Desecration of the Koran, democracy and demonstrations

Maha El Dahan, Common Ground News Service -- Partners in Humanity, Washington, DC

A report published by Newsweek in its May 9 edition about the abuses taking place in Guantanamo Bay prison had the Muslim world up in arms demonstrating against the desecration of the Koran. Or did it?

The controversy, initiated by less than a sentence stating that the Koran had been mishandled and flushed down a toilet, instigated violent protests in Afghanistan, where 16 were reported dead. Images of angry bearded young men, veiled women, young children, and old sheiks chanting anti-American slogans while burning American flags were broadcast the world over.

For the average observer, Muslims were outraged and had taken their anger to the streets. But in Egypt, when asked about their feelings on the issue, many youth answered with a question; "I haven't been following that story, so can you brief me on what exactly happened?"

"Whenever I see yet another story about these violations on the news, I just switch channels. It is too depressing and it is the same thing over and over again so why should I bother?" asks Hanaa, a recent political science graduate from Cairo University. But is it simply apathy that has stopped Egyptian youth from reacting more visibly to the desecration of one of their most important religious symbols, or is there more?

Newsweek later retracted its statement, and by May 26, Guantanamo Bay prison commander Brig. Gen. Jay Hood made a statement explaining that the Koran had been mishandled on five different occasions since late 2001, according to investigations, but not flushed down the toilet.

However, the retraction and the subsequent recognition of the abuses by the U.S. administration did not calm things down. By the next day, demonstrations broke out in Morocco, Lebanon, Malaysia, Jordan, Pakistan and, for the first time since the whole fiasco started, in Egypt.

The Egyptians took quite a long time to react though: more than two weeks. Before that reactions came in the form of statements issued by the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Arab League condemning the act and demanding apologies. And when the demonstrations did finally come, they were not propelled by Egyptian youth from different backgrounds, but were organized by a single group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

"The desecration of the Koran crosses all the red lines and the demonstrations that took place in Cairo and Alexandria reflect the feelings of the whole Egyptian population," argued Mohamed Habib, first deputy to the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brothers. If they do indeed reflect the feelings of a nation, why weren't these feelings reflected more widely?

"There are so many reports about so many abuses that people eventually become a bit reluctant to react. When David Letterman makes fun of the whole incident on his show and says that Muslims already hate Americans and asks why this incident should matter, that shows how stereotypical their [Americans'] whole image of us has become and how frustrating it is sometimes to fight it," says Hatem Ali, a former student activist and a computer science graduate of the American University in Cairo (AUC).

Bahaa Ezz El Arab is a political science senior at the American University in Cairo. Politically active and having taken part in many a demonstration before, he makes the point that although the reports on the desecration of the Koran disturbed him, "what they are doing to human beings is much more important than what they are doing to books." He explains how, "(r)eports about the abuses in Abu Ghraib, for example, hurt me much more."

There is a feeling that the desecration of the Koran is just one in a long line of abuses that have been taking place for quite some time now. It is not that the act was not shameful, more that it came as no surprise considering what had been taking place already.

The lack of an active reaction towards the desecration might have been caused by more than a sense of general frustration at the U.S. administration, though. Recently, Egyptians have been more occupied by what is happening inside their country than outside.

When asked about why the Muslim Brothers failed to express their anger at the desecration sooner, Habib explained, "We had a referendum and a constitutional amendment to worry about. Internally a lot is happening."

A constitutional amendment initiated by President Mubarak Feb. 28, which will allow Egyptians to choose their president from amongst more than one candidate for the first time in history, has propelled much controversy. While the amendment passed in a referendum May 25, main opposition parties boycotted the referendum altogether, stating that it was a sham, a show for the U.S. administration, and that the government was not serious enough about reform.

The government has responded with violent crackdowns on opposition the day of the referendum and continual arrests of the members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Kefaya, or 'Enough' movement, which calls for ending the political stagnation that is leading to economic and societal deterioration. Their main slogan is "No 5th term (for Hosni Mubarak), and no inheritance for Gamal [Mubarak]."

"I have demonstrated with Kefaya in front of the Press Syndicate, as I believe it was a way of expressing my opinion about the current situation in Egypt," says Ezz El Arab. Internal political reform may be more of a priority to Egyptian youth and a more pressing cause for demonstration. Some would like to take the matter beyond just random demonstrations every now and then. Shady Iskak, son of George Iskak, who coordinates the Kefaya movement, is a student in the third year of Egypt's Cinema Institute.

He thinks, "The demonstrations of Kefaya are enough to initiate a democratic reform process in Egypt. We have to reach out to the average Egyptian citizen, taxi drivers for example, and spread the awareness to them about why they should press for reform to change their current conditions."

So while the initial lack of reaction to the desecration by Egyptian youth might indicate a state of apathy, the situation is actually more complex than that. Frustration with U.S. policy in the region is one of the factors that might be forcing Egyptian youth to take a closer look at what is happening internally that makes them unable to protect their culture, identity, and their religious symbols on the international scene.

Ironically, Bush's plan for initiating democratic reform in the region through his war on Iraq might just work, and not because he is spreading his 'democratic' ideals, rather the opposite.

The writer is a freelance journalist currently based in Cairo.