ContRAdictIOn, Egypt

It's becoming increasingly relevant to note that the English* translation of Egypt's capital, "CAIRO" can be found in the English word "contradiction" -- given, the letters are not in quite the right order, but that may also be appropriate since things seem to be increasingly out-of-order as the weeks have gone by since President Morsi's "Revolution Protection Decree".

I have not had the opportunity in the last 2 days to get back to reading the English translation of the proposed Constitution, but from what I did read of the mammoth document, I could see several statements that appeared to be quite contradictory--and I'm only about half way through.

And, I did get to read some tweets tonight; at the urging of some smart young Egyptian Christians, I started following some other young, Egyptian "tweeters" beyond Wael Ghonim, which led me into a world of opinions and referenced articles.  Two articles through 100's of tweets in the past 24 hours are worth mentioning here as I retweeted them immediately upon reading them:

• by @sandmonkey Why the Salafis Agreed to the Constitution http://bit.ly/VgHqya 
• @stevenacook: Morsi's Mistake http://fam.ag/TEJtwv 

And then I thought I would read the headlines on the local news websites before bed--but the glaring contradictions kept me up to write this.  I came across these two headlines:

1) Presidency denies SCC's claims that judges were blocked from court on Sunday
and
2) Presidency files report against TV presenter, satellite channel

[AFP photo]

[Reuter's photo]

Now, in the first headline, the "SCC" refers to the Supreme Constitutional Court; and the article references the events of yesterday when demonstrators in favor of President Morsi, many of whom may have previously been demonstrating over the weekend at Cairo University, came to Maadi and surrounded the Supreme Court building (see pics).  The article quotes and references statements made by Yasser Ali, Presidential Spokesperson, that include saying that the judges did in fact make it into the courthouse on Sunday; implying that the judges were not heeded from their work.

The judges referenced psychological distress as well as death threats that hindered them in completing their docket for the day, which included making rulings on the Constitutionality of the Constituent Assembly (who recently & quickly pushed through a draft constitution) and the Shura Council, the high legislative body.  Now Ali said, according to this article, that the President didn't intend to interfere in judicial affairs through his decree, but wants the judiciary to "supervise the [constitution] referendum."  And there's the contradiction--the President didn't want the court ruling on these matters and so placed his authority above the courts; his supporters (though the Presidency says was not happy to see the demonstrations at the courthouse) went to let the SCC continue to hear that sentiment.  But by asking the Judges to oversee the referendum, the President wants the court to fulfill some duties, but not others -- by the way, despite the judges recent history of protest to the President's decree, the judges have agreed to supervise the referendum.

This first article continues to include the following statements by Ali as follows:
“We did not like to see those demonstrations,” he said, “but we respect all means of peaceful expression of opinion. ...It is a guaranteed right for all Egyptians.”
and
“Disputing the president’s decisions is normal and healthy,” Ali said. “It means diversity, not division.”

Really?

These quotes bring us to the second article, and the additional contradictions:

The same Presidential spokesperson, Yasser Ali, is quoted in this article as the Presidency's new lawsuits are made public.  The defendants in the suit will be talk show host Mahmoud Saad and his recent guest psychiatrist Manal Omar; apparently, Omar recently appeared on the show hosted by Saad and gave a psychological analysis of President Morsi and his recent Constitutional decree.  The summation of this analysis was that the President was a psychopath and she called on him to resign.

This was not Saturday Night Live, but I don't believe this was a satirical sketch--and the President, nor his office or supporters are laughing.  

But, didn't Ali, spokesperson of the President, in the previous article say that disputing the President was healthy, that it represented diversity not division?  If the translated content of the article is correct, then he did.

Now, the grounds of the lawsuit are defamation--and to that end, they have a strong point.  If this was any unlicensed editorial or opinion on the street, that would be different--but this was a licensed psychiatrist whose credentials must have been given, and she used a psychological argument to make a strong accusation publicly.  

But further, adding to the Contradiction with a capital "C", the same article goes on to reference this statement from Ali:

"Freedom of expression in Egypt has become limitless."

Really?  Really??

Apparently not so limitless: defamation appears to be a limit.  And I'm sure that there are other limits as well.

Freedom of expression is a HUGE component of the debate and the controversy in Egypt as all try to chart a course into democracy.

To that end, tomorrow, a day set aside for civil disobedience by the opposition--not destruction, but strikes, more demonstrations, etc.--many of the newspapers throughout Egypt will not go to press.  The editor of the above referenced articles is quoted in that Al Jazeeera story link with this quote,
"'We took the decision of suspending the newspaper from printing tomorrow as an objection to the articles in the new Egyptian constitution that limit freedom of speech and also because the constitution does not have the approval of all Egyptian factions,' Mohamed Samir said."

Screenshot of EgyptIndependent/ Al Masry Al Youm website
on Tuesday, December 4, 10:20 am local time.

We will wait and see what tomorrow holds, and the next few weeks--until then, we hope you will continue to join us in Praying for Egypt...


*(note: i have not found a connection between the Arabic words for contradiction or contrary with the Arabic form of Cairo -- but perhaps some of my Egyptian friends will tell me if one exists.)

Egyptians' Constitution Vote on December 15

President Morsi has set the date for public vote on the newly (some say "rushed") drafted Constitution for Saturday, December 15.

While many are gathered still in demonstrations for President's Morsi's recent acts as President near Cairo University, perhaps more have been gathered at Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo in demonstration opposing President Morsi's leadership, and now also this Constitution.

In this Al Jazeera video, you can see a bit of each demonstration:



While many are still reviewing the Constitution's 234 Articles, many have already begun to post, tweet, blog, and shout against its perceived shortcomings and contradictions.  You can find the first half of the English-translation of the Constitution here; the rest will be coming tomorrow (inshallah).

I have much more to read and then to compare notes and statements from the lengthy document before I can better understand it as a whole.  But as new and outside observers of Egyptian life and politics, our initial perceptions of the document are overwhelmed.  I grew up learning that a constitution should be a "framework", but this document reads as if it is intended to contain floors, walls, doors, windows, vents, and roof and siding -- and in it's effort to be complete, it seems so incomplete.

As we now move toward the vote in the midst of the ongoing demonstrations and political divides, it has been wondered if whether the Constitution will be voted on for its own merits (or lack thereof), or whether people will use the vote on the Constitution as a vote of confidence in the new President--a "referendum on the government".



Much to be revealed in the coming weeks here in Egypt...

Thanks again for your ongoing interest, thoughts, prayers, and support.

New Constitution Now Rests On Egyptians' Decision

After a 19 hour session of voting by 85 members of the appointed 100 member Constituent Assembly, each article of the draft constitution passed.  Now the new Constitution proposal is being printed and will be presented to President Morsi on Saturday; he, in turn, will set the date for the vote by the Egyptian people on whether or not to adopt this new Constitution.

Will the Egyptian people seriously consider this new Constitution before the time of the vote?

OR
Will the thousands who still gathered in Tahrir Square in protest of the President's recent power-play simply reject the proposal that was so quickly passed after many liberal, secular, and Christian voices felt disregarded in the 6 month discussion process?

AND
How many are really able to give the Constitution serious consideration?
With high illiteracy attempting to comprehend 234 Articles that took the framers 19 hours to simply vote on--how will the bulk of the population be able to correctly understand and vote on intelligently on this cornerstone for a new democracy in Egypt?

We have not viewed a copy of the document, but there reports of expanded Presidential powers as well as limited freedoms for media--whether or not these statements are true is hard to determine from the brief bits of information gathered from the reporting on a few of the Articles.  There are already rumored concerns that peoples' votes in favor of the Constitution could be swayed with the promise of a bottle of oil and some bread.  These are serious questions and accusations at a time when many people feel a strong division has been created in the country--some going as far as likening it to the precipice of "civil war".

Demonstrators have not left Tahrir, as you will see from the videos below--and countless thousands simply do not want to go and expose themselves to the possibility of violence in such gatherings, but are equally dissatisfied with moves of the President and the sudden approval process of the draft by the controversial Constituent Assembly.  Many felt the rush of the process was simply to help provide President Morsi a way out of his "Pharaoh-like power" without looking weak.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood and others supportive of President Morsi have made the right decision to not demonstrate their support in Tahrir where so many continue to gather in protest.  They will instead hold their demonstration at Cairo University on Saturday.  This, again, is a wise move that will hopefully prevent further bloodshed or unnecessary loss of life in the midst of very passionately divided groups.

The need to continue to Pray for Egypt continues; Thank you for your ongoing interest and support...