Faith, Not Dogma, in Egypt

People in the streets, Mubarak on the edge of collapse, Egypt's magnificent National Museum vandalized, looting rampant and no clear path to a better future -- that's Egypt today. And while it's easy to wax eloquent about the "democracy movement" coalescing in Egypt, it's not clear that what that movement will bring in its wake, should it be successful in ridding the nation of Hosni Mubarak, will necessarily be better than what Egypt has had for the past 30 years. And as one who ran afoul of Egypt's security apparatus, that's not a claim I make lightly.

Three years ago, I was stood up against a wall by a group of armed men in suits joined by a collection of black-clad police, photographed and threatened with arrest outside a Cairo synagogue. My crime, which was never actually explained, seemed to be that I had engaged in a conversation in Hebrew with an Israeli national inside that synagogue. It was a scary process which only resolved without me going into the back of a van because of the strenuous objections and deft negotiating skills of the Egyptians and Egyptian-Americans with whom I was travelling.

The point is that I am not naïve about the realities of Mubarak's police state. But neither am I naïve about the dangers of mob-ocracy on the one hand, or the possible political assent of an Islamist or Islamist-leaning government on the other. As one leader in the Muslim Brotherhood told me on that same trip, "Brad, wait till you see what we have planned!"
Yet despite the fact that Egypt's immediate future seems to be a choice between multiple bad options, religious leaders in multiple faith communities seem unable to do the spiritual thing and rise above the fray. Instead, many are simply using Egypt's crisis as a proof for that which they already believe.

Over the weekend, I was inundated by emails invoking God and scripture, all of which explained to me who the good guys were in the events unfolding in Egypt. I received teachings which compared Mubarak to Pharaoh and the street protestors to the Jewish people struggling to go free. I also received messages which reminded me of Mubarak's importance for Israel and the dangerous potential of Mohammed ElBaradei, a leading contender for Mubarak's position.

In each case, I knew what I would read as soon as I saw who had sent the message. In each case, sacred texts and wisdom were used to narrow intellectual horizons instead of to expand them.

In the midst of a highly fluid situation, one with enormously high stakes and no clear picture of what will actually emerge when the dust finally settles, many religious and community leaders are using faith not to rise above the fray and bring wisdom to a confused situation. They are using unfolding events to affirm already held opinions and consolidate existing constituencies, rather than using such events as opportunities to consider new possibilities and create new alliances, which is the core of a genuinely spiritual response to pretty much any situation.

I hope that Egypt comes out of its current crises better than it was before the crisis began. I hope that the country of almost 80 million citizens creates the kind of robust democracy which all people deserve. But I also acknowledge that democracy alone is not enough.
The free expression of the political will of the majority is not an end in and of itself. It is a vehicle toward an inclusive, rights-driven society which protects minorities, treasures transparency, assures freedom of expression, including religious expression, etc. There is no guarantee that that is the kind of democracy which Egypt's current democracy movement will create. That in no way excuses the abuses of Mubarak's government, or makes me wistful about the possibility of his remaining in power. It should however, make more cautious, anyone who treasures not only democracy, but the kind of liberal democracy from which we all benefit in the United States.

 

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Comments

[Blue Moon Junction]

09:21 PM on 02/01/2011

Mubarak was a moderate muslim, never called for Sharia law. A hard line muslim will be not be good for the middle east, or the world.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

06:07 PM on 02/01/2011

How about we hope for an Egypt that is best for the Egyptians without consideration for what's good for Israel or the US. We wouldn't let others dictate what we should do based on what's best for them. Neither should we expect the same to be allowed to us.

[Woody Stemms]

10:20 AM on 02/02/2011

Quite right.

Joe Six-pack is blind to American hypocrisy, but to the rest of the world, it's obvious.