Ken:
It seems to me that you misread Nawal El Saadawi's piece. She states clearly those she supports: "Thirty four million men and women went out into the streets and squares. They were determined to topple the religious government under the control of the Muslim Brothers as well as all who support them at home and abroad. They wanted to expel all who use religion for economic and political gain and to oust Morsi." El Saadawi is NOT in support of the military; rather, she supports the millions of anti-Moslem Brotherhood revolutionaries whose protests preceded the military intervention. She argues that the anti-Morsi protest preceding the military intervention was an attempt by millions of Egyptians to recoup the ideals of the 2011 Arab Spring that ousted Mubarak--the ideals and democratic values that most of us share.
Obi
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 4:34 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Nawal El Saadawi, "A People's Revolution and Not a Crisis or Coup"
first of all, you are being unfair to what i wrote and said at the time of libya. i supported the overthrown of qaddafi,and would do so again today. i also forwarded to the list reports of attacks on africans, that is, black africans, taken to be supporters of qaddafi. to say i had no problem is unfair and incorrect. if i had no problem, i would not have posted reports that raised that issue. so, you didn't see those reports; you took my support to be unqualified, which it was not.
it is the same today. el saadawi asks for unqualified support, not for her ideal, which is an ideal for all of us, but for one side over the other. the one side that has ousted marsi happens to be the military, with some support, waning support, of those who are uneasy at the excesses of the military.
i can no longer say that overthrowing marsi, which i had initially applauded, appears so clearly a progressive act. the military can be in the process of reinstalling an authoritarian regime, a repressive regime, like all those across n africa that repressed islamists, be they radical or moderate. this was moubarek's policy; it was king hassan ii's policy; it was ben ali's policy. none of those regimes could be called progressive.
i suppose we can say that in the throes of revolution, excesses are part of the struggle to be faced; we have a history to inform us of what happened after the revolution in france and russia and cuba, and the reign of terror is not an ideal i would support.
you belittle this issue by presenting it as a liberal notion of abstract individualism; where does the repression of the state, of state terrorism, play into this? in the end, the carnage is fundamental, is bloody and material and excessive. i do not believe for a second it was the only alternative.
i am not arguing for liberal humanism; but for an historical memory of where the revolution has been betrayed in the past. the fundamentalism arises in el saadawi's claims for an all or nothing vision, which ultimately is totalitarian in nature, even if articulated in terms of egalitarian utopianism.
ken
"equality for all without distinction of sex, religion or class".
You either believe this or you do not; if you do, then it is a counter-revolution of sorts, depending upon what your where sit on this side of these distinctions. Whether this justifies the carnage, I know longer have such confidence, especially when the military are involved, and, as Keynes famously said, in the long run, we are all dead.
You seemed to have no such problem, Ken, when it came to some people of Libya, and in the name of a revolution in the midst of some people disemboweling others, murdering "black" Africans, and putting bayonets up Qaddafi's...
We pick sides; we hope for as little bloodshed as possible, and that there should be some compromise. It's easy for us to sit on the side and take (or not take) sides when we are not direct stakeholders or participants in events and cheer in the name of the abstract individualism of people as individuals and therefore as rights bearers, and upon which a divided people are not to be supported. However, there seems something fundamental about those who might oppose El Saadawi's utopian egalitarian hope.
Pablo
On 2013-08-17 8:25 AM, kenneth harrow wrote:
us or them, revolution or counter-revolution.
no. i would cycle away quickly from this reading of the killings in the street. you can accept it only as long as there is one group of people who is right and the other wrong, and when ownership of being "people" belongs just to one side
ken
On 8/17/13 1:25 PM, Nnaemeka, Obioma G wrote:
--A People's Revolution and Not a Crisis or Coup
Nawal El Saadawi
Cairo, Egypt; July 5, 2013
Every revolution in history has had its counter-revolution. Internal and external forces ally, as they did in Egypt to abort the January 2011 revolution. In this revolution on 30 June 2013 they failed and they will continue to fail because the Egyptian youth, both men and women who are rebelling against the Muslim Brothers, have learned the lessons of the past. Their consciousness has deepened with organization and unity.
Thirty four million men and women went out into the streets and squares. They were determined to topple the religious government under the control of the Muslim Brothers as well as all who support them at home and abroad. They wanted to expel all who use religion for economic and political gain and to oust Morsi. The will of the people is more powerful than military, police, religious or economic weapons. Here is the lesson of human history. There is no principle higher than truth and sincerity in the quest for freedom, justice and dignity.
The Muslim Brothers' rule tried to divide the people into believers and heretics, but it failed. It tried to encourage its supporters to attack the demonstrators, but it failed. The power of the millions was like the sea that protects itself with its own strength and its tremendous waves that sweep away the jinn and the ghosts. The age of jinn, spirits and nonsense has ended. The light of knowledge, truth, love and creativity are increasing day by day.
Muslim Brothers militias killed young men and women, but the multitudes in the streets, in the neighborhoods and in the countryside kept growing. They were not afraid of the bullets, they did not retreat one step but kept advancing until they toppled the regime.
And yet, the imperialists and the Americans claim that this was not a revolution that demands a new legitimate regime but merely a crisis.
We need a new constitution that will realize the principles of the revolution: equality for all without distinction of sex, religion or class. We should not rush to presidential and parliamentary elections. We should not put the cart before the horse. We must not repeat mistakes.
Democracy is more than elections. Legitimacy means the power of the people more than the ballot box.
We need a communal, revolutionary leadership and not a single leader. The Muslim Brothers armed militias fired on the people and the revolution turned to the national army and the army responded. The police served the people and not the regime. This is a historical revolution and not a coup d'état or protest movement or outraged uprising. It is a revolution that will continue until all of its goals are realized.
On July 5, I watched a group of American men on CNN threatening to cut off aid to the revolutionary Egyptian people. And I laughed out loud. I hope that they cut off this aid! Since the time of Anwar Sadat in the 1970s, this aid has destroyed our political and economic life. This aid helps the U.S. more than anyone else. This aid that goes directly into the pockets of the ruling class and corrupts it. This aid has strengthened American-Israeli colonial rule in our lands. All that the Egyptian people have gained from this aid is more poverty and humiliation.
Obioma Nnaemeka, PhDChancellor's Distinguished Professor
President, Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS)
Dept. of World Languages & Cultures Phone: 317-278-2038; 317-274-0062 (messages)
Cavanaugh Hall 543A Fax: 317-278-7375Indiana University E-mail: nnaemeka@iupui.edu
425 University BoulevardIndianapolis, IN 46202 USA
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