Violence and Victory Celebration: How Deeply Rooted Polarization in Egypt lead to the Swift Overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood

“It is a measure of Egypt’s current state of schizophrenia, numbed by exhaustion after nearly three years of revolutionary turmoil, that many Egyptians seem unmoved by the unfolding tragedy.” So opens an October 7th entry in “Pomegranate,” an Economist-run blog on the Middle East. The poignant diagnosis of Egyptian culture refers to the overthrow of the short-lived Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt on July 3rd of this year.

The entry, however, begins by expounding on the historical significance of October 6th in Egypt: In 1973, it was the day when Egyptian military forces crossed the Suez Canal to reclaim land lost to Israel in the Six-Day War. Eight years, it became a day of tragedy when President Anwar Sadat, a hero of the aforementioned war, was assassinated by Islamic extremists during a parade. According to the post in “Pomegranate,” those memories strongly informed the tumultuous events that played out in Egypt this past year. On October 6th, “much of the country cheered official celebrations even as others joined marches to protest his overthrow.” Still another large section of Egypt’s populous watched football.

Sadly, the rival demonstrations were not able to peacefully coexist for long. “Largely peaceful marches by Brotherhood supporters—the largest since the violent crushing of pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo last month—were met by a mixed force of riot police, soldiers and citizen vigilantes, some of them armed. Across Cairo, the sound of gunfire blended with celebratory fireworks, and teargas with the [colored] contrails of acrobatic air-force jets.”

Despite the non-violent nature of their protest, some 53 Brotherhood demonstrators did not even make to nightfall. By contrast, government forces suffered no losses as “much of Egypt’s government gathered to applaud a kitschy televised pageant.” By the following morning, that had changed. “...a series of attacks on October 7th targeted government sites, including an army checkpoint and a satellite station in Cairo, an army patrol near the Suez Canal, and a police headquarters in Sinai, which was hit by a car bomb.” These retaliatory attacks yielded a total of nine security official and soldier casualties.

Three months after the overthrow of the Morsi regime, Egypt remains sharply divided. Despite the clear evidence that Brotherhood movement has been given the ultimate test of leadership and failed to garner mainstream momentum and support, the Brotherhood continues to urge its “embittered minority” of supporters to press on and continue protesting. The majority of the country has deemed the Brother the perfect repository for blame concerning both deeds for which they are responsible and all other ills that have befallen Egypt in recent years. In short, the Brotherhood has fallen from the country’s leading political entity to its most reviled scapegoat. The majority claims a desire for a return to peace, but while the opposing sides continue to violently clash, it begs the question: at what cost?

Violence in Egypt: Celebration v Clashes