Friday of Shari’a
Ignore the media reports of the “Friday of Unity and the People’s Will.” It is the Friday of Shari’a.
Tahrir Square was packed today. But rather than being filled by a broad spectrum of nationalists, secularists, Islamists, and trade unionists — you name it — today the square is dominated by Salafists.
Egyptian flags remain aloft but in much smaller numbers and holding them are men — yes, the gender dynamic has changed, too - who speak of Egypt as a Muslim nation. They speak not with the tone of pious religiosity but in a proselytizing manner, with the goal of attaining political power. Discussions are not based on persuasion but on righteousness. And below the surface of these conversations lingers coercion and, I bet, threats toward non-Muslims.
Gone are the chants against the military regime and for a civic government. Call it the Friday of the Beards.
Atop a stage near one of the entrances to Tahrir a group of mean led chants of ”Hikm, hikm ya Islam. Hikm, hikm ya Quran.” The chant uses an imperative verb form: Rule, rule, oh Islam. Rule, rule, oh Quran. Men on the stage and standing before it hold signs saying “Egypt is an Islamic country.”
Sheik Ramadan (coincidence, surely) led the chant and descends from the stage to speak to me and a colleague. “We want to apply Shari’a to the government and to politics,” he told us. He defended the rights of Egyptian Christians to worship but added: “In the future all people will become Muslims.”
Such is the power of the Quran.
Ramadan said that he and his comrades were not supporting any particular party but are in support of Islam serving as the guiding principle for Egypt.
Ramadan shook my hand and smiled at the conclusion of our conversation but didn’t acknowledge my colleague, who had helped translate the conversation. My colleague, you see, was a woman.
Some Salafists, however, are not as lackadaisical about elections. Some care a great deal about votes. Several Salafist parties have formed since Mubarak’s departure and from stages large and small around Tahrir they broadcast their message. So packed were some corners of the square that it was difficult to maneuver from one side to the other.
But today’s show of Salafist strength shouldn’t lead one to fear an impending Salafist takeover of Egyptian politics — or even a Muslim Brotherhood route in upcoming elections. Instead today appears to be an achievement of Salafist busing power. The roads along Cornish al-Nile were lined with rental buses that transported the Salafist rank-and-file to and from the square. And it appears that many of the constituencies that have previously occupied Tahrir stayed home or vacated the square for the day.
The more important question is: what effect might the Salafists have on political discourse? They will likely take some parliamentary seats following elections, currently scheduled for November. But do they cause the Muslim Brotherhood — Egypt’s most organized political movement — to become more “Islamist” or perhaps does the Brotherhood seek to appear more “civil” compared with the Salafists and adopt more secularist policies? And beyond the Salafist core its difficult to envision a scenario whereby non-Salafist Egyptians will vote for them.
We’ve seen in the U.S., though, how the influence of a small, motivated, and telegenic faction of the right-wing can far surpass its actual numbers in the streets and in the halls of government.
