I posted this to Ambushed In Tahrir Square
It's good to see that many people saw clearly what happened on Friday, and recognize what Egypt is up against. How will it play out?The only force capable of standing up to the Islamists, who will resort to every dirty trick in the book in order to suppress the voice of the people, and use violence against civilians without hesitation, is the Egyptian military. What a turn of events! For decades, the excuse brought out by dictators and dictatorial regimes (not just in Egypt, but in other secular dictatorships in the Middle East) has been "it's us or chaos". And now, Islamists are proving them right.It's horrible. Can there be just governance in the Muslim world? Are the only options an oppressive secular regime or an oppressive religious regime?The Arab Spring is a good thing. Let the Islamists unmask themselves, and make it clear to the world that they are the enemies not just of oppressive regimes, and not just of the west and Israel, but of every citizen who seeks freedom and a respect for basic human rights. It might be a bloody lesson to learn, but it has to be learned.And when the Islamists begin their naked violence against the Egyptian people, the world must stand with the people, and not simply pour money into the Egyptian military. And for their part, the military must make it clear that they oppose the Islamists on behalf of the Egyptian people, and in pursuit of the freedom, democracy, pluralism, and respect for human rights that the Egyptian people want and deserve.
