Who is behind the fires of power or revolution? Did Egyptians overcome social division?

Doaa Abdel Latif - Cairo

“Live, freedom, and social justice.” This chant, for which the throats of the participants of the January 25, 2011 revolution united in harmony with the aspirations of any person, nevertheless, the societal divide over the protest act has been present since its inception, and has even increased with the escalation of political events. Egypt experienced with the military coup on July 3, 2013.

The political dispute was not confined to the framework of opinion and the other opinion. Rather, it extended to what might be called the battle for the survival of the sole opinion, which is what has gnawed in all corners of society, from the first nucleus which is the family, to all institutions and entities.

The battle for the survival of the sole opinion was embodied in many facts, to which the paws were struck, in surprise. Its heroes were members of the same family, street neighbors, or co-workers. In every incident, feelings of regret grow on the victim and whoever harms them, given the fate of the entire societal scene.

And nine years after the Egyptians left for the revolution, the societal division appears in the stage of stagnation, decline, or stiffness. Every team sees it from the perspective of its political orientation, while those who split see the public opinion trend, so that they may repeat the ball again.

Societal congestion

Since the outbreak of the January revolution, the Egyptians have gone through phased stages of societal congestion resulting from the prevalence of hate speech promoted by the authority, and reached its climax with the military coup and the subsequent massacres, the most famous of which was the massacre of the Ra`s al-Adawi and al-Nahda field sit-in in August 2013.

During this period, the Egyptian media reported news of citizens presenting reports accusing other citizens of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, or of opposing power in the absolute, and then the matter was transferred to youth revolutionary movements, and to the associations of soccer fans (Ultras).

The tone of reporting these news seemed to encourage citizens to inform each other, which was stated explicitly by broadcaster Ahmed Moussa, as he called on citizens to report their neighbors or co-workers if they were from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Among the most famous of these facts is the story of the student Khaled Abdel Hamid and his father, which seems confusing to the most pessimists about the disintegration of the societal fabric, as the political dispute between them reached the point where the father reported the police to his opposition son.

The boy managed to escape about ten months ago, but his father returned and informed the security when he learned of his son's whereabouts, and was indeed arrested in April 2015.

In a letter written by Khaled from inside the detention center bearing a seemingly legitimate question, “Why, Dad?”, The boy tries to find a logical reason that justifies his father’s action, saying, “I hope he asks himself: Is it right to throw my son in the hands of these unjust criminals? What did he do in this world To live chased during his youth and then complete it in prison? "

In the same spirit of intolerance, the mother of the activist, Ali Al-Zayat, informed her son of the police of his accusation of joining the April 6 Movement, where the lady - loaded with what she believed to be national feelings - went to the police station to accuse her son of participating in demonstrations against the regime.

It is strange that the police officer refused to edit the report, but it is strange that the woman insisted on her situation and went back to her house and summoned the police of the rescue, accusing her son of holding secret meetings with members of the April 6 Movement inside the house, and this time the security arrested the son of the political activist.

Split making

In a report on the state of societal division as a result of the revolutionary act, the "Rouya Center for Research and Studies" presented the division as an industry made for specific goals.

The report, titled "Societal Reconciliation in Egypt ... between the Factors of Divide and the Elements of Building", stated that from the first moment of the January revolution, disagreement occurred within society between supporters and opponents. Rather, it included the neutrals who were called the Kanabeh Party.

According to the report, the division in society increased after the military coup, as Egypt witnessed a very deep division, explaining that military rule does not simplify its legitimacy except by creating a state of extreme polarization during which it raises the banner of war on its opponents.

He added that societal division can be made industry through several tools, especially the media and religious scholars, in addition to art in its various forms, where songs were among the striking elements in this industry.

Temporary division

The director of the Egyptian Center for Media and Public Opinion Studies, Mostafa Khoudary, considered that the societal division that occurred in conjunction with the military coup is natural and resulted from the differing ideas and orientations of Egyptians.

Khudari added to Al-Jazeera Net that this division was a temporary one, which was made using tools to redirect public opinion, and as soon as the effects of those tools dimmed, societal awareness began to emerge again.

The researcher differentiated in the field of public opinion between the political division and the motor divide. The first ended almost because of what he called the regime's recklessness and its inability to contain many currents, in addition to its failure in many fateful files such as the economy and the Nile and gas waters.

He pointed out that the dynamic division still exists because of the lack of trust between the various political currents, and the failure of the sovereign wings opposing the regime of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to provide sufficient guarantees to form a critical mass capable of removing him from the government.

State threat

In his book entitled "The Crisis of the Arab Mind ... Treason and atonement", Waheed Abdel Majeed, Vice President of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, deals with the dangers of societal division, stressing that there is no state without a society that knows at least the minimum of civil peace, and if it becomes Peace is threatened, and the whole country is in great danger.

The researcher stated in his book, issued in January 2017, that it was not at any time that the hate speech reached such a degree that the father surrendered his son to the authority for fear of punishment or greed for reward, or that the matter came to the husband pitting his wife for belonging to the Brotherhood.

He believed that the responsibility of this painful phenomenon is divided between power and political forces, the media and society, adding, "Although the media appears at first glance to be the first culprit, it is a victim because it loses itself in the midst of its indulgence in spreading hate speech, where its performance weakens and the level of workers in it, and it may be exposed to Occupational collapse if this indulgence continues for a long time.