Egypt Struggles toward an Islamic Democracy

Way beyond my field of expertise lies Egypt's struggle toward an Islamic democracy. And yet, I find myself examining and questioning its current state of affairs. Mubarak was an American government puppet. The CIA can control with greater ease a military dictatorship than it can control a democracy. I can't imagine American power brokers liking anything Islamic.

Can Egypt find its way to democary?

Yesterday, Mohamed Morsi officially became Egypt's president-elect. In his speech he announced that he would not take the oath of office until Parliament was reinstated, reached out to Egyptian Christians, and, in general terms, promised to uphold the peace treaty with Israel. Sound like a moderate to me.

Although he resides over a presidency stripped of many powers, his current and perhaps continued refusal to bow to the military strength does little to bring peace to a region riddle in civil strife. Will the CIA come to call?

In the film The End of Poverty? a former CIA analyst talks about his job within the CIA. He would approach the leader of a country who opposed the will of the U.S. Such leaders were given two choices, play ball and become rich or continue on the current path and lose office or worse. You would be surprised how often the United States government supports military juntas, assassinations of duly elected leaders and the massacre of thousands.

Although I know little about Egypt, I know something of Guatemala, a tiny country where a democratically elected leader dared to offer his people a bit of justice. The civil war in Guatemala is well known, as is the US hand in it.

President-Elect Morsi walks a political tightrope, resigning from the Muslim brotherhood, and yet seemingly intent on carrying out its platform. I wonder how many concessions he needs to make in order to become rich instead of being driven out of office. Mind you, I hope among the concessions he is forced to make includes his stand on women leading the country. I look at things from a decidedly Western point of view. In spite of my Western understanding, I wish Egypy the best as it struggles toward its future.