In the words of New York City firebrand, Al
Sharpton, “no justice, no peace.” This is what came to mind upon hearing the
verdict of the Mubarak trial two days ago. I have never had much use for the Reverend
Al, but his words reverberated in my head as thousands of Egyptians took to the
streets, enraged that Mubarak and Co. were let off the hook. Mubarak was facing
life imprisonment for failing to stop the shooting of protesters during the
initial wave of the 2011 revolution. So was Mubarak’s Minister of Interior,
Habib Al-Adly, and Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Ala. The six officers charged with
actually pulling the trigger on protesters were also let off scot-free.

If that’s not getting off the hook, I
don’t know what is. You would think that after thirty years of robbing the
country, they could come up with enough charges to put him in the electric
chair. Or to wrap a noose around his neck and mete out justice in Tahrir Square,
Iraqi style. Which is basically what a lot of Egyptians clamored for (especially
the relatives of those who died in the revolution). Instead, Mubarak was found
guilty of only one crime but innocent (!) of numerous corruption charges.

As if we really needed a trial to prove that
Mubarak was one of the most corrupt dictators in the world. One need only look
at this place to know the extent of the damage. The education and health systems
are a joke. The economy is in shambles. Unemployment and illiteracy rates are embarrassingly
high. Traffic is a nightmare. Pollution is out of control. That’s all the proof
of Mubarak’s corruption you need right there. But no. Egyptians are having a trial, knowing full well all the judicial
finagling that will occur. Alas… us moderns and our obsession with process.
:/ 

What I find most intriguing is the
collective Egyptian reaction. Of course, Egyptians have the right to be
outraged. But outrage implies surprise. For the life of me, I cannot figure out
what is so surprising about any of this. From the very start of the trial, it
was clear that things were fixed in Mubarak’s favor—Mubarak appointed all the generals, prosecutors and judges! Even without
these appointments, we would still have a sense that things were fixed, because
that’s just how things work here. This time, however, it was a little more
obvious and therefore insulting to the national intelligence. 

Yes. That’s it.
Insulting. Egyptians are insulted,
not surprised. They are insulted that the powers that be think they are as stupid
as to believe that Mubarak only did one thing
wrong in his thirty-year tenure. They are insulted that even after a
revolution, it’s still business as usual in conspiracy-prone Egypt.

This is why
there will be no peace. Because there is no justice. Until the guilty and the
innocent trade places behind bars, Egyptians will not stop raging in Tahrir. Don’t
get me wrong. I fully understand that in this part of the world, in these
times, manipulating political events to ensure more desirable outcomes is
necessary. It may not be “right,” but it is better than letting nature take its
course. Letting nature take its course (i.e. free and fair elections), would result
in Islamists gaining complete control of the country. That would have
disastrous affects for everyone, including the people who voted them in. Hence,
I fully support rigging the presidential elections to ensure the victory of a
secular candidate. This is probably really un-American of me to admit. Then
again, I’m not exactly a (small d) democrat these days. 

That being
said, Egypt could have afforded to conduct the Mubarak trial with less overt
manipulation; convicting Mubarak for murder and corruption would not have jeopardized
the future of the country the way fair elections would. If anything, conducting
a fair trial would have been a nice gesture…a symbol of goodwill toward the Egyptian
people. It would have communicated that the revolution was not fought in vain. At
least not entirely. 

Not to
mention, the timing of the trial was all wrong. The verdict came directly
between the first and second rounds of the presidential elections, both of
which are (rightly) perceived as rigged.  If Egyptians were outraged at last week’s
election results, this verdict basically guarantees that this time around, Egyptians
will approach the polls with a vengeance. And it’s the Islamists who stand to benefit. 

Here’s why. Last
week’s election results put Egyptian liberals in the unfortunate position of having
to choose between the two evils they have been trying to extinguish—Mubarak and
the military, on one hand, and radical Muslims, on the other. Liberals must now
choose between the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsee, and Mubarak’s former Prime
Minister, Ahmed Shafiq.

Or, they can
start a new revolution…

I’m willing
to say that before the verdict, liberals would have voted in droves for Ahmed Shafiq.
Not out of conviction, but to prevent the country from falling into the hands
of radicals (and because this would be easier than starting another revolution…and
because liberals have tacitly admitted defeat). The revolution did not preside
the way they hoped it would, and it is too late to save it. Their only option would
be to prevent Egypt from turning into Afghanistan. If that means electing a
Mubarak crony, then so be it. 

After hearing
the verdict, however, many angry liberals will vote to Morsee. Also not out of
conviction, but out of spite. They are disgusted with all things Mubarak. Though
Morsee wants to impose Shariah law, everyone knows that he is also the ancien regime’s staunchest opponent.  Right
now, this is the most important thing for disillusioned Egyptian liberals. 

Casein point, Mr. Ayman Nour. He is one of Egypt’s most influential liberals who publicly
endorsed Morsee. Ayman Nour is
a hardcore secularist who made a career out of opposing Mubarak. His activism
landed him in jail for being the first person to ever challenge Mubarak for the
presidency in 2005. After hearing the verdict of the Mubarak trial, however,
Nour declared his intent to support the Morsee campaign.