THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 206, September 15, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
DISSIDENT WATCH: AYMAN NOUR
By Suzanne Gershowitz
ISLAMISM & AUTHORITARIANISM VERSUS CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: ISLAMIST POLITICS &
THE EGYPTIAN DICTATORSHIP OF HOSNI MUBARAK VERSUS AGITATION FOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL
REFORM IN EGYPT -- THE STORY OF EGYPTIAN DISSIDENT AYMAN NOUR
FULL STORY:
On January 29, 2005, just a day before Iraq's first free elections in a half-century, the Egyptian government moved to shut down
its own fledgling opposition, arresting 40-year-old Ayman Nour, Chairman of the upstart Ghad (Tomorrow) Party.
In Egypt, the government licenses political parties, a power it has used to constrain opposition. Nour, a lawyer who entered the
Majlis ash-Sha‘b (People's Assembly) in 1994, broke with the establishment nationalist Wafd Party in 2000, disillusioned with the
lack of liberal [constitutional democratic] reform. The same year, he published a book advocating liberalism [constitutional
democracy] over Islamist politics, Yawmiyat Suhufi Mushaghib (The Memoir of a Troublemaking Journalist), [1]
and began efforts to form his own liberal [constitutional democratic] party.
After more than three years of bureaucratic hold-up, the Egyptian government formally recognized the Ghad Party as Egypt's first
new opposition party in more than a half-century. [2] On paper, the Ghad Party's influence is slight. It has only six deputies in
Egypt's 454-seat Assembly, while Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party has 415.
But, unlike other Egyptian parliamentarians, Nour used his People's Assembly seat to agitate for concrete reforms. Three weeks
prior to his arrest, he antagonized the Egyptian government by submitting a draft constitution mandating contested elections,
rather than a simple referendum on the incumbent's rule. [3] As a result, Nour's popularity has been on an upswing. One
Egyptian analyst predicted he could win 20 to 30 percent of the vote. [4]
Mubarak, 76, retaliated with charges many Egyptians considered spurious. He accused Nour of forging signatures he collected in
order to establish his party, a charge Nour rejects. Upon arrest, security forces kept him in a room less than 12 square feet at Nora
prison. [5]
Rather than ignore the domestic abuses of an important ally, the U.S. State Department stood up for the dissident. On January 31,
a State Department spokesman called on the Egyptian government to reconsider Nour's arrest. [6] During Egyptian Foreign
Minister Ahmed Abdul-Gheit's February 15, 2005, visit to Washington, the question of political reform in Egypt "reared its head …
everywhere," [7] according to a report in Al-Ahram. Displaying her displeasure at Nour's treatment, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice cancelled a planned visit to Egypt. [8]
It worked. On February 26, Mubarak announced plans to allow opposition candidates to contest presidential elections and, on
March 12, he released Nour from prison.
It is too soon to tell whether Mubarak's concessions are sincere. He has not agreed to legalize all political parties or to allow
international electoral monitoring. [9] His Foreign Minister has ridiculed U.S. support of constitutional democracy in Egypt. [10]
While Nour has declared his intention to run, he still faces trial on June 28, and Mubarak's National Democratic Party seems
intent on sabotaging Nour's campaign. [11] There is no guarantee that Egyptian authorities will allow him to appear on the ballot.
Nevertheless, Washington does have leverage; at $1.8 billion, Egypt is the third largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Iraq and
Israel. [12]
NOTES:
[1] Cairo: Dar al-Hurriya, 2000. See also The Washington Post, Mar. 12, 2005.
[2] Ayman Nour, "Letter From Prison: ‘Did I Take Democracy Too Seriously,'" Newsweek, Mar. 14, 2005.
[3] Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo), Feb. 17-23, 2005.
[4] The Washington Post, Mar. 12, 2005.
[5] Nour, "Letter From Prison."
[6] U.S. Department of State, news briefing, Jan. 31, 2005.
[7] Al-Ahram Weekly, Feb. 17-23, 2005.
[8] The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2005.
[9] The Washington Post, Mar. 15, 2005.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Al-Ahram Weekly, Mar. 31-Apr. 6, 2005.
[12] Curt Tarnoff and Larry Nowels, "Summary," Foreign Aid: An Introductory Overview of U.S. Programs and Policy,
Congressional Research Service, Apr. 15, 2004.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Egypt, Arabs, & the Middle East
North Africa -- The Arab States of Islamic North Africa
The Middle East & the Arabs
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Suzanne Gershowitz is a research assistant at the American Enterprise Institute.
The foregoing article by Suzanne Gershowitz was originally published in the Middle East Quarterly, Summer, 2005, and can
be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
September 9, 2005
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