Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (L) speaks with his media spokesman Yasser Ali during a news conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul (not pictured) after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo February 7, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Sensing a chance to recapture the political center in a bitterly divided society, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is pushing back against ultraconservative clerics calling for violence against the opposition.
Reflecting the highly polarized political climate, hardline sheiks have been issuing fatwas — endorsing violence, rape, even murder — against the liberals who have risen up to protest what they see as the regime’s authoritarian excesses. Of course, Morsi has to be careful that he not go too far in dismissing the influential leaders, some of whose followers comprise his Islamist powerbase. But the politician has clearly determined it’s in his best interest to show some measure of solidarity with the liberals outraged at his tenure, if only to boost his credibility among Egyptian moderates and provide some stability for his besieged government.
Lambasting the words of some of Egypt’s most extreme voices is one (quite visible) way to do that. Providing security in neighborhoods inhabited by the oppsition is another. This is especially crucial after a protester was apparently tortured to death last week. Morsi needs to regain the trust of the majority, and pivoting against Islamist hardliners may help his cause.
Morsi and his government are citing as inspiration for the security push the assassination of a prominent Tunisian leftist politician Wednesday, which threw the young democracy into turmoil. The situation in Egypt is arguably even more precarious, with the liberals in the streets having lost all faith in the government as an impartial arbiter. If Tunisia can descend into chaos, Egypt is in serious trouble, and the assassination of an opposition leader like, say, Mohamed ElBaradei — Morsi’s most high-profile political rival — could be fatal to Egypt’s new order. Much as he might be grateful to hardliner Islamists for backing his government, Morsi’s only move for the time being is to keep his friends close and enemies closer. And safe.
