Thanks to WaPo for this honest bit of reporting. The reports of the first week of protests suggested that Mubarak was a hated dictator that the vast majority of Egyptians wanted to go. This article puts the lie to that. T. Belman
In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak still has support, from rich and poor
By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, February 3, 2011; 12:00 AM
CAIRO – For eight days, pro-democracy demonstrators roared their belief that Egypt’s 80 million people were ready to oust President Hosni Mubarak and start anew with elections.
But the melee that unfolded Wednesday in the capital when Mubarak supporters stormed the opposition-occupied Tahrir Square suggests that there are many in Egypt who are deeply invested in the current system – and will fight to preserve it.
While protesters call Mubarak’s three-decade reign a disaster, a cross-section of Egyptians has much to lose when Mubarak leaves office.
Businessmen with rich government contracts, civil servants, security officers, ruling-party activists and poor Egyptians who fear the instability that has descended on their country in recent days – all have a stake in ensuring that whoever comes after Mubarak changes as little as possible.
The country may be rich with revolutionary fervor, but Wednesday’s events proved that the guardians of the existing order still wield tremendous clout.
“There have been problems during Mubarak’s time, but at least we’ve had stability,” said Maher Salman, a 37-year-old businessman who was among those on the streets Wednesday shouting his approval of the president. “If he goes, we will be like Iraq and Tunisia. We don’t want all the things we’ve gained over the past 30 years to be lost.”
As with most in the pro-Mubarak crowd on Wednesday, Salman’s affection for Mubarak appeared genuine. But there was also strong evidence that the counter-demonstration was orchestrated from above, suggesting that powerful interests here are digging in for battle.
With Mubarak promising to leave the stage but resisting protesters’ calls for an immediate exit, the current phase of the confrontation “becomes very dangerous,” said Alaa al Aswany, the Egyptian novelist who has long been a leading voice in the call for democracy here.
“The fall of the regime is not only going to be harmful to the president but also to all of the people linked to the president,” Aswany said.
Fears of the poor
It is not only the powerful who are spooked by the departure of the only president many Egyptians have ever known.
Already the instability has brought an economic shock likely to continue as the government’s backers and its opponents struggle for control. Shops have been closed, trading was halted on the stock exchange and factories are dark. Many poor Egyptians say they cannot afford the unrest, and they blame the protesters for sparking it.
“These people have made us go hungry. They’ve stopped our work,” said Ahmed Sayed, 45, an auto mechanic who held aloft a poster of Mubarak smiling benevolently in shirt and tie.
While rich and poor alike have joined the call for democracy, the movement has been led by the professional middle class – lawyers, doctors, university students and engineers. Many of the poor, who constitute the majority in Egypt, said they mistrust demonstrators’ motivations and are concerned that the movement has a hidden foreign agenda.
Sayed, dressed in worn jeans smeared with oil, said no decent Egyptian would insult the president as demonstrators have Mubarak.
“I don’t read or write myself, but I know that Mubarak went to university, and since then he’s done nothing but serve us,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to me that after all that, we’re just going to throw him away.”
The government has blamed pro-democracy demonstrators for the rioting and looting that have been a byproduct of the protests, and that view is repeated ceaselessly in the state-controlled media, although opposition leaders deny it.
Position of strength
While Mubarak has used fear to help maintain his grip on power, he has also proved to be a canny politician, one who knows how to dispense the favors and patronage that put people in his debt. He has kept Egypt out of war, managed crises and enacted modestly liberalizing reforms.
Taymour A. Hasseb, a consultant with the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram, said Mubarak does not get the credit he deserves for the good things he has brought to Egypt, including greater freedom of expression than exists in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Syria and Saudi Arabia.
“Egypt is better now than it was when he came to office,” Hasseb said.
And besides, the alternative is not pretty, he said. According to Hasseb – and to Al-Ahram – the Muslim Brotherhood would take hold here if Mubarak leaves. Pro-democracy demonstrators dismiss that view as a government diversion, but it is one that is widely believed.
Many of the president’s backers expressed confidence Wednesday that Mubarak may yet seek another term, no matter what he said Tuesday night.
“I’m not worried, because Mubarak is not going to go,” said Gamal Ali Ibrahim, 42. “There may be some wayward sons who dare to tell their father to leave his own home. But we are not wayward sons here in Egypt.”
Special correspondent Samuel Sockol contributed to this report
Stupidity always gets a glazed-eye reaction from me and you provide more than your fair share on this forum.
I can overlook arrogance is some people.
I can overlook stupidity in others.
But for some who exemplify the arrogance of stupidity there is only one logical response….! I don’t think it would get more than a glazed eye reaction If I explained it to you.
Why?
This assumption is made up out of whole cloth. You have no way to know this.
Pure, useless, non-productive, speculation.
Not true. Indonesia did it.
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4533263/will-egypt-follow-in-indonesias-footsteps/?playlist_id=87185
Just like I said – you and Hamas are on the same page.
If not for Begin, and others like him, you would probably be in the afterlife yourself.
For once you sound uncharacteristically humble?
Try Turkish 1971 coup or Iranian Mullah revolution.
My guess is Lebanon model with MB emulating Hezbollah.
Most of the demonstrators in Egypt were MB driven. Nobody else could bring out such a turnout. Iman last night called Mubarak an enemy of Islam and called every Muslim to turn out today and many did.
Mubarak is reported to have amassed some 70 billion bucks is not to be pitied the Swiss are now looking for legal means to freeze Mubarak’s family accounts in Swiss Banks. Good luck! 🙂
The Military will dissolve parliament, and the Mubarak government and appoint a council of elders or wise-men to select a committee to write a new constitution and appoint technocrats to run the government until a constitution and new elections can be instituted. All this will take a lot of time even if all goes smoothly which it probably won’t. Egypt is beginning from scratch institutionally. I don’t believe any any optimistic projections here. The last almost real democracy Egypt had was in 1941. Too many cross purposed groups to satisfy and a lot of outside spoilers like Iran. With current and future Global economic expectations in the negative I see only the wealthy (Includes the military)and the MB being strengthened.
Meantime the first priority has to be to try to salvage something of their economy. Daunting even for a modern industrial nation, for Egypt forget it. Those protesters who came out to demonstrate for economic reasons are likely to find the New Egypt will be even more economically challenged. Remember besides wanting to dump Mubarak there was no unity of message of vision of a future from the Egyptian mob. No visible leaders emerged either in the past 3 weeks.
It is believed the MB can generate 30% of the vote but because they are highly organized, their influence of 30% of the electorate will be greater than their actual numbers. The MB will determine who runs Egypt even if they do not run directly a candidate.
Bye Bye Mubarak and Hello New Middle East. I’ve been waiting since 1982 for this moment. I do take certain pleasure seeing stupid Jews squirm at the very thought of what they have wrought by deed and thought.
I hope Menachem Begin has not had a moments peace in his afterlife. If my worst case scenario materializes we, will have to prepare many thousands of fresh graves.
Watch Jordan next. Palis in Ramallah are celebrating en-mass.
Will Egypt follow in Indonesia’s footsteps:
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4533263/will-egypt-follow-in-indonesias-footsteps/?playlist_id=87185
Beck is on the air for four hours every week day. What we do know is that he is a steadfast supporter of Israel, and you are a steadfast supporter of Yamit and nothing else.
Caught last part of his show yesterday and his bullshit rendition of Alamo history. I support Louis (Moses) Rose!
The song, “Moses Rose of Texas”, which uses the tempo of the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas”, tells the popular story of Rose, saying in part
He’s Moses Rose of Texas,
and today nobody knows,
he’s the one who left the Alamo,
the night before the foe
came storming in up across the walls
and killed the men inside,
but Moses Rose of Texas
is the one who never died.
The 1952 film The Man from the Alamo, starring Glenn Ford, is loosely based on Rose’s story.
Beck referred to Moses as a Frenchman “and we all know what the French are!” (Sarc Chuckle).
No, you’re not stating any facts – only your opinion. You have no way to know the facts. Only time will tell.
If there are any Jews who still need to be woken up they must be from that 78% who voted for Obama, or from George Soros and his 400 Rabbis who attacked Israel-supporter, Glenn Beck..
You’re not going to like what I’m going to say – but it is the truth. The enormous influence seems to be going the wrong directions these days. I’m not interested in hearing about what group voted him in and I’m not pointing fingers. I’m stating a fact.
Also, I wouldn’t call my bringing out the facts for all to read pissing and moaning. In the end, what needs to happen will happen. I’m just trying to wake up as many Jews as possible to the reality of things. Understand?
No, you have no choice. So, what’s the point of pissing and moaning about what may not happen?
The key to Egypt’s future is the Egyptian military, and the US has enormous influence with them which it would not have had if it had not developed its working relationship with them over several decades.
Do I have any choice? Of course I’ll wait and see – now that Mubarak has stepped down it is inching forward. We’ll see what we end up with. No matter what though – I am STILL uncomfortable with all these countries that are surrounding us with advanced American weaponry and are all turning towards islamic extremism.
Yonatan, you don’t know anything for sure. Why don’t you wait and see what happens.
No, they’ll just field one that sympathizes with their cause, but is not actually part of them – {wink, wink} Tell me, do you actually believe any islamic group when they tell you something? Not much into following the bouncing ball, are you?
You asked for it:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/02/09/Muslim-Brotherhood-says-no-claims-to-power/UPI-88541297277849/
Quote:
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt announced Wednesday they wouldn’t field a candidate for presidential elections later this year.
Unquote.