Al-Masry al-Youm, Egypt, August 2
If the Egyptian revolution of 1952, which abolished the constitutional monarchy in our country, had not taken place, would our economic situation be better or worse than it is today? The rebels of July 23 were loyal and enthusiastic, and gave their lives for what they believed was correct. The Revolution advanced Egypt on many fronts, such as the expansion of industry, health, education and agriculture. But it has also resulted in some catastrophic errors, such as the strengthening of nationalist and socialist thought that destroyed the Egyptian economic system, isolated Cairo from the world economy and stopped its development. Therefore, an important question we should ask ourselves is the following: what would Iraq have lacked had King Faisal I remained in power? Iraq would have been better and stronger than Jordan and Morocco, and more stable than many monarchies around us today. What if King Idriss Senoussi remained in power in Libya, and succeeded in suppressing Qaddafi’s uprising against him? I think that Libya would have been more stable, safe and prosperous. What if the Syrian revolution had not taken place against Bashar Al-Assad? Syria would be stronger and more secure, but now it is occupied by Iran, America, Russia and Israel, and its people are among the most disenfranchised in the world. What would have happened had the Arab Spring never occurred? It is almost certain that the revolutions in the Arab world harmed Arab countries and set our societies back decades. Undoubtedly, all of these revolutions took place for a reason. There is no argument over that. But they also left the Arab world in critical condition, time and time again. So what is the solution, some may ask? To them I say: gradual reforms. Revolutionaries want change to happen overnight. Human behavior and cultures don’t evolve that quickly. Without patience, we will never be able to change the system. –Najah Ibrahim