- Democracy
- May 28, 2011
- 2 minutes read
Egyptians Need to Understand Liberty
According to Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center since Mubarak’s ouster in February, Egypt’s liberals are having a lot of trouble with the transition.
Referring to the call for a second revolution Hamid explained that there were so many demands, so many slogans and signs; it was difficult to keep track as thousands of protesters filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday.
Demands included the trying of former President Hosni Mubarak and his cronies, the ending to military tribunals, replacing the military government with civilian leaders, reforming the constitution and delaying the September elections.
Friday’s stand according to analysts and observers indicated that Egypt’s progressives have failed to organize themselves post-revolution into a unified political force similar to the Muslim Brotherhood.
“The Egyptians” Hamid said “are good at protests but not good at organizing their demands simply because there’s no game plan and they do not know what it means to be liberal”. He stressed that unity is about more than demands adding they have no chance in the coming elections by the MB.
The MB has explained that there is no need for a second revolution as the first one is still underway and patience is required. Furthermore it highlighted that a second revolution may very well ‘drive a wedge’ between the army and the people.
Hamid maintained that it was necessary for liberals to form their own coalitions, with religious groups, and let go of being so secular. He said "They need to learn to speak the language of religion, the way liberal leaders in Turkey have”.