CAIRO – Moderate has become a dirty word in Egypt. Since the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi, anyone who refuses to support either side uncritically has become a traitor to both. Polarized attitudes of “you're either with us or against us” have forced Egyptians in the middle ground to disappear largely from political view, making any reconciliation between Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed government ever more remote. This raises the danger of yet more of the bloodshed that followed the fall of Egypt's first freely-elected president in July. Both sides are hardening their positions in what is already the most turbulent period in the internal history of modern Egypt, a US ally that has a peace treaty with Israel. Experiences of two one-time members of the National Salvation Front (NSF), an alliance of liberal and leftist parties, shows how moderates can come under verbal or even physical attack from the pro-military or Islamist camps. One is Mohamed ElBaradei, who served briefly as vice president under the army-backed interim government but resigned after security forces crushed pro-Morsi sit-ins on Aug. 14, killing hundreds. ElBaradei, who won wide respect abroad as head of the United Nations nuclear agency for more than a decade, got few thanks at home for taking a stand against political violence. Newspaper columnist Mustafa Bakri described ElBaradei's resignation speech as a “stab in the back of the Egyptian people.” ElBaradei has now left the country. The other is Khaled Dawoud, a former NSF spokesman who suffered even worse - but at the hands of the other side. Even though he resigned from the secular alliance because it had backed the crackdown on Morsi supporters, Dawoud was attacked by pro-Islamists who stabbed him several times. “Without a doubt, it was an assassination attempt,” Dawoud told Reuters at his Cairo home, his left hand still healing after one of his attackers dragged a knife across his forearm several times while he was trapped in his car during a protest. Moderate voices have been drowned out in the Egyptian media which largely glorifies the army and its chief, General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. An absence of established political parties to encourage dynamic pluralist politics has also pushed moderate politicians into the background while the public, weary of instability, mostly backs the army in its “war against terrorism.” Dawoud rejects any suggestion that his opposition to the August crackdown reveals sympathy for political Islam. “I'm a strong opponent of the Muslim Brotherhood. They're my ideological adversary, but I don't want to kill them,” he said. “I'm not against August 14 because I love the Brotherhood ... but because I'm scared for my country. When 400-500 of them die, they'll have relatives, friends and siblings who say there is no solution but revenge,” he said. Political scientist Emad Shahin said the Egyptian media ensured that real moderates would be silenced. “If you're against the coup, then you're with the Brotherhood. If you're with the Brotherhood, then you're a terrorist. And if you are for democracy, then you are a fifth columnist. That is how it's calculated,” said Shahin, who is a professor at the American University in Cairo. When an uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egyptians hoped for an era of democracy that would bring political and economic stability to the most populous Arab county. Many grew disillusioned with Morsi, the man they elected to replace Mubarak. Morsi was accused of usurping power and mismanaging the economy; millions protested against his rule, prompting the army to step in. Since then, many Egyptians have associated the army with stability and rejected the views of others. The Brotherhood and its supporters say the repression is worse than the decades under Mubarak, and they worry about the intolerance. Kamal Aboulmagd, a lawyer who tried to start a mediation effort, lamented a “wave of intimidation” against anyone who takes a moderate line in the crisis, which has severely hit tourism and investment in Egypt. “The moderate voices are badly needed and it should be a group of people who are willing to sacrifice,” he told Reuters in his Cairo office by the Nile. “I call them living martyrs. They will be condemned and accused by both sides, but if they're sincere, they shouldn't care at all. It's an attempt to save the country.” — Reuters
