ANALYSIS: Egypt, Coptic Christians & turmoil

The news from the banks of the Nile River has left many without hope of ever understanding from the outside what has happened over the past several months in Egypt, especially in recent weeks. We live in a small world deeply affected by other places which operate within different cultures. This is true of Egypt. What is important there differs from here. Let's look at various aspects of this reality.

Egyptians expect a stable strong ruler. However, the decades of dictatorship under Hosni Mubarak made them wary of that style of leadership. After deposing the dictator, Egyptians elected Mohamed Morsi by a slim majority, and he soon began to install men in governing functions whose only qualification was their Muslim Brotherhood party membership. The economy and other vital parts of Egyptian life began to deteriorate in his first year of office.

As an elected president Morsi began to gather to himself unrestricted power. He hurriedly formed a constitutional revision committee devoid of non-Islamist input and drafted a pro-Islamic constitution. He then recanted on his promise to hold elections after the constitution was approved by the Egyptian Parliament's upper house. Freedom of expression was suppressed. Non-governmental organizations monitoring civil liberties and human rights were harassed and employees arrested. Leaders of state-run media and news outlets were replaced. All of this led Egyptians to see that the president was not a stable and strong ruler but just another dictator like his predecessor Mubarak. After one year Morsi's actions, administration and words were destabilizing the country and its economy and threatening the future of Egypt. Keep reading