Pastor Ashraf, an Evangelical pastor from Maadi, is fearful of what he believes to be Islamist militias. He believes the country is flooded with weapons from Libya and that many of these weapons have found their way to Islamists. When I pressed Ashraf he could not provide any evidence except to refer to various media reports.

 

Pastor Ashraf is not alone. Many Egyptians are anxious about the threat of violence, particularly with the June 28 and June 30 demonstrations between the Muslim Brotherhood (June 28) and the Tamarod movement approaching. The Tamarod movement will use the first anniversary of Muhammad Morsi’s (Muhammad Mursī) inauguration on June 30 to demonstrate for his ouster. Just as Hosni Mubarak (Husnī Mubārak) was overthrown by demonstrations, they believe Morsi, too, will succumb to the same fate.

 

But Mubarak and Morsi are not similar. Mubarak never gave Egyptians fair elections. Morsi, however, was the first elected president of Egypt. True, he just narrowly edged out his opponent Ahmed Shafiq (Ahmad Shafīq) over one year ago, but Morsi made it. It is equally true that a growing number of Egyptians are deeply disappointed by the fruits of his presidency. But should demonstrators decide who is elected and who should resign? This is only up to the electorate. Three years from now, Egyptians can go to the polls to elect a new president. Meanwhile, I hope that Egypt will soon have a new elected parliament. This influential democratic institution has not been functioning since it was dissolved one year ago.

 

I can only hope that the demonstrations on June 28 and 30 will not result in bloodshed. I also hope they will not last for days as happened in the days before Mubarak was ousted. Changing should not come through demonstrations, but through elections.

 

The fear for violence is not unjustified. Asyuti journalist, Mamdūh Sarūr, working with the independent Egyptian daily al-Misri al-Yawm, has made efforts to build relations with Islamists in his city. He confirms the existence of organized, trained groups of young men connected to the Islamist movements, especially al-Jama'ah al-Islāmiyyah. In the opposition media these are often labeled ‘militias,’ of which Islamists consistently deny the existence. Al-Jama'ah al-Islāmiyyah prefers to call them ‘popular committees,’ using the terminology applied to each neighborhood in Egypt when they self-organized after the police vanished from the streets on January 28, 2011, during the Revolution. For reading more click here.

 

Cornelis Hulsman