Signs of Islamist fascism in Egypt?
All totalitarian regimes use similar tactics of oppression: brutal use of force by the security apparatus, encroachment on civil freedoms, clampdown on the press and media, use of propaganda and lies to influence public opinion etc.. what we are witnessing in Egypt today is a kind of totalitarian rule far worse than military authoritarianism or dictatorship. It is in essence a kind of Islamist fascism... It is fascist in three respects, first the mobilization of the masses in favour of the ruler, second the strong ideological underpinnings of the political project, and third, the language of “cleansing” the undesirables.
The West’s response to the increasing violations of human rights is akin to their earlier responses to Mubarak’s authoritarian regime: issuance of mild statements expressing “concern over the situation”.
The distinctive character of fascist regimes is that the power configurations are such that it is a case of the ruler and the people against the others, not the authorities vs the people dichotomy characteristic of other authoritarian regimes. In fascist regimes, people are mobilized to go out to demonstrate in favour of the ruler, and against those who protest against him. We are witnessing the same kind of absolutist power manifesting itself in Egypt, through the same use of state and non-state actors to annihilate the opposition, exalt the leader. In Egypt, we have President Morsi and his Freedom and Justice party exercising control through the formal organs of the state, and the Muslim Brotherhood movement and their militia groups claiming the streets as theirs, and in the name of the people.
The attack on peaceful protestors gathered in front of the presidential palace in El Etahadiyya square on the 5th of December is the most recent of a long stream of Muslim Brotherhood assaults on citizens protesting against Morsi’s government. Men and women (in some cases accompanied by children) had gathered in El Ettahadiya palace on Tuesday 4th, to protest the President’s latest constitutional edict and his decision to press ahead with a constitutional referendum despite the opposition’s insistence that the process of drawing the constitution was exclusionary and a constitution should be drawn through consensual politics not the will of the majority. Standing in front of the palace in their hundreds of thousands, anti-Morsi protestors expressed their voice in a peaceful and non-violent way – until they were attacked.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood went down to the palace to “defend” their president from attack. This time there was no talk of a hidden actor, they bluntly admitted that they sent the “people” down (Mohamed Saeed media person speaking to Annahar television channel at 00:53 am 6th December). In view of the fact that the President has the entire security apparatus and the military to protect him and that the civilians were protesting peacefully, the only motivation behind the physical assault on the protestors was to intimidate, annihilate and basically cleanse the scene of any opposition. The intensity and scope of violence used can only be partially captured by watching the media coverage. These are instances caught on camera where security forces and Muslim Brotherhood members are actively attacking the protestors, the former through tear gas and the latter through beatings and other forms of physical violence.
The West’s response to the increasing violations of human rights is akin to their earlier responses to Mubarak’s authoritarian regime: issuance of mild statements expressing “concern over the situation”.
The distinctive character of fascist regimes is that the power configurations are such that it is a case of the ruler and the people against the others, not the authorities vs the people dichotomy characteristic of other authoritarian regimes. In fascist regimes, people are mobilized to go out to demonstrate in favour of the ruler, and against those who protest against him. We are witnessing the same kind of absolutist power manifesting itself in Egypt, through the same use of state and non-state actors to annihilate the opposition, exalt the leader. In Egypt, we have President Morsi and his Freedom and Justice party exercising control through the formal organs of the state, and the Muslim Brotherhood movement and their militia groups claiming the streets as theirs, and in the name of the people.
The attack on peaceful protestors gathered in front of the presidential palace in El Etahadiyya square on the 5th of December is the most recent of a long stream of Muslim Brotherhood assaults on citizens protesting against Morsi’s government. Men and women (in some cases accompanied by children) had gathered in El Ettahadiya palace on Tuesday 4th, to protest the President’s latest constitutional edict and his decision to press ahead with a constitutional referendum despite the opposition’s insistence that the process of drawing the constitution was exclusionary and a constitution should be drawn through consensual politics not the will of the majority. Standing in front of the palace in their hundreds of thousands, anti-Morsi protestors expressed their voice in a peaceful and non-violent way – until they were attacked.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood went down to the palace to “defend” their president from attack. This time there was no talk of a hidden actor, they bluntly admitted that they sent the “people” down (Mohamed Saeed media person speaking to Annahar television channel at 00:53 am 6th December). In view of the fact that the President has the entire security apparatus and the military to protect him and that the civilians were protesting peacefully, the only motivation behind the physical assault on the protestors was to intimidate, annihilate and basically cleanse the scene of any opposition. The intensity and scope of violence used can only be partially captured by watching the media coverage. These are instances caught on camera where security forces and Muslim Brotherhood members are actively attacking the protestors, the former through tear gas and the latter through beatings and other forms of physical violence.
Second, in fascist regimes, ideology plays a particular strong role, especially that associated with defending a sacred belief system that is beyond reproach and must prevail above all else. As they attacked the protestors, many shouted out loud “allahu Akbar” “God is great” as if they were out to make a conquest.. Read more:
