Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
A wise man once advised me: Never argue with your barber! I remembered his advice as I was about to argue with my Egyptian barber. He was commenting on the sit-in scenes of President Morsi supporters, as his razor approached my neck. Boasting he was a member of “Tamarrod” (rebellion) movement, he was making fun of the protesters' poverty and backwardness. For him, an educated city bourgeois "effendi", they were no more than farming animals polluting Cairo, and the army should clean the streets of them.
I remember a similar situation with my dentist "effendi." He described those who voted for Dr. Mohamed Morsi as "lowlife" who would sell their votes and the whole of Egypt for some oil and bread, or because their phony sheikh told them they were answering God's call. Thus, their votes should not be taken, or at least we should count ten "peasants" votes for each "civilized" one.
As I tried to explain the concepts of democracy, citizenship and equality, he seemed to boil with emotions, and I felt his performance intensifying with the acceleration of breath and words, so I decided to apply the wisdom of "no argument with barbers" or dentists too, and remained silent lest one of his sharp tools lose its way in my mouth, and force my tongue to be quiet.
I had similar situation with my Egyptian pharmacist "effendi", but I did not stop myself this time from getting into some intellectual argument. Of course, I got my drug first! His bearded colleague preceded him to the "cashier" to give me a discount, assuring me that education, urbanization and civilization are parts of true Islam.
What's going on here? Is it true that Egyptian society is politically divided between the city and the countryside; the American University and Al-Azhar University; The "effendis" who demonstrate after Ramadan Iftar and a good rest in Tahrir Square, and the peasants and Sinai bedouins who are torched in the midday sun and camping around the clock in Adawia and Nahdha squares?
Screen scenes and regional distribution of election results indicate that the less urbanized regions do vote more for the Islamists, and the effendis of Cairo and its suburbs tend to support the "against" camp: "folool", leftist, secular, liberals, or whoever happened to be perceived as anti-Islamist.
The level of education is not a clear indicator, though, especially if it is about educational level, not quality. Egyptian state universities have been built even in small towns, but quality private and foreign schools chose to stay in and around metropolitan Cairo.
How do we explain this divide, then? By the Muslim Brotherhood historical base in smaller city, Ismailia, rural areas and less developed towns? By the natural tendency of simple and poor people to advocate religion and spirituality? By their need of economic aid and social services that Islamic societies have been providing for ages?
The irony here is that the first military coup against King Farooq’s rule, by the so called Free Officers, in 1952, came in the name of the farmers and workers, against the pashas and effendis of the day. Socialism and its policies like "land reform" were an answer to the alleged feudalism and its exploitation of the Egyptian peasants. All military rulers, from Nagib and Nassir to Sadat and Mubarak, came from the glorified countryside claiming to represent the underprivileged Egyptian and attempting to make fairer distribution of wealth.
Today, the inheritors of that down-to-earth heritage are standing against the same working class they used to represent and protect, supporting and supported by the bourgeoises and elites they originally revolted against.
Perhaps the irony is distant for the revolutionary youth of today, but what about the present paradox? Only a year ago, the army was regarded as the enemy, and demonstrators were chanting "Down .. Down with military rule." Liberal leaders accused the Military Council of being in bed with the Brotherhood. Today, the same revolutionary crowd, the same anti-Islamist liberals are calling on the same military to over turn the democratically elected Islamist government, annul all elections, suspend the voted constitution, rewrite a new one within weeks, and install a government.
I won't attempt to understand, let alone analyze what is going on, for the situation in Egypt, like in Lebanon, became too hard, even for locals, to explain. Therefore, I would just be content with raising my questions and exclamation marks for experts — or time alone — to answer. In the meanwhile, I pray for our people in Egypt to have more sense and sensibility, vision and wisdom, in their tormented search for answers, solutions and salvation.
