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Egypt’s missing political middle

The answer to Egypt’s political crisis is for the middle class and the country's revolutionaries to build durable secular political alternatives.
Anti-government protester holds a national flag during clashes at Ramsis street, which leads to Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, on the third anniversary of Egypt's uprising, January 25, 2014. Seven people were killed during anti-government marches on Saturday while thousands rallied in support of the army-led authorities, underlining Egypt's volatile political fissures three years after the fall of autocrat president Hosni Mubarak. Security forces lobbed teargas and fired in the air to try to prevent demon
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Dear reader, I know that these lines will be heavy on the eyes and on your conscience, but I ask you to consider them and I hope that they motivate you to take action.

I always recall my meeting with Ahmed Zaki, an Egyptian journalist living and working in London. Zaki explained to me that the modern Egyptian state — since Muhammed Ali — has monopolized the ruling elite and the production of this elite. This began with the educational missions Muhammed Ali sent to France and continues even to this day. As a result, the ruling elite has naturally been closer to the authorities than to the public, to the point that sometimes this elite's vision and demands are separate from the reality and popular needs. Another syndrome that has managed to survive since the days of Muhammed Ali is the conflict over power between the army's institution and the religious current. This has persisted from the time Muhammed Ali sent his son Ibrahim Pasha to eliminate the Wahhabist religious movement until today, where we see this syndrome in one way or another. Egyptian writer Farag Foda, who was assassinated by the Islamists in 1992, spoke about this topic.

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