“It is a difficult time. I hate to see another uprising and people dying. I hope that the people and their leaders can sit down and sort it out in a peaceful way.”
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| (left) Dr. Mansoor Qureishi, President, Ahmadiya Muslim Community, Detroit |
Source/Credit: The Detroit News
By Ursula Watson | July 1, 2013
Local Egyptian-Americans and others following the events in Egypt say the demonstrations are “growing pains of a fledgling democracy” but could further destabilize the region.
“When we had our revolution here in America, it took many years to stabilize the situation,” said Egyptian-American Shereef Akeel, a civil rights lawyer in Troy. “Obviously, there is concern about destabilization and just a vacuum of more chaos, but at the same time, you are seeing a people engaging in protest, able to collect signatures and galvanize a movement. These are signs of a democracy taking place, unfolding before us.”
But the protests could presage a darker period, said one observer. The marchers “believe they were cheated and somebody stole their revolution,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of the bilingual weekly Arab American News in Dearborn.
There is fear that Egyptians are on the brink of a civil war, he said. What happens there has the power to affect other Arab nations, he said.
“If it enters into a dark tunnel of civil war, it will spread and destabilize the region even further than it is at this time,” Siblani said. “When the people of Egypt stood up against Hosni Mubarak, they did not have in mind this kind of ruler. They wanted a secular Egypt. They wanted Egypt to be open to all the world and not be the centerpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood expansion in the region.”
Demonstrators are calling for the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, and his Muslim Brotherhood. At the same time, outnumbered Islamist backers have turned out to support Morsi, saying he was legitimately elected a year ago.
Mansoor Qureshi, Michigan president of the faith-based Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, said he hopes for a peaceful resolution.
“It is a difficult time,” said Qureshi, a cardiologist and Ann Arbor resident. “I hate to see another uprising and people dying. I hope that the people and their leaders can sit down and sort it out in a peaceful way.”
Egyptian-American Ahmed Bedier, president of United Voices for America, a nonprofit in Florida and Washington, D.C., that works on increasing minority participation in the political process, said he’s disappointed to see the current unrest but added “the road to democracy takes time and patience.”
“Regardless of who wins, if people want democracy they have to respect the ballot box,” he said.
Read original post here: Metro Detroit Egyptians say demonstrations could push country to brink of war
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