The Egyptian Revolution

QUESTION

In no more than two pages, identify and provide the link to the Wikipedia page relevant to your own area of specialty that you propose to edit through your own research. Explain the shortcomings of the page as it stands, and how you intend to modify it. Provide at least three primary sources (sources from the same historical period about which you are writing) and three secondary sources (scholarly sources about the topic, from peer review journal articles or university press books) that you will use to inform your writing, and briefly explain how each is relevant. My chosen area of specialty is the Egyptian Revolution — argument is that january 2011 was not a real revolution and instead was orchestrated by the muslim brotherhood — i will add the other sources that support this argument.

ANSWER

The Egyptian Revolution

The January 25 Egyptian Arabic Revolution, commonly known as the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, is reported to have begun on the 25^th of January 2011 by Wikipedia (Wikipedia). The date had been set by the youth groups in the country to ensure that the revolution coincided with the yearly Egyptian police holiday to make a statement against the rising police brutality that was experienced during the last few years of the presidency of Mubarak. The online site reports that the revolution involved marches, demonstrations, resistance, occupations of offices and plazas, strikes, and various acts of civil disobedience (Sowers & Toensing). Huge numbers of protesters from a wide range of religious and socio-economic backgrounds participated in strikes and demonstrations, demanding the stepping down or overthrow of the president, Hosni Mubarak.

The demonstrations resulted in violent clashes between the protesters and the country’s security forces, with more than six thousand people getting injured and more than 800 people losing their lives. The protesters, in retaliation, torched more than 90 police stations across the country, resulting in unimaginable property destruction. The grievances of the youth groups and protesters included various legal and political issues such as the lack of political freedom, police brutality, civil liberty, state-of-emergency laws and regulations, corruption, freedom of speech, increased rate of unemployment, and high rate of inflation (Guirguis 190). The protesters demanded the end of the president’s regime and the state-of-emergency law. The Egyptian Revolution resulted in president Mubarak stepping down, and power was given to the country’s armed forces.

After the rule by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the Muslim Brotherhood took power through various popular elections, suffering from opposition from the citizens for attempting to pass a constitution that favored Muslims. Eventually, the Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohammed Morsi, was overthrown through a coup d’état orchestrated by the defense minister, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The country achieved stability and peace under the rule of El-Sisi. The Wikipedia information source provides information on the occurrences in Egypt on the 25^th of January 2011 and the days that followed. It provides information on the ascension of the Muslim Brotherhood to power as a result of the revolution and later got overthrown. However, the Egyptian revolution was not a real national revolution but was a revolt orchestrated by the Muslim Brotherhood (Joya 370). I intend to modify the information provided by discussing the role played by the Muslim Brotherhood in the revolution.

Guirguis provides information on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic movement in Egypt since the beginning of the twentieth century (211). Selim conducted an investigation into the dynamics of the revolution and its impact on the country, discussing the role of the Islamic movement in the revolution (183). Armbrust discusses the revolution with a focus on the movement of power from the government that was present to the Islamist movement and how the situation did not improve (843). El-Ghobashy provides a discussion of the Egyptian revolution and why it may have been wrong, as it did not result in the improvement of the stability and prosperity of the country (4). The role of the Muslim Brotherhood is discussed in detail in these articles, and the information provided will assist in the discussion of the Egyptian Revolution’s legitimacy.

Works Cited

Armbrust, Walter. “The Trickster in Egypt’s January 25th Revolution.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 55.4 (2013): 834-864.

El-Ghobashy, Mona. “The praxis of the Egyptian revolution.” Middle East Report 41.258 (2011): 2-13.

Guirguis, Max. “Islamic resurgence and its consequences in the Egyptian experience.” Mediterranean Studies 20.2 (2012): 187-226.

Joya, Angela. “The Egyptian revolution: crisis of neoliberalism and the potential for democratic politics.” Review of African political economy 38.129 (2011): 367-386.

Selim, Gamal M. “Egypt under SCAF and the Muslim Brotherhood: The triangle of counter-revolution.” Arab Studies Quarterly 37.2 (2015): 177-199.

Sowers, Jeannie, and Chris Toensing, eds. The journey to Tahrir: revolution, protest, and social change in Egypt. Verso Books, 2012.

Wikipedia. “Egyptian Revolution of 2011.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_revolution_of_2011.