Saturday, February 5, 2011

Tariq Ramadan and Slavoj Zizek on the Future of Egyptian Politics

Today in Modesto California a small group of us demonstrated in solidarity with Egyptians (and by further extension the Arab world). The response from the public was overwhelmingly positive. Our signs read "No more US aid to dictators. Down with Mubarak. Let Egypt and the Arab world be free." Others said, "Support freedom." This is what the revolution is about: freedom. People that do not support this freedom keep bringing up the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood. I argue that the ideology and potential for the Muslim Brotherhood to take power is irrelevant at this point. Maurice Merleau-Ponty, once wrote "We do not have a choice between purity and violence but between different kinds of violence." In other words, a revolution has violence, but a dictatorial regime is itself secured through violence. Yet, in the case of Egypt, the revolution has mainly been peaceful. It has been the pro-Mubarak forces that lashed violence and terror on the public for thirty years and they are the ones continuing it still. The Muslim Brotherhood is not Egypt, they are a part of it. On the Riz Khan (al Jazeera English) program Tariq Ramadan, whose grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood, and Zizek share interesting points on this topic.

1 comment:

ethnotic said...

Did you notice how Zizek is a total opportunist a$$hole here? I mean he has never said anything like this in his carrier: his attack on multiculturalism was always based on the fact that he doesn't want to learn the fucked up ways other people live in the world; "stay back from me!" he says.

Now on the eve when the military (some god damned field marshal) takes control of the country) Zizek wants to jack-off about what? How he is smarter then the neo-liberals? My god! What an ass...

P.S> HIs hero Lenin turned out such an exemplar of a job in Russia eh...what democracy has blossomed in the East...fucking asshole.