| Has it been mentioned that whoever is running Egypt has only about two months of expenses in cash remaining? What will they do when the top X percent toddles off to foreign climes, taking their bank accounts -- and tax paying habits -- with them? |
| Don't worry, Uncle Sugar will step up. He always does. And no one says 'thank you' in that part of the world. |
| It depends. The House of Representatives hasn't been in the mood to hand out treats to ill-mannered foreign pets the way they used to -- as UNESCO and the PA recently became aware. |
Sporting the latest fashions and mingling in upmarket country clubs, Egypt's rich fear a victory for the Moslem Brüderbund and hardline Salafis in the first phase of parliamentary elections presages change ahead. "I hope they don't impose the veil and ban women from driving like in Soddy Arabia," said coquettish fifty-something Naglaa Fahmi from her gym in the leafy neighborhood of Zamalek.
In a nearby luxury hotel, Nardine -- one of Egypt's eight million Coptic Christians who are alarmed by the prospect of a new Islamist-dominated parliament -- is pondering a move abroad. "My father is seriously thinking about sending me and my brothers elsewhere because he thinks we won't have a future in the country with the Salafis," said the banker in her twenties.
Ten months after a popular uprising ended the 30-year autocratic rule of Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, millions of Egyptians embraced their new democratic freedoms earlier this week at the start of multi-stage parliamentary elections.
The preliminary results to be published on Friday were expected to show the moderate Moslem Brüderbund as the dominant force, but with a surprisingly strong showing from the hardline Al-Nur party. Its leaders advocate the fundamentalist brand of Salafi Islam, rejecting Western culture and favoring strict segregation of the sexes and the veiling of women. They say they have been the victims of Islamophobia
...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do...
and sustained fear-mongering by liberals in the Egyptian media.
Nevertheless, the fear that they will try to impose their values on the rest of society has driven Angie to consider leaving her comfortable Cairo life behind. "My husband recently got a job offer in Dubai. In the beginning I was hesitant, but now, with all that's happening, I'm encouraging him to take the job and I'll join him with our daughter," she said. "The Gulf has become more liberal than Egypt," she told AFP.
For Ahmed Gabri, having the Islamists in power means having his freedoms restricted. "I will leave the country," said Gabri, a Moslem. "I will not stand living in a puritanical climate. Why don't they just let people live the way they want?"
The next parliament will be charged with writing a new constitution and the idea of an Islamist-dominated assembly has sent shockwaves through some segments of society.
Many stress the difference, however, between the various Islamist groups. "They don't scare me. We have democracy now which means we'll be able to remove them if they don't suit us," said Manar, a tall blonde in her 40s.
| That was the original plan, yes. |
Iman Ragab, a shop assistant, has resigned herself to the election's likely outcome. "This is democracy, you have to accept the results of the ballot," she said.