Egypt's Revolution: Will It Unsettle the Middle East?
What's behind the revolutionary fever sweeping the Arab world? It's already having a major impact in the region and may spawn key changes needed to fulfill end-time events.
by Rod Hall
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak became the second Arab leader in a month
to succumb to his people's powerful thirst for freedom. He surrendered
to the will of a leaderless revolution and stepped down after 30 years of
autocratic rule over the Arab world's most populous nation.
The revolutionary wave is washing rapidly over the entire Middle East,
leading to some political reform and perhaps more dramatic restructuring.
Where's it all leading?
Revolution and interim government
Historian David Bell in Foreign Policy magazine points to two
types of revolutions possible for Egypt's near future.
"The fundamental question being discussed by commentators at present
is what shape a new Egyptian revolution might take. Will it come to a quick
end with the establishment of a new government—hopefully a democratic
one—or will a much more radical, long-lasting revolutionary process
develop? . . .
"Anxieties focus . . . on the Muslim Brotherhood and the possibility
that Egypt may experience its own Islamic revolution [as happened in Iran
more than 30 years ago], with unpredictable consequences, not only for the
country itself but for the region and the world" ("Why We Can't
Rule Out an Egyptian Reign of Terror," Feb. 7, 2011).
Regardless of which type of revolution is underway, the rigid institutions
and laws of a police state left behind by Mubarak are presumably about to
change.
In order to push forward the transition to democratic civilian rule, the
Egyptian military leaders dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution.
They've said they will run the country for six months or until presidential
and parliamentary elections can be held.
