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Failure of the Egyptian revolution has automatically focused attention on the success of Iranian revolution.
Political analysts have expressed varied opinions with some seeking to even discredit Iranian revolution for its alleged “failure” to produce meaningful (read pro-America) democracy for its people. Obviously the latter is Western narrative that doesn’t have many buyers in rest of the world, in particular the Muslim world.
Iranian revolution succeeded fundamentally for three reasons.
First, Iranians submitted themselves to a single leadership that also happened to be religious seeking guidance from Quran and Sunnah. Top religious leader (Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini then and Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei now) is who political leadership looks for guidance - both in domestic and international affairs -- and derives final legitimacy from, notwithstanding their electoral bona fides. So from the start of street protests, through the revolution and to this day there never was any ambiguity about the supremacy of Islam and Islamic leadership in their governance. That is why Iranians very justifiably prefix their revolution with the word “Islamic.”
Second, they didn’t just remove the dictator; they uprooted the whole edifice of his dictatorship. It spilled some blood in its initial days but that proved helpful in saving many, many more innocent lives and the revolution over the course of time had they let enemies from within thrive.
Finally, and equally crucially, unmindful of consequences they cut themselves off from the United States. Consequences, of course, did follow in the form of Iran’s isolation from the Western world, its money and technology and any help from its stooge institutions like IMF and World Bank, and, on top of all that, the ever tightening economic sanctions regime. Without yielding, however, they continue to resist the United States and its allies with perseverance to this day. But then it helped them shield themselves from American machinations (like repeat of 1953 coup), and letting democracy take roots. Amazingly, despite decades of unprecedented sanctions and vile propaganda, it is the only country in the region where government changes through ballot, that is counted as a regional power with educated (both male and female) population, fairly advanced industrial base and infrastructure capable to defend itself on its own and at the same time sufficiently suited to partner and absorb Western technology and investment on reasonably equal footing -- should the United States change its Zionist-dictated policies toward it.
In comparison, Egyptian revolution failed on all the three counts. Unlike Iranian revolution, it wasn’t ideology-driven. It was a leaderless mass uprising united by hate against their dictator -- Hosni Mubarak - with limited objective to oust him from power. Their revolutionary frenzy seen in Tahrir Square was about the present. In the absence of a charismatic leader, like Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, there was nothing to hold the people under a single banner and guide to a common future. Naturally, once that limited objective was achieved, the masses began segregating according to their political/ideological leanings. Unsurprisingly therefore, even the Islamic parties of different shades went their own ways, jettisoning the concept of Islamic unity in favor of political considerations.
The one party, the Muslim Brotherhood, that could have led the revolution with its relatively wide mass base stood as a reluctant spectator - certainly at its leadership level. They plunged in to the ring only at election time, competing for political power with numerous other religious and secular groups.
And when the MB finally emerged victorious in the elections their behavior was astounding. Even before Mohamed Morsi was sworn as the President, MB delegations were ensconced with the US State Department and Pentagon officials and Zionist think tanks - the very people who were the root cause of their, indeed all of Egyptians’, misery. This left the American sabotage channels flowing in full volume and force. Recall the story of the American NGOs who were supposedly working “to promote democracy and civic and political liberties” in Egypt! That is just a small part the over ground democracy-scented-sewage. I don’t know if Snowden files have disclosed anything so far about the underground, CIA’s stinking-sewage, part. In short, MB (under Mohamed Morsi) repeated the mistakes that National Front (under Mohammad Mosaddegh) committed six decades earlier in Iran - in both cases to the detriment of their people and country.
And equally important, the MB leadership, despite their Islamic credentials, never mustered enough courage to openly go for Islamic governance. Instead, their first act was to announce allegiance to the US-brokered treaty with Israel! Their next high profile act was to help America broker ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and then ask Egyptians (basically MB cadres) to fight in Syria. Just to prove they are on the US bandwagon and earn authenticity from the US administration. Is that what they had labored and suffered for so many decades? They immediately forgot street sentiment against Israel and the US during the revolution.
To be fair, Egypt’s was half revolution that removed the dictator but left his oppressive infrastructure untouched. Army, bureaucracy and their political cronies continued to rule the roost -- syn- and post-revolution.
MB leadership may have grasped the techniques of cultivating the grass roots but they definitely were ill prepared to manage the complexities of revolution. Evidently MB leadership hadn’t studied and analyzed Iranian revolution and what made it a success.
Iranians didn’t worry about bread and butter, let alone their billions US administration froze in the aftermath of the US Embassy seizure and hostage taking by young student revolutionaries in Tehran. Over and above it, America, through Saddam Hussain, soon inflicted upon them an eight year war. But they persevered in their march toward a pre-determined goal.
The fruits of the two revolutions are before us: While Iran is on ascendant trajectory, Egypt unfortunately has fallen back into the military and American grip and misery. Indeed the story of Egypt is more or less mimicked by Tunisia and Libya.
MIB/PR Retired as Professor and Head, Department of Geology & Geophysics (which he founded in 2000), University of Kashmir, M. I. Bhat served for 20 years as a scientist at one of Indian premier research labs, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun. Other than his research subject, international politics has always been his main attraction. He began writing on this and other topics since 2010. His articles have appeared in Veterans Today, Palestine Chronicle, OpEdNews and Greater Kashmir. Unencumbered by any sort of "cake of custom
Poster Comment:
Zionist-dictated policies
A most apt line.