President Morsi’s short reign, which lasted less than a year, witnessed numerous sectarian and racially motivated assaults, most recently, the murder of four Shiites in Abu Muslim village in Giza. There was also no shortage of sectarian clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians, in addition to attacks believed to have been committed by Salafists against tombs and shrines frequented by Sufi pilgrims.

President Morsi’s short reign, which lasted less than a year, witnessed numerous sectarian and racially motivated assaults, most recently, the murder of four Shiites in Abu Muslim village in Giza. There was also no shortage of sectarian clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians, in addition to attacks believed to have been committed by Salafists against tombs and shrines frequented by Sufi pilgrims. It was, therefore, no surprise that many sects were pleased to topple Morsi and the political Islamic ideology on July 3.

“Thirty years’ worth of corruption committed in one year”

Sufis are not a minority in the usual sense of the word, but their tombs and shrines have been repeatedly desecrated, like in the Talkha district of Dakahlia Governorate last year, which were deemed as polytheistic by Salafists allegedly responsible for the attack. Sheikh Ahmed Sawy, a member of the Supreme Council of Sufi Orders in Fayoum province said, “The January 25 revolution supposedly erupted over corruption, but was unfortunately exploited by the Muslim Brotherhood to achieve their own interests thanks to their organized methodology. Thirty years’ worth of corruption under Mubarak was committed in one year by the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said.

Sawy, who believes religious and politics should be separate claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood offended too many Egyptians with their interpretation of Islam. Sufis, he claimed, attributed imbalance over the past two years to authorizing the establishment of religious parties. “We have already discovered that religious-based choices produced leaders that exploited religion to achieve their own interests. A sound choice is based on efficiency,” he explained.

No to religious parties

Last month, former President Morsi attended a conference held in Cairo under the slogan ‘Supporting Syria,’ in which a number of Islamic figures from various religious groups participated. Sectarian slogans were circulated during the conference, calling for intolerance before Morsi and the rest of the attendees. A few days later, the Abu Muslim incident occurred when four Shiites were beaten to death and subsequently, Egypt’s Shiites contributed to the June 30 protests that toppled Morsi. Taher Hashemi, member of Ahlulbayt World Assembly and Secretary General of the Hashemite Order in Jordan, underlined that they took part in the protest against a regime that excluded all other groups with different beliefs.

“The so-called political Islam is the Umayyad type of Islam, which proved to be a failure in all respects since it tarnished the image of Islam. The Islamic teachings of Prophet Mohammed do not preach killing, hatred and intolerance. Islam is based on the principles of Prophet Mohammed and Ali ibn Abi Talib who said, ‘when you go to Egypt, you will find Christians whom you should help perform their worship and build their churches.’ This is our Islam, but theirs is based upon the Umayyads’ concept,” he said.

Hashemi strongly rejected the concept of establishing religious parties and considered providing a political vision through religion as unacceptable, as no security or peace would be maintained with religious parties.

Coptic participation

The Copts participated in the June 30 protests and had a strong presence in all mass demonstrations staged in Egypt’s squares, as emphasized by Raphael Sami, archbishop and pastor of St. George Church in Tamiya in Fayoum province and columnist at the weekly ‘Watani’. “Morsi appointed 17 Brotherhood governors in an attempt to spread the Brotherhood’s ideology over the states, which urged millions of citizens to demand Morsi’s removal as he failed to fulfill the electoral campaigning promises.”

Sami, who also supports a separation of religion and government added: “Morsi did not have a plan to develop the country.  Instead, he plunged Egypt into a dark tunnel of debt and loans and did not agree to appointing a qualified prime minister to save the country from economic mayhem. He took his decisions without consulting his people and had only cared for the group surrounding him.”

Tribal participation

In spite of their distance from the center of events and their residence in the desert, the Arab tribes strongly supported removing former president Morsi. “The Arab tribes have strongly participated in anti-Morsi protests motivated by their status of being an inalienable part of the Egyptian people and because Egypt is our homeland. The Brotherhood’s regime had a negative impact upon life in general,” said Alaa Abu Jalil, member of the coalition of Arab tribes in Fayoum.

He added, “Former regime’s practices made it impossible for this farce to continue. To complement our revolutionary role, started in 1919, we were duty-bound to defend Egypt and release it from its hijackers who ruled under the guise of religion. Religion, God is our witness, is innocent of them and their violations.”