OK- so I do not intend to write a big journalistic blog
entry, despite yesterday being one of the momentous in the history of Egypt. Lets see how I get on...
In case you have been holed up in a cave somewhere- and this
is the 1st thing you see online- Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhoods
candidate has won the presidential elections in Egypt and will be sworn into
office, this coming Saturday, 30th June.
Literally within 4 minutes of the announcement of the
results (which I watching avidly on tv, twitter and facebook all at the same
time!!) I received a message on msn from
a dancer in China, panicking. She was concerned that an Islamist president
would instantly ban bellydance in Egypt. Seeing all the reactions on facebook,
from people all over the world, including people here in Cairo, it seems like
this is the common assumption. That and the fear from my friends and family
that somehow, instantly, Cairo had turned into a dangerous place to be for me,
a foreign, non-muslim, female bellydancer.
Is the worry a valid one? Yes, it is a possibility. I would
be lying if I haven’t had a few teary moments over the past 18 months
frightened for the future of my livelihood and my art. There is a risk that the
worst of people’s fears may come true. That dance would be banned. That alcohol
would be banned. That bikini’s would be banned. That strict dress codes for
women will be enforced, etc etc etc .They are all possible. However I
personally feel they are extremely unlikely. Certainly not in the near future,
if at all. Why not?
First of all, after 18 months of disruption, at a time when
there is a world recession, Egypt’s economy is not strong. Tourism is one of
the country’s biggest sources of income, and employment. To damage any of the
sectors which service tourism would be suicide for a president who I presume
would like to stay in office. 22 million people work in tourism. That is more
votes than either Shafiq or Morsi won in these elections. In fact, it is close
to the actual total number of votes in the whole of Egypt for these
presidential elections (just under 26 million)!
Secondly, there is a chance that Morsi will not remain as
president for the full 4 year term. Why not? read Sandmonkey’s blog entry with
all his reasoning behind this. http://www.sandmonkey.org/
I do not know enough about politics to
pass much comment. But the logic seems sound and level headed, so I am going
with it!
So, my thinking is this; Morsi may be Brotherhood, but he
has committed to serving ALL people. That was in his initial speech yesterday.
He will absolutely have his hands too full trying to bring the country back
into some sort of balanced economy to worry about us dancers. He may not even
be there for long enough to deal with a fraction of what he has to anyway.
I am not an expert in any way. These are my own personal
hopes and musings.
When the result was announced that he won last night, my
heart and stomach both moved drastically at the same time. My emotions were
split since I, like most people I spoke to, did not want either of them. We
were all convinced that if Shafiq got in, then there would have been riots and
a lot of bloodshed in the streets last night. I am incredibly relieved that this
didn’t happen. Also, if Shafiq got in,
then it seemed to be commonly felt around the world that it would be a step
backwards in the democratic process, since we all heard the numbers coming from
the polling stations last week and since he was seen as being (rightly or
wrongly) the puppet of SCAF.
However, I wasn’t exactly backing Morsi, since the truth is;
we just don’t know whether he will aim for a more secular unified Egypt or
whether his religious duties (as he might see it) could overly influence his
political ones.
So, in summary, we do not know what the future holds. It is
not certain at all whether people in my industry will suffer at all. Time will
tell. People have become politically aware in the last 18 months at an amazing
rate. As long as the people now do not sit back and just revert to being sheep,
as long as they continue to question and confront what is happening in their
own country then there is still hope that Egypt has a bright future.
At the risk of upsetting some people I would like to say
this.
I do not feel religion and politics should be mixed. They
are different systems in place for different things. As long as Egypt new
president remembers that he is there to help his people live, rather than tell
them how to live, then everything will be ok!
Inshallah.
So,
Should you come to Egypt on holiday? YES.
Should we continue to
love and enjoy and learn it’s fabulous art form that is bellydance? YES
Do I feel personally safe? YES (if I didn’t I would move!)
Do I fear the worst? YES (although my fear is more about
prejudices in the street rather than legislative in connection with work. I am
concerned that the ’uneducated’ man might try to turn Egypt into their own
islamist country, starting with covering their women and harassing the ones who
refuse. Women’s rights in Egypt really are at an all time low )
Despite that, do I try and focus on the good and hope, YES
Does this answer or create more questions for people
interested in Egypt and in particular for dance in Egypt?- you tell me......
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