Although the protestors have cleared out of Tahrir Square In Cairo life has not returned to the “old normal”. A “new normal” seems to have evolved.
The religious element led by the Muslim Brotherhood is intent on pushing reforms in their direction. A vote last month to change the constitution would tilt the advantage toward the fundamentalist group. There are fears among the young, pro-democracy protestors that the Brotherhood colluded secretly with the military and other government leaders to introduce the constitutional changes.
Now, the Brotherhood says it will throw its support behind new demonstrations called for this Friday to protest against the military and lingering elements of the old Mubarak regime. This article in The Wall Street Journal says, “If this Friday’s protests succeed in pressuring the military to purge what is left of ex-President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, they could help the 83-year old Islamist group reclaim its revolutionary bona fides before parliamentary elections scheduled for September.”
Fear of Egypt turning into an Islamist state remain. More realistic would be a state more like Turkey, where religion and the military have maintained a balanced relationship. But the winds of change are definitely blowing in the region. Egypt remains a critical nation to watch.
