(Washington Post) Saad Eddin Ibrahim - Why does the Mubarak regime continue to resort to heavy-handed tactics against its peaceful opposition? Those in Mubarak's regime argue that if he allowed democratization to proceed unchecked, with fair and honest elections, Islamists would undoubtedly take over. But what has Mubarak done to preserve the popularity of non-Islamist forces in the country? Isn't it Mubarak's repression of secular civil forces that has kept the field empty for the Islamists in Egypt, where there are now more than 100,000 mosques where they can freely preach their message - but only a handful of registered political parties and human rights groups? The writer is an Egyptian democracy activist and a sociology professor at the American University in Cairo.
2005-02-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive