Friday, February 11, 2011

Three Lessons from Cairo

Well, isn't this a kick in the teeth to some.....

Lesson 1:  Egyptians may be Muslims but they are Egyptians first.  This is a nation that WAS civilization when a lot of the world was still just trying to survive.  Along with Sumeria, Babylon and India, Egypt was instrumental in bringing writing, engineering, mathematics, astronomy and countless other disciplines to the world.  The people of Egypt have not forgotten who they were and are.  Regardless of what pull Mecca has in terms of religion, the Egyptian people respond to a different call.

Lesson 2:  People will win because there are more of them than there are of those who would keep them down.  Hint to the American kleptocracy....Americans are watching how massive civil protests brought down a ruling government and the army did not stop them.

Lesson 3:  Palestine has been under Israeli dominion for generations in spite of frequent terrorist attack.  Less than three weeks of PEACEFUL protests brought down Mubarak.  The Egyptian people have shown their Palestinian brothers and sisters how it is done.  They have shown ALL of their Muslim brothers and sisters that they CAN have a voice and they CAN change their government.

Anyone who has read my words over the years knows I am no fan of President Obama, but he made very valid points about the power of peaceful protest and about awakening the conscience of the world.  I just wonder how many Americans, how many Europeans, how many people in the Middle East see that, as in ancient times, Egypt is showing a path into a brighter future.

Hard times are ahead for the Egyptians as they prepare for open elections.  The Muslim Brotherhood is there to try and push Islamism/jihadism.  But as the Tahir Square protests show, no amount of incitement from pro-government forces and no Muslim Brotherhood instigation would change the peaceful nature.  The Jasmin Revolt in Tunis showed that the Muslim world is capable of changing their governments without succumbing to violence.  My hope is that the Palestinians learn this lesson and THEY TOO begin to peacefully demonstrate and move the Israeli government toward the solution to a 60 year old issue.

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