Ban on Muslim Brotherhood

THE order of an Egyptian court on Monday banning the Muslim Brotherhood from operating and freezing its assets does not bode well for Egypt, which has stumbled from one crisis to another since the strongman, Hosni Mubarak, was ousted in February 2011.
The Tahrir Square uprising against Mubarak ushered in what people called the Arab Spring. It was assumed that the change in government would lead to a democratic era and the civilian set up would initiate reforms both political and economic for the betterment of the Egyptian people.
When Mohamed Morsi of Muslim Brotherhood was elected president in the first democratic elections, it was expected that he would take along with him all sections of the society and put Egypt on a path to recovery. However, his ouster by the army pushed the country into a new round of chaos, violence and social unrest.
The violent demonstrations by Morsi supporters following his ouster and subsequently military crackdown resulted in more deaths and destruction.
The Muslim Brotherhood since its formation in 1928 has faced long spells of ban but it has remained on the political landscape.
Given the circumstances prevailing in Egypt, banning Muslim Brotherhood is hardly a solution. In fact, it may trigger another round of violence and chaos.
The 2011 Arab Spring has made it impossible for Egypt to return to past and rolling back its gains. Egypt requires a major rethink on the part of all stakeholders.
Instead of barring Muslim Brotherhood or any other group, efforts should be made to reintegrate political groups of all colours for starting a new process of reconciliation.
Since the 2011 uprising, the Egyptians have paid a very high price and cannot afford to prolong this chaos and political and social unrest any further.

© The Brunei Times. All rights reserved. Reprinted by arrangement with Asia News Network.