Egyptian Democracy

The dictator is also an admirable statesman, an able presidential lawmaker for a fractious, excitable population, and an Egyptian patriot. Egypt is without doubt a difficult country to lead. It has a very large population, almost half of whom live under the poverty line. As a Muslim majority country almost 20% of the population is Christian, and hostilities between the two religions often lead to violence.

President Hosni Mubarak has honoured Egypt's Christians as much as is possible, protecting them from the intimidation and violence that erupts on occasion, holding to account those who attack Christian Egyptians. The Copts have seen nothing like the persecution that has assailed Christians in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Gaza. Their Churches are protected, just as Egypt's ancient Synagogues (largely as historical artefacts) have been.

Because of forward-looking economic decisions President Mubarak has taken the country's GDP grew at a steady rate in the past few years, approximating 6%; seeing a set-back because of the global financial disaster. But there is huge unemployment among the youth of Egypt, and the country would need to grow at the rate of 10% annually to provide anything close to adequate jobs for those entering the work force.

For a tyrant, who has permitted the country's police and intelligence services to exact atrocious brutality upon those unfortunate enough to come to their attention, he has also governed insightfully and fairly, compared to his Middle East counterparts. The current 'secular' uprising led by the youth of Egypt denounces the methods and politics of their president and his National Democratic party, insisting they leave.

Egypt is an ancient country, and has never experienced anything approximating democracy, and many among its 90-million people live in financial insecurity. The country has seen high inflation, rising food and fuel costs, and scarcity in some vital commodities. It has a well developed education system and a representative number of university graduates.

The protesters calling for President Mubarak's immediate ouster from office, and a complete change in the country's administration, drawing on the universal call for democratic reform seen elsewhere now in Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan and Syria, will not be placated, they insist, by the too-little-too-late moves of the government to meet some of their demands.

They will make common cause with any who resist the government.

The Muslim Brotherhood stands prepared to fill the vacuum that would occur should the current NDP government fall. And what of the population of the country as a whole? Ready for enlightened democracy? What is the kind of democracy they envision? According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project and World-PublicOpinion.org poll, some answers have surfaced.

Roughly three quarters of the population supports "strict imposition of Sharia law". Fifty percent support workplace gender segregation. Fully 82% feel adulterers should be stoned, and 77% consider whipping and the hacking off hands justifiable punishment for theft. Eighty-four percent of Egyptians look favourably on the death penalty for Muslims who recant their faith.

Overwhelmingly, 91% of Egyptians insist that "Western values (be kept) out of Islamic countries", and 67% visualize the value "to unify all Islamic countries into a single Islamic state or caliphate". Which is where the Muslim Brotherhood steps smartly into office. For this is their agenda, and more.

The crowds in Tahrir Square shouting for freedom and democracy would have to accommodate themselves to the backward step of re-instituting laws demanding female genital mutilation - which President Mubarak had outlawed in 2007. Lands taken illegally from Christians would, under the Muslim Brotherhood, never be returned to their lawful owners, as they were under President Mubarak.

And most Egyptians support the call of the Muslim Brotherhood to release Egypt from its peace agreement with Israel. One thing the crowd in Tahrir Square and the Muslim Brotherhood do definitely have in common is a zest to return to war with Israel, for both the Egyptian population at large and the Muslim Brotherhood abhor Israel.

This is a fascinating and quite contrary picture of democracy as it is known and practised in the West. This is when truly, a rose is not a rose, but a stinking cabbage.