Egyptian Protesters Fear Islamic Takeover

Egyptian protesters flooded the streets of Cairo on Tuesday. One year after the 2011 Egyptian revolution ousted ex-President Hosni Mubarak, many Egyptians are afraid of what constitution the newly elected government will draft.

The 100-member panel tasked with drafting a new constitution is dominated by Islamic parties. Muslims secured 70 percent of the panel members, and protesters accuse these parties of “hijacking” the 2011 Egyptian revolution. They say they are afraid that the new constitution will not represent all Egyptians fairly.

They are “against the fact that the Islamic current in Egypt and Islamic representatives at the parliament are the only representatives of Egyptians who are hijacking the whole revolution,” said May El Termesany, professor of Ottawa University.

Hundreds have protested against what they say is Islamist members disregarding “anyone else’s voice.” The demonstrators accuse Islamist members of parliament of leveraging their majority in the new government to customize the constitution-drafting process.

“What we are seeing right now, what we are witnessing is about the domination of the one single party on the making of the constitution. It doesn’t happen in any country,” said Coptic protester Rafik Magdy.

While many in the West believed the revolution would result in a democratic Egypt, the Trumpet forecast from the beginning that Egypt would turn into another Islamic state. This forecast is being proven true as Islamic parties continue to dominate the new political processes. Continue to watch as these parties seize more power—and transform Egypt into an Islamic state.