A Harmonious Protest

The massive anti-war rally that took place in Cairo Stadium on 27 February was symbolic in many ways. Advertised heavily in the papers as an initiative sponsored by a national coalition of Egypt's opposition parties, syndicates and civil society organisations, the rally was hailed by many as the first-ever protest to be sanctioned by the government in recent history.

Its spirit seems to have become contagious. Yesterday's peace march organised by the National Democratic Party (NDP) was expected to attract half a million protestors. Both events have inspired questions regarding whether or not the government has retreated from its earlier vehemence in clamping down on anti-war protests.

At the stadium, anti-riot police were unusually affable. The estimated 120,000 protestors did not have to go through security checks, and overall, the rally was both peaceful and well organised.

The slogans being chanted for hours by the crowd did not seem particularly watered down. "Down with America and long live Iraq!" was a typical one. "America and Israel are one enemy," was another. Other slogans -- like "God's victory is near" and "With our blood, with our souls, we will sacrifice ourselves for you, Iraq" -- may have hinted at the Islamist-dominated nature of the rally.

The 500 university students in charge of organisation for the event were mainly members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. A majority of the rally's female participants were veiled. And Mamoun El-Hodeibi, supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, received what appeared to be the loudest cheers from the crowds, as he said, "Egypt will not forget its leading role in the Middle East and our objective today is to drive away the imminent threat."

That Islamists constituted a majority among the protesters was no coincidence. The rally, it turned out, was the brainchild of El-Hodeibi who, during a meeting at the Doctors' Syndicate, called upon all political parties to organise a national peace protest in denunciation of US and Israeli policy. A delegation of three MPs -- Doctors' Syndicate chairman and NDP MP Hamdi El-Sayed, Muslim Brotherhood MP Mohamed Mursi, and independent Nasserist-oriented MP Abdel-Azim El-Maghrabi -- then attempted to obtain official permission to hold the protest. Hamdeen El-Sabahi, an independent Nasserist MP, later joined the Organisational team.

"The Doctors' Syndicate was the most receptive to El-Hodeibi's call," Mursi said, since the syndicate -- the primary organiser of the event -- is Islamist-dominated. "The syndicate and members of the Muslim Brotherhood exerted a great deal of effort organising the rally and motivating the public."

But why did the government allow the Muslim Brotherhood to be the main organiser of the protest? "Probably because the government knows that Islamists are the most capable of mobilising people," maintained Hamdi Hassan, another Muslim Brotherhood MP. "Islamists are constantly growing in number and power and are the most capable of organisation."

According to Mursi, "the rally will definitely result in an increase of trust between the Muslim Brotherhood and the government. But we would like to view it as the collaboration of all political parties."

Other organisers also pointed to signs of the rally's diversity. "I don't think Islamists were a majority or the main organisers," claimed Rifaat El-Said, secretary-general of the leftist Tagammu Party. "The protestors were not affiliated to any political party; they were mainly just looking for a chance to express themselves."

The Wafd Party's assistant secretary-general, Fouad Badrawi, also preferred not to dwell on who organised the rally. "What really matters is that all Egyptians, without exception, are against the war and have been given the chance to express that in a civilised manner," he said. "This is a time for everybody to stand united in the face of a major imminent threat."

According to El-Said, the government chose the Doctors' Syndicate as its partner in organising the event so as not to give credit to political parties. Nonetheless, he said, there were no fewer than 1,400 leftists amongst the protestors, 200- 300 Nasserists and 400-500 Wafdists.

Bar Association Chairman Sameh Ashour said political parties had failed to mobilise their constituents into participating in the march. The Doctor's Syndicate, on the other hand, provided shuttle buses to bring in protestors from all over, even outside Cairo. (In fact, if there was one sour note to the event, it was witnesses' reports that some potential protestors were stopped at checkpoints into the city for fear of overcrowding.)

El-Sayed said it was only natural that political parties were not able to mobilise as effectively as the syndicate since most are financially strapped, their activities severely restricted by the government. Nonetheless, he said, the rally was "massive and diversified".

For El-Sayed, the important thing was that the rally marked the beginning of a renewed confidence between political leaders and the public. "We kept our promise that the rally would be peaceful," he said, "and the police, for its part, also kept its word and was very respectful to the participants." As such, said El-Sayed, the rally was a "historic day of nationalism".

Organising it, however, was not easy. El-Sayed said the rally had been delayed due to security concerns. "It took us time to convince the authorities of the idea itself, and then to complete all the official paperwork. The authorities were nervous, but we promised them that the rally would not cause any public unrest."

El-Sayed was also positive about the venue. "Rallying in a stadium was beneficial in and of itself," he told Al-Ahram Weekly. "It helped make the event more organised, and allowed banners to be displayed nicely, and forced speeches to be to the point."

Ashour agreed, saying holding the rally in the stadium was a security compromise, but that it bode well, perhaps, for future, more liberated anti-war rallies.

The fact that it was held in the stadium, and was government-sanctioned, lent a surreal air to the proceedings, which lacked the basic element of freedom of space that is generally connected to such events. Some of the foreign media covering the event -- like the BBC -- commented on the "set-piece" atmosphere by which the "government is hoping to show it is sensitive to the undoubted anger many Egyptians feel about the threat of war".

In any case, the public did seem anxious to make the most of the margin of freedom that had been provided. Many said they were happy that the government had allowed them the chance to express their angry sentiments about the war, and some were optimistic that the rally would mark the start of even larger anti-war activities.

By noon the stadium had filled to capacity, with tens of thousands still streaming in. People of all ages carried Palestinian flags, wore kuffiyas, and sported makeshift headgear emblazoned with slogans like "No to war on Iraq" and "Yes to the Intifada."

Howeida Fayyad was one of many protesters who had come from outside the capital, along with her children and extended family, to show their solidarity with the Iraqis and Palestinians. "This is the least we should do," said Fayyad as she tried to lull her baby to sleep. "It's a national and religious duty, and we are definitely no less angry about the war than those who took part in massive protests around the world or volunteered to be human shields in Iraq."

Gene Boctor, a leftist Copt and veteran political activist, braved a minor leg disability to attend the rally because, as she said, "my participation is a national duty." Boctor said it was the biggest rally she'd ever seen that had not ended up besieged by the police.

According to Boctor, government clampdowns on demonstrations "only serve the imperialist interests of the west. This rally will help to save our dignity".

The speakers included heads of syndicates and opposition parties like the Wafd, Nasserist and Tagammu, as well as groups such as the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. A large number of intellectuals and actors were present, along with about 200 Muslim and Coptic religious figures.

The organising coalition issued a statement calling upon Arab leaders to stand unified both in the face of a possible war against Iraq, and in resisting the US-Zionist hegemony which threatens their future. It denounced US support of Israel's brutal aggression and ongoing massacres of the Palestinian people. The statement said that any Arab country that facilitates a US assault on Iraq would be committing treason against patriotism, Arab nationalism and morality.

The statement also urged the public to boycott all US, Israeli and British products. It called on the Egyptian government to stop receiving US aid, and to instead provide aid to the Palestinian people. There was praise for the anti-war demonstrations that have swept the world, and strong denunciation of US plans to alter the map of the Middle East, steal Iraqi oil, tighten its control over the Gulf states, blackmail Iran, threaten Syria, divide Saudi Arabia and impose a siege on Egypt, all within the framework of a supposed war on terrorism.

Rifaat Haggag, a protestor from Al-Gharbiya Governorate and member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, said chanting slogans was not enough, but that there was nothing else people could do right now. "If the government opened the door for jihad you'd see millions of people volunteering to help our brothers in Palestine," enthused Haggag. "But at least today we are expressing our anger and telling the entire world that we are not as apathetic or negative as the west thinks we are."

One question going through many people's minds was why the government was allowing the rally to take place at all. Mustafa El-Feki, head of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said it was "simply because the government allows freedom of expression." El-Feki mentioned the protest rallies, which take place at Al-Azhar Mosque on a weekly basis, as an example.

At the same time, however, the recently renewed Emergency Law specifically bans public protests, and several anti-war activists have been detained in recent weeks.

According to one of the protestors, the government had no other choice but to allow people to express themselves, because otherwise, "people would have burst with anger. Public sentiment," he explained, "has been increasingly geared against both US and Israeli policies, as well as the inability of Arab leaders to take action to stop the war. We are here to tell our leaders that we are with them, ready to fight for our land whenever they think that's appropriate. Political leaders should understand that public demonstrations are a form of support for them and their dignity."

The Tagammu's El-Said explained that the government was under pressure from several directions at once. The massive rallies taking place around the world, and increasingly furious local public opinion, were threatening a potential outburst. The fact that the NDP organised a peace march, said El-Said, and asked all other political parties to take part, corroborated that point.

Perhaps the Wafd's Badrawi put it best when he said, "It would have been a real shame to see massive rallies in the US and Britain, and not in Egypt."