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For Egypt's Opposition, It’s Economy, Not Religion

Mass mobilization against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will not lead to effective change unless there are alternative policies to back it up.
A man signs a "Tamarod" document at Tahrir square in Cairo May 16, 2013. A campaign named "Tamarod", meaning "Rebel", calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and for early presidential elections has gathered over two million signatures since its launch nearly two weeks ago in Egypt, organisers said.      REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany  (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZP6G

As the first anniversary of Mohammed Morsi’s assumption of the Egyptian presidency approaches, it has become evident that the economic and political conditions of the country are dire. While unemployment rises, foreign reserves dwindle and the Egyptian pound dips, two important dynamics appear to be steering the Egyptian political scene.

The first is the apparent Ikhwanization (“Brotherhoodization”) of the state, that is, as Kawa Hassan defines it, the process by which the Muslim Brotherhood “imposes its vision on the state and society by appointing its senior members to positions in state institutions.” As a result, the second feature of the current period is the growing mobilization of the Rebel, or Tamarod, campaign, a petition-based initiative seeking to collect signatures in support of a vote of no confidence in Morsi and which has started to organize mass rallies to take place on June 30. These two activities, and indeed the current state of affairs in general, serve to refute some of the common misperceptions about Morsi’s regime and the Muslim Brotherhood. More important, accurate assessment of them point illustrate the challenges facing Morsi’s opposition.

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