If you have something to say...
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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Developing a culture of pluralism requires the newly elected leaders of these societies to grapple with diversity in all forms. It is a social contract that both governments and citizens in a society need to be committed to and willing live by. These movements clearly have a long way to go.Â
As people's dislike for both Shafiq and Morsy deepens, and with Sabbahi's popularity continuing to soar, many are praying for a miracle. Yet there is not good outcome. Instead, it is between bad and worse.
Many Egyptians may feel confused about what the presidential election means for them and for their country. But there is a time when every revolution reaches the critical pivot point when it should transition from dismantling the past to building a better future. This is that time.
All of these candidates express support for Egypt's international commitments, such as the peace treaty with Israel, although Aboul Fotouh has said that he would put the treaty before a public referendum, and Sabahi has suggested the same.
Is misogyny prevalent and gaining traction in the Muslim world and why did most women vote for Islamists in Middle East elections?
The emerging democratic model that Egyptians will produce will most likely become a model for an Arab world longing for an end to autocratic rule that has left Arabs lagging behind the rest of the world.
Egyptians will go to the polls tomorrow to vote in their first-ever competitive presidential election. Whoever wins will have legitimacy in a contest in which tens of millions of voters will choose from a broad range of candidates.
Tens of millions of Egyptians will head to the polls Wednesday to vote for the candidate they hope will move the country from a state of transition to one that is stable and ruled by a civilian government.
It's hard to mask the fact that so much of this campaign was less about Egypt's future economic challenges, and far more about the role of religious and political Islam coursing through Egypt's body politic.
The movement that has swept most states in the region was initially built on social ideals that the political Islamists don't necessarily subscribe to, but joined under the understanding that "the end justifies the means."
As big as the question of who the winner will be, is what the job of the presidency will be like in the short and long term. This new situation in Egypt is an uncertain balancing act between competing forces. We've never been here before.
Egypt has gone through great changes in a short period of time. It shocked the world when the protests, known here as the 25 January Revolution, overthrew the Mubarak regime. Now Egyptians and foreigners alike are eagerly anticipating the next steps.
It remains to be seen how the Salafis will present themselves to the Western world. Will they portray their movement as a replacement for violent groups, as an alternative to al-Qaeda, or as the embodiment of conservative Islam?
Logical analysis spells out democratic elections in Syria, not too far from now. Syrians are certain that once the violence stops, Syria will march toward a real democracy, just like Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Egypt.
It has now been a year since the post-uprising period of the revolution began and the revolutionaries must take a good look at themselves. They do have an incredible amount to give to Egypt, but there are some lessons that must be learnt once and for all.
In the Arab region, there are fears over the future of democracy, faced with religious, ideological and autocratic conflicts, especially in the absence of a constitution -- or rather attempts to hijack its drafting process.
