Democracy On Trial In Egypt

Democracy and more, on trial in Egypt.  We look at the ways the crisis could play out, and its message to the Muslim world.

From bad to worse in Egypt today. More than 40 killed and 300 wounded when Egyptian military gunfire poured down on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The Muslim Brotherhood is calling it a massacre. The military claims self-defense. But no one disputes these were bullets not ballots defining the day in Cairo.

Egypt’s rough experiment with democracy — the country’s future itself — is reeling in a welter of hope, revolution, the military’s might, and political Islam.

This hour, On Point: Egypt in uproar, again, with everything on the line.
--Tom Ashbrook

Borzou Daragahi, correspondent for The Financial Times covering North Africa and the Middle East. (@borzou)

Mona El Ghobashy, assistant professor of political science at Barnard College, whose research focuses on political mobilization in contemporary Egypt.

Karim Haggag, career Egyptian diplomat, visiting faculty at the National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies.

Wael Khalil, a long-time activist against the Mubarak regime. He voted for Morsi in the second round, but — like millions of Egyptians — called for him to step down.

The Guardian: Egypt Prepares For Backlash As Morsi Allies Reject New Regime -- "The shockwaves have resounded in Egypt since [Wednesday], with scenes of euphoria in the capital being met with foreboding in some towns and provinces, particularly in impoverished areas that had remained loyal to Morsi throughout the past turbulent year."

Foreign Affairs: Redoing The Egyptian Revolution -- "The Egyptian uprising of 2011 was about many things, but one rallying cry that united almost all Egyptians was the need for a new constitutional order — one that would promote democracy and ensure that the government serves the interests of the entire society. Dissatisfied with the outcome, large numbers of Egyptians renewed that protest on June 30."

The Christian Science Monitor: With Egypt's Morsi Detained, A Muslim Brotherhood In Turmoil -- "For some Brotherhood members it's beginning to look like a flashback to the 1950s, when the military officers the Brothers had supported turned on them, ordering mass arrests and long imprisonments. Amid the current arrest campaign, some wonder if Egypt is headed for another era of Brotherhood repression."