By Hatem Y. Ezz EldinONE year after the January uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak and his regime, the conditions surrounding the first session of the new Egyptian parliament look different. While Mubarak and some of his men were in prison charged with corruption and abuse of power, many of their victims celebrated their victory inside the parliament. In the first session there were more beards as well as more enthusiasm and eagerness to face challenging problems. There also seemed to be less hypocritical language and, understandably, a lower degree of organization. We must welcome the newly elected faces, but at the same time, the members have to keep in mind that structural change is meaningless without real efforts to serve the interests of the people. Egyptians have so far “seen” the change and now they are waiting to “feel” its impact. To make a good start, a new culture should unfold among the new members to replace the one that damaged the political atmosphere in Egypt for decades. The new culture should basically have three features. First, the concept of political exclusion should no longer prevail. This concept has marked Egyptian politics and was frequently used by consecutive regimes to get rid of their opponents. Islamists were excluded for long and were always portrayed as members of an evil entity that tried to harm the national interest. Liberal opponents also faced the same fate. The political lesson we learned from the uprising is that exclusion will not alter the choice of the people and will not hinder peaceful and progressive ideas. The linkage between persons and ideas should also be broken. For so many years, the former regime tried to stereotype its opponents, and their ideas were undermined as a method of punishment. The Islamist in the state-run media was portrayed as a terrorist or a radical insurgent, while the liberal opponent was presented as a Western-supported agent. We discovered that this image was false. An Islamist can be involved in political activity that advocates democracy and peace, while the liberal can support national initiatives without hidden agendas, mysterious foreign fingers and the rest of the unconvincing conspiracy theories. Second, the new members should help raise awareness among people while serving their interests. The aim here is to preserve democracy and the civilian rights that the uprising has demanded. Because they did not have these objectives, the previous parliaments were satisfied with the high levels of illiteracy in society, which helped them create groups of thugs who maintained the regime's stake in preserving power. Raising awareness will ultimately promote tolerance and understanding of various religious and civilian identities to help build a democratic, pluralistic society. Third, the image of a “sacred” leader under whose direction, vision and inspiration every single thing in the country is done should be rejected. The newly formed committees inside the parliament should abide by measures of credibility and transparency and carefully monitor the ruler. The president and the entire regime are there to serve the people. Unfortunately, some of the old culture attitudes still exist. The media and some political forces are still promoting exclusion, the public images of prominent figures and activists are being distorted and some hardline Islamists are trying to attain the same sacrosanct image they once opposed. But we hope the new parliament will face this challenge. The parliament is in a historic transitional period that all Egyptians should unite to support. It is no longer a matter of prestige. It will be a tough test and any violation of the people's trust will cost the members their seats. The price might be much higher if the members do not eradicate the old culture that undermined the interests of the people and served only the now-imprisoned ruler and his men. (Hatem Y. Ezz Eldin is a political researcher based in Jeddah. He can be reached at [email protected]) __
