TA3BEER

The protests sweeping Arab nations since January have provoked several of comparisons to the Iranian revolution of 1979 particularly regarding Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood. Although the Egyptian revolution was essentially secular and exhibited an effective effort to distance the protests from the Brotherhood and any violent protesting, there is still talk amongst Arab historians and scholars that the 1979 revolution should not be overlooked when talking about post-Mubarak Egypt. Can the Muslim Brotherhood be compared to Ayatollah Khomeini and in this regard, should Egyptians be cautious when moving forward?

Although there are several differences in the two revolutions including Egypt’s lack of a charismatic Khomeini, there are some interesting parallels. Recently, prominent Iranian author Roya Hakakian has compared the two voicing her concerns about the democratic-building process in Egypt. Her February article in TIME magazine describes some of these issues including the fact that not all Iranian protesters were religiously motivated. Most interesting is her argument that throwing over the regime is the easy part compared with building a reformed and just government on the heels of a passionate and euphoric victory.

Since Mubarak’s upheaval, the Egyptian citizens have exhibited that they intend to vocalize demands throughout the transition process. After three days of protests in Tahrir Square, the Egyptian military, the interim government until September elections, has announced that it will remove remaining members of the Mubarak regime including several provincial governors. Yet, there has been little talk on who will run for election in September, and several sources have reported negotiations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian military. According to Al Jazeera, the Brotherhood called the recent Tahrir Square protesters “zealots” and condemned protesters for not supporting the military.

The fact that the Muslim Brotherhood seems to the be most prominent and most organized opposing political movement credits the parallels Hakakian draws between 1979 Iran and 2011 Egypt. An interesting difference, however, is that the Brotherhood made no statement supporting the revolution and Mubarak’s exit. Khomeini and his supporters obviously wanted the Shah out. So how will the Brotherhood proceed if they weren’t supporters of the revolution in the first place? And is there enough time before September for opposing political leaders and parties to emerge? Although the Brotherhood claims they support democratic political reform, Dr. Abbas Milani, director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University, recently made interesting statements on NPR’s Morning Edition that he believes the Brotherhood has every intention of enforcing Sharia law if elected similar to the intentions of Khomeini despite his claims of human rights and gender equality.

As evident in the efficiency of media savvy of the organized January 25 protesters, Egyptian citizens appear to understand the gravity of the challenges ahead because as Hakakian said, the easy part is over.

By Cassady Sharp