Egypt: What, exactly, is going on?

Since early 2011, Egypt has been rife with political conflict and turmoil. After Hosni Mubarak resigned more than two years ago, the country seemed to be on a path to democracy. Mohamed Morsi ran for president and was elected, signaling a supposed bright future for the country. However, the country was not yet done with its revolution: only five months into Morsi’s term, protests against his administration commenced. Seven months later, the military successfully ousted the country’s first democratically-elected leader, setting the country on a road to a second shot at democracy.

Background

Mohamed Morsi served in the Egyptian Parliament from 2000 until 2005 as a member of the Independent Party. Though he belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, the group was banned from running candidates in any elections under Mubarak. Mubarak’s hatred for and Morsi’s membership in the Brotherhood made Morsi all the more desirable as a presidential candidate after years of oppression by an undemocratically-chosen leader. Morsi had even been a political prisoner under Mubarak from January 28 to 30 of 2011.

After Mubarak’s resignation, Morsi and fellow Muslim Brotherhood leaders founded the Freedom and Justice Party as the Islamist group’s official political branch. Morsi, the FJP’s president, soon decided to run for president of Egypt in the country’s first truly democratic election. After winning the highest percentage of votes—24.78 percent—in the first round of the election, Mohamed Morsi beat Independent candidate Ahmed Shafik with 51.73 percent of the vote.

Morsi’s Mistake

On November 22, 2012, only five months after the beginning of his presidency, Morsi issued a declaration which effectively immunized his own actions from any legal challenge. The constitutional declaration was purported to protect the Constituent Assembly, which was drafting the country’s new constitution, from judicial interference.

Egypt’s Reaction

Demonstrations against (and some supporting) Morsi began the same day the constitutional declaration was issued, and continued for more than seven months. The people felt that, despite the fact that Morsi was the country’s first democratically-elected President, he had exceeded his rightful powers. Mohamed ElBaradei, current interim Vice President of Egypt, said on Twitter, “Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh,” according to the Washington Post.

The protests reached their four-day peak from June 30, the one-year anniversary of Morsi’s term, to July 3, when the military removed Morsi from office due to widespread opposition among the Egyptian people.

Is It a Coup?
The military revolution has been frequently called a coup by Morsi’s supporters, who insist that Morsi’s administration was democratic and that he should be reinstated as the country’s rightful leader. Though the terminology may seem irrelevant, when it comes to the U.S.’s relationship with Egypt, whether the country experienced a military coup or a military revolution is critical.

A U.S. law states that almost all aid must be discontinued to “any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d’etat or decree” or a government overthrown by “a coup d’etat or decree in which the military plays a decisive role,” the BBC reports.

The U.S. government has consistently deferred naming the Egyptian revolution a military coup.

“This is obviously an extremely complex and difficult situation," said Secretary of State John Kerry. “The fact is we need to take the time necessary because of the complexity of the situation to evaluate what has taken place.”

America and Egypt

America has been a target of Egyptian’s anger on both the pro- and anti-Morsi sides of the conflict. Morsi’s opponents are largely angry at Obama’s administration for its close relationship with Morsi’s government throughout his year-long presidency and see the U.S. President as a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.

However, the very Muslim Brotherhood which anti-Morsi protesters accuse Obama of supporting currently has hard feelings for the President for not declaring Morsi’s ousting a military coup. The U.S. also sent four F-16 fighter jets to the Egyptian military, showing a sign of financial support for the anti-Morsi and anti-MB revolution.

Despite this clear show of support for the military and anti-Morsi movement, the Tamarod movement, which led the rebellion against Morsi, declined an invitation to a roundtable discussion with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and U.S. ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson. The Salafist Nour Party, which has leaned slightly toward the anti-Morsi side, also declined an offer.

The U.S.’s indecision on whether to name the recent Egyptian revolution a coup has angered rather than appeased both sides of the political and religious conflict. The tense relations put even more pressure on Obama and Kerry to make the right decision in respect to Egypt and America.

Recent Protests

Following Morsi’s removal, his supporters quickly gathered in the streets and clashed with the military in deadly fights. Thirty-six demonstrators were killed by military fire on Friday, July 5; the following Monday, 51 were killed.

Though the violence has since lessened, Morsi’s supporters, many of whom belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, have pledged to remain in the streets until Morsi is reinstated as President of Egypt.

Interim Government

The day after Morsi was ousted as President, independent Adli Mansour, the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was chosen as the acting President of Egypt. Other high-level appointment include economist Hazem Al Beblawi as prime minister, Mohamed ElBaradei (below with European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton) as vice president, and Gen. Abdel Fatah Al-Sissi as defense minister and deputy prime minister. Notably, ElBaradei is a significant reformist figure who led the rebellion against former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who resigned in 2011.

On July 16, Mansour swore in more than 30 cabinet members, which included three women and no Islamists. Multiple important positions went to liberals.

A spokesman for Mansour had said earlier that positions would be offered to members of the Muslim Brotherhood, but the group declined, saying that they would not participate in the military-backed transitional political process.

The interim government will amend the constitution within four months, according to Xinhua, and parliamentary elections will occur within the following two months.

Social Media

Sites like Twitter have enabled Egypt—as well as other currently tumultuous countries, such as Turkey and Brazil—to share its situation with the world. The physical distance that separates Egypt from countries like the U.S. has ceased to become a factor; it has become all the more difficult to ignore the once seemingly unimportant conflicts in faraway places.

The struggle for democracy has become a global effort fought through Twitter and Facebook as well as in the demonstrations and clashes in the streets. Americans, Britons, Frenchmen—the list goes on—have become as empowered as any Egyptian to spread awareness of what is happening Cairo. This widespread availability of information in any powerful first-world country puts an immeasurable pressure on any opposable government and pushes the world slightly closer to democracy everyday.

Images: Flickr, WikiCommons, Twitter, Twitter