The Mubarak trial might be symbolic, but what a symbol!
The sight of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, his two sons, and other members of his regime in white prison fatigues, behind bars, in a cage in Cairo is the most significant event in the Arab Spring since his ouster six months ago. It's a much-needed boost for the beleagured youth movements across the region, and a chilling reminder to other strongmen across the Muslim world (including Iran) that history is being remade before their eyes.
The trial couldn't come at a more important time. Egyptians have grown increasingly frustrated with the pace of reform; President Assad is stepping up his massacre of protestors in Syria; Libya and Yemen are increasingly chaotic. Plus, all this is happening against the religious backdrop of the holiest month of the Muslim year, Ramadan, giving it a powerful, spiritual dimension.
So what is the significance of the Mubarak trial? Here are five lessons.
1. Visuals matter. Until Mubarak was actually rolled into court this morning on a gurney, his voice weak, his hair still dyed, (once even picking his nose), most people in Egypt doubted he would even show up. Twitter feeds breathlessly documented every step of his journey from a Sinai hospital to the cage in Cairo. Even his sons stood directly between him and the television cameras (and later swiped at still photographers), like henchmen protecting a Hollywood starlet from paparazzi. The reason: Pictures matter. And this picture sends a very clear message that nobody is above humiliation.
2. The Arab Spring is still alive. The conventional wisdom in Egypt of late has been that the youth protestors of Generation Freedom have been marginalized, and the real battle for power is between the armed forces and well-organized, if fractious Islamic groups. But the fact that this trial is being held at all -- and televised -- is testament to the continuing influence of youth protestors, who held several rallies this summer to demand accountability for the over 800 people during the revolution. The youth movement may be lacking in organized political clout, but it can still drive events.
3. Revolutions matter. The real significance of the Arab Spring lies in the coming of age of a new generation of Muslim youth, who represent 60 percent of the Arab world and a total of 1 billion people across the globe. One in seven human beings alive today is a Muslim under 30. For the last three decades, the only narrative of change these better-educated, economically frustrated young people have been offered is that of the extremists. The uprisings in up to 20 Muslim countries have given them a new narrative, and they've proven this generation will no longer passively accept the backward status their parents did. While political progress has been slow, the trial of Mubarak is a potent reminder that revolutions do have consequences.
4. Bin Ladenism is fading. With the anniversary of 9-11 now just days away, and with the death of Osama bin Laden still fresh in everyone's mind, the trial is another benchmark in the fading appeal of Islamic jihadism. What did al Qaeda want, after all, than the toppling of Middle East dictators. They couldn't pull it off, but the protestors did. In every Muslim country where polling is available, al Qaeda has been losing support precipitously in recent years. Even before his death, confidence in Osama bin Laden fell 42 percentage points in Jordan between 2003 and 2010, 34 points in Indonesia, and 28 points in Pakistan. In Turkey his approval rating went from 15 to 3; in Lebanon from 19 to zero. Hitler would poll higher. And now bin Laden is at the bottom of the sea.
5. Religion still shapes events in the Muslim world. The headlines this morning in Egypt read, "The pharaoh in the cage of the accused." Ramadan started this week, meaning even most moderate Muslims will gather with their families, fast during the day, and feast at night. The sacred is in the air. The symbolic significance of the former ruling family, widely pilloried as having "pharaonic powers," stripped of their hand-made suits and pricey jewelry, dressed in similar humble white clothing worshipers will wear on pilgrimages to Mecca later this month, will be lost on no one in the Muslim world. As Moses says to Pharaoh in the Koran, "You are not a god." Today, more than ever, that lesson echoes in the Arab world.
Bruce Feiler's latest book, Generation Freedom: The Middle East Uprisings and the Remaking of the Modern World, has just been published. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/brucefeiler.
Follow Bruce Feiler on Twitter: www.twitter.com/brucefeiler
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The most important event in Egypt will be what happens over the long haul: Will the moderates end up running the show, or will it be the Muslim Brotherhood?
Meanwhile, you can pop open a cold one, make some popcorn, and enjoy the show. How much fun is it to watch an old dictator on a gurney, in a cage?
I wonder if he's catheterized, so as not to interrupt the proceedings every time he needs to pee.
The Reagan Administration was largely responsible for continuing and even exacerbating the U.S. precedent of supporting puppet dictators in certain foreign countries to serve American strategic and economic interests.
"Perhaps the most notable and infamous examples of that were Juan Batista in Cuba from 1933 to1958, Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines from 1965 to1986, the Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, Lon Nol in Cambodia from 1970 to 1975, Somoza in Nicaragua from 1967 to 1979, Mobutu in The Congo or Zaire from 1965 to 1997, Idi Amin in Uganda from 1971 to 1979, Suharto in Indonesia from 1967 to 1998, and Manuel Noriega in Panama from 1983 to1989. And those are just a few of the most well known and infamous dictators supported by the U.S. Government." Quoted from http://messenger2.cjcmp.org/imperialism.html
Now it's time for America to reevaluate its "foreign policy," and admit what it is, who who its really for.
==Exactly! Its not Christian, (hope the writer sees this)
and it's nothing but a show trial with a predetermined outcome.
The giddy French Revolution rejoicing ill becomes the writer.
He knows Mubarak will hang, for supporting our country's national
interests and stability in the region, and our most reliable Middle Eastern
Ally for many years. Worse the power vacuum created will be filled
by a less friendly face to America.
It will be many decades before another Middle Eastern ruler will
trust any American President-knowing that a four year American
election cycle can mean a 180 degree reversal of support
and what American President tells you is good for at a maximum 4 years.
And when they pressure that ruler to step down voluntarily, it may cost
them their life I don't see the happy outcome all the Jimmy Carter
wannabees are predicting.