A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Egypt a Year After Morsi

A year ago yesterday was June 30, the date of the now iconic "June 30 revolution," and Thursday will mark the anniversary of the military coup (sorry, military intervention) that removed President Muhammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood from power. Over the coming days I hope to offer a number of posts assessing the events of the past year. I'm sure whatever I say will offend someone, given the profound polarization both before and after the events of a year ago. But a few things seem clear to me: 1) Too many people have died in the past year, on both sides; 2) too many people are in prison, and not just Islamists but journalists, revolutionaries and the like; and many of those who supported Tamarrod and the June 30 protests last year are today disillusioned, though others welcome the ascendancy of the military.

We know now that the military leadership cooperated with Tamarrod before and during the demonstrations, and we also know that Sisi has admitted to having had dreams of himself in a leadership role. Just how scripted the events of June 30-July 3 last year were is still a bit fuzzy, but the Army seems to have moved, not reluctantly as it claimed, but with a carefully predetermined scenario.

More to come in the coming days.

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