Dr Reem Abou-El-Fadl on the myth of Sixty Years of Oppression in Egypt

Reem Abou-El-Fadl has recently published an article in the Al-Akhbar newspaper (English) entitled From Nasser to Tantawi: The Myth of Sixty Years of Oppression. The article considers the connections that have been made in Egypt between the July 1952 Revolution, launched by the Free Officers movement, and the January 2011 Revolution, launched by this years popular uprising in Egypt.

Reem says, Certainly, the Free Officers Movement brought the army to power and ruled a one-party state with its own share of political prisoners. But both partisans and detractors of the July Revolution also agree on its orientation towards Egypts millions of poor at home, and towards pan-Arabism and liberation movements abroad. Phasing in land reform, improved labor conditions, free education and healthcare, Nasser argued that the road to democracy had to begin with freedom from poverty and colonialism. Today, six decades on, Egypts ruling military council is part of a coalition with big business, Islamist organizations, and politicians from the Mubarak era, while abroad, it is only American interests that count. How did this change occur?

The full article can be read here. Excerpts and further commentary can be found in an article for Politics in Spires, which can be read here.