Downfall of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood a blow for political Islam

The ousting of  Mohammad Morsi, Egypt's first civilian, democratically elected president today, is  a drastic defeat for political Islam in the traditionally conservative, religious Egypt.  The rebellion of millions of Egyptians against the rule of the Moslem Brotherhood will have wider repercussions in the region that is witnessing unprecedented political and social transitions. The toppling of the Ikhwan, however, does not mean that people in Egypt are demanding the "secular" rule. 

Egypt's military forces removed Morsi, suspended the Constitution, and installed an interim government, placed Morsi and senior Muslim Brotherhood officials under house arrest, and called on all sides to prepare for early presidential elections and a parliamentary vote, thus ending a little over a year of Islamists' rule. The military orchestrated their move carefully, bringing along political and religious figures to avoid calling their intervention a "coup". This was accompanied by a crackdown on Islamists' media outlets and supporters in Alexandria mosques and elsewhere throughout the country. The salafis, who won a majority in last year's parliamentary elections, chose to quickly endorse the military's road map.

The country remains deeply split. The ouster of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood throws the country into the unknown, with a danger of reprisals and confrontation. The question is whether the country will take the course of democracy.

The Moslem Brotherhood, working against time to control the country, had angered the public and isolated other political parties, including the salafis. The people felt the Muslim Brotherhood was  "ikhwanising" state institutions, and had poorly managed a country delving deeper into economic woes and chaos.

"For the thousandth time, we say that President Mosris had made big mistakes, be in in tackling internal Egyptian issues, or Arab affairs, foremost the Palestinian and Syrian files," AbdelBari Atwan, editor of al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper wrote in his editorial today.

Palestinians in West Bank cities, rejoiced the defeat of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The "coup" in Gaza in 2007, had led to the division of the future Palestinian state and placed the coastal strip under the Islamist rule of Hamas. Inspired by the popular rebellion launched by the "Tamarrud" group in Egypt, a Palestinian group in Gaza, calling itself "Tamarrud Gaza", issued a statement on facebook to oust Hamas from Gaza. In Tunis, small groups of youth were reorganizing to follow Egypt's suit.

For now, the Egyptians have succeeded in giving themselves another chance at achieving their Arab Spring
The transitions in the Arab world are incomplete, and the future remains uncertain. . Will we see more bloodshed before a "modern, civilian" rule is installed in these countries, or will  the second phase of the "Arab Spring" take a more democratic course?