptian unrest not Islamist, expert says

The situation in Egypt is, as they say, fluid, with rioting in Cairo, protestors clashing with police, vehicles set afire and a prominent Egyptian who returned home to foster democracy placed under house arrest. The president, Hosni Mubarak, has not been seen nor heard from in days. His wife has, by some reports, fled the country. The world is watching and no one can predict what may happen next.


But a scholar of Middle East politics and history has pointed out a key element in the general upheaval.

"I have been watching and paying attention to the situation in Egypt for four days now, and I have not seen one radical Islamist slogan," said Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. "I have not even seen any bearded guys."
Khalidi said that the agitation in Egypt is not based in radical Islam, but in a widespread desire for political and economic reform.

"The people do not want a monarchical system. They do not want Mubarak appointing his son as his successor," Khalidi said. "They are demanding a greater degree of social justice. They are demanding constitutionalism."
The Egyptian people see the corruption and the cronyism of the Mubarak regime and they want it to stop, Khalidi said.



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