The Muslim Brotherhood

They are an organization that has been around for almost a century. On this hot, sunny morning, they are chanting and looking rather intimidating; and thankfully they are not at all interested in me or the knot of teachers with whom I am traveling. They are the members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian institution formally established in the late 1920s to promote Islam throughout secular Egypt and to provide charitable aid to people living in places where the government and the local NGOs either don't or won't go. They are also, at least technically, Egypt's ruling political party, having captured more seats as a result of the elections in 2011 and 2012 than any other political party in Egypt. They even won the Egyptian presidency in 2012. President Mohammed Morsi is a prominent member of the Brotherhood.

That all changed on July 3rd, 2013, when the army under the command of General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi forcibly removed President Morsi and many of his top aides and political party members from office, placing them under arrest and detaining them at a yet-to-be-disclosed location.

Constitution thus suspended, al-Sisi has organized an interim government backed by his military. Within the next six months the interim government promises a modified constitution, a fresh round of elections and a more transparent, more democtratic society. While many Egyptians approach these promises with an interesting mixture of hope tinged with skepticism, the members of the Muslim Brotherhood have become outraged and evangelized as a result of recent events. Even as the crowds supporting the removal of President Morsi dissipate, they are replaced by crowds demanding the reinstatement of President Morsi and the re-establishment of democracy. Thousands of Brotherhood supporters have descended on the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in the northwest quarter of the city and on the grounds of Cairo University across the River Nile in the Giza area of the city. The sit-in protests have lasted since July 3rd, and the protestors say they will stay until Morsi is reinstated. The leaders of the interim government, General al-Sisi and interim President, Adly Mansour, have promised to clear the protestors and restore complete order. Impasse established.

That brings us to today where bus-loads of Muslim Brothers are being shipped into our quiet neighborhood to stage an "impromptu" protest. The target, the headquarters of British Petroleum. The issue, the perceived tacit support among Western firms toward the interim government. BP headquarters are just down the street from our school, and the presence of the chanting, bearded members of the Brotherhood has prompted our school buddy and guide, Tina, to pick us up from our flat this morning and show us an alternative route to the school. 

Blocks away from the school, we can hear the cadence of hundreds of chanting men. We ask Tina if she can understand any of the chants. She cannot understand much of it, but she can pick out the Brothers' mantra, "Islam is the solution." We cross one of the spoked streets of Ma'adi, and I look right, up toward the nearby intersection and the BP building. In the distance, I see bearded men holding aloft several placards. I can distinguish images of President Morsi and slogans written in Arabic. A few of the men are wearing dishdashas, the flowing white robes that are relatively traditional in Cairo and kumas, the circular caps worn by some men in the region. Others are dressed in more Western garb. From my vantage point, all seem serious. I also spot one or two police officers, present, I suppose, to buffer the protestors from would-be onlookers. I do not however, see any onlookers. Most of the local residents out this morning are doing exactly what we are doing, giving the marchers a wide berth thus avoiding any possibility of trouble.

We arrive safely at school to find the talk among staff, not surprisingly, centering around the protest march. Demonstrations are scarce in Ma'adi and something of a novelty for staff members with experience with the region's language and customs. One veteran member of staff witnessed this morning's march up close. She said she smiled and waved to one of the Brothers, who smiled and waved back, only to be admonished by one of his seniors. Discussion about the march continues on campus throughout the day.

For safety reasons, a number of us leave for the day together; there is, after all, the sense of safety in numbers. Our gate security guards let us know that the march ended quite some time ago and ended peacefully. We take our normal route from the school back to our flat. We do not see any trace of the march. The litter and detritus was long ago swept away, as if sweeping away the chanting images of the protesting Brothers. It is almost as if the march never happened; almost. The following day BP contacts our school's senior administrative team to inform us that they are re-evaluating their policies with respect to security and accompanying families. This could mean fewer BP-sponsored students at the school. Already this year, both the US and UK embassies have temporarily evacuated accompanying families. These families may or may not return. Other firms, namely Hyundai and Samsung, are relocating from Egypt to Rabat, Morocco. The Hyundai and Samsung families will never return.

I think about what all of this means for our school and Egypt in general. Our school enrollment drops. That's no good, especially for Dana and me. Egypt loses out on current foreign investment opportunities and future ones, the investment climate being much safer in other locations in the region. This is no good, either. In a nation with extremely high unemployment, Egyptians need all of the job opportunities they can get. Neither is the current impasse good for foreign firms already operating here because firm owners now feel as if they have to relocate, and they cannot recoup some of their costs. About the only group that benefits from the chaos is the Brotherhood. They are able to stage these marches, causing firms to think twice. When firms do bolt, taking their valuable jobs with them, the Brotherhood can claim that the interim government is mis-managing the economy. The pragmatist in me sees a Catch 22.

The humanist in me however, sees the potential for a brighter Egypt, IF and only if constructive dialogue between the anti-Morsi camps and Brotherhood, pro-Morsi camps begins to happen. 

So far, no talks have been planned.