Post-revolution concerns

Fatwas have been issued to prohibit voting for someone who does not adopt Islamic Shariaa as the source of the constitution.

Some Salafi parties have reluctantly accepted female candidates on their election lists, in line with the religious phrase that reads “a tolerated evil”.

Female election candidates are using images of their husbands instead of themselves to promote their campaigns.

The detention of renowned Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd el-Fattah continues; as his mother starts a hanger strike.

The young female Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy has posted nude images of herself online, in a clear challenge to the rising tide of religious influence in Egypt.

Without a doubt, my sample of news coming from Egypt is selective to an extent, but this is not difficult to justify. This news demonstrates the extent of the challenge which Egypt, as well as other societies that have experienced or are experiencing revolutions, must face with regards to the results of these events. It is a challenge that will determine whether these revolutions will fall into the clutches of the Islamists and the grip of the military once again, or whether the civil secular currents will be successful in establishing a pivotal foothold, having been at the forefront of protests against the regime.

The media in reality is none other than a reflection of such a challenge.

Numerous analysts are absolutely certain that the Islamists will lead the post-revolution era in Egypt. Even if this is correct, it is a reality drawn from the influence which these currents gained over the past decades, owing to the support they received from the ruling authority and the army. Even during the era of clashes between the state and Jihadist currents, the ruling authorities, having failed in the past to ensure a dignified and free standard of living for the Egyptians, turned a blind eye to the popular religious trend and contributed to its spread, in order to solely monopolize politics. This is how the practices of deep-rooted ignorance prevailed.

Today, some Islamists argue that the media in Egypt is often dominated by secularists and liberals, and that the Islamists are struggling to make their voice heard. Here I must ask: has the Islamic media – whether satellite channels, public speakers, online forums and newspapers, together with its culture of censorship against literary and artistic production, witnessed as great a boom as it did before the revolution? Today, any current, whether Islamic, liberalist or secularist is entitled to have a place for itself. It is not a coincidence that the Egyptian bloggers who made historical achievements before the revolution have crowned their activities with the wonderful January 25th uprising. This was a mechanism of expression of their own creating, with which they galvanised everyone.

Today, an Egyptian blogger, described as one of the youths who inspired Egyptians with the January revolutionary spirit, is now in custody. Wa’el Abdul-Fatt’ah is being detained in the same prison where another young blogger, Khaled Saeed, who is regarded as an icon, was killed. This is happening whilst other journalists and bloggers, who have consistently criticized the army’s authority and its persistence with excessive security practices against the media and activists, are threatened with imprisonment.

These people do not only encounter the abuse of the military, but they are also facing fierce public campaigns. One of the comments written against Wae’l Abdul-Fattah on Facebook says that he is a “communist and the son of a communist.”

The revolutions and the courage they display when confronting tyranny, whether military or religious, will be the first test which will be followed by many others.

Isn’t this challenge ultimately the measure of success?