CRITICAL CONCERNS FROM EAST TO WEST
and powerless citizen seeking shelter in the cemeteries of the rich in Cairo rather than a state which continues to glorify the pompous and arrogant elite who aggrandize power and wealth for their own ego. But those who ride the wave of the people’s hopes and aspirations should also ensure that they do not exercise power and authority in a manner that subverts the trust of the masses. The Ikhwan was in a sense guilty of this. Granted that it faced formidable obstacles in the short time that it was in power. Nonetheless, because of its attachment to dogma — a commitment to projecting its own version of Islam — it was often diverted from focusing upon the fundamental challenges faced by the people such as the lack of basic amenities, a poor delivery system, street-level corruption and a severe paucity of jobs especially for the young. Not only did this erode its popular base; it alienated the Ikhwan from a significant segment of the middle-class. It also led to the reinforcement of an approach to Islam that emphasized form at the expense of substance. Given the Ikhwan’s orientation and what the military represents, shouldn’t the Egyptian people go beyond both these forces to secure their future? -14 April 2014.
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