BEN DUBOW

Running the Way

18 Days

In Egypt, 18 days changed history. At this moment, we don’t know how things will play out in Egypt… but we know today that 18 days can change the world. Our hope and prayer is that freedom and democracy take hold in authentic and real ways in Eg…

Egypt1

In Egypt, 18 days changed history.

At this moment, we don’t know how things will play out in Egypt… but we know today that 18 days can change the world.

Our hope and prayer is that freedom and democracy take hold in authentic and real ways in Egypt… and that such freedom and democracy would spread in the region. But we honestly don’t know how the next phase of history will be written.

Watching the scenes of celebration on CNN today — the pure joy — was something to behold.

As far as we can tell, this was primarily a relatively unorganized youth movement, powered (or at least empowered) by social networking technology like Twitter and Facebook.  But these are simply the tools — the tracts, the pamphlets, the communication avenues of our day.

It was also a dominantly non-violent movement.

18 days. Non-violent. Youth-led. World changing.

Revolution can still happen today.

Non-violent movements of ordinary people can still change the world.

These are things worth remembering — and celebrating — this week.

And please, keep praying for Egypt.

One response

  1. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    It seems like the protesters are thinking "if we get democracy, our economy will improve." Maybe, maybe not. They need a major cultural change to compete in the international economy. Egypt already has a well-educated population, but they lack intellectual freedom which discourages innovation. They need to get affordable capital into the hands of entrepreneurs who are not tangled up in heavy regulation and government control. They need freedom of press and speech. They need women to be free to join the work force. If it’s a Muslim Brotherhood Islamic democracy, this won’t happen. If it’s a "secular" democracy, maybe, but they’ll lose the support of the people who are thinking "if we get an Islamic democracy, our economy will improve." Then the religious divisions will destroy security which is also critical to economic improvement. I really want this to have a happy ending or at least be a step in a positive direction. Egypt could lead the whole Arab world in a positive direction or into deepening despair. I think the answer may be a progressive Islamic Democracy (with better interpretations of the Quran) . . . but the only Muslims that I know with that theology live in Western countries or small elite minorities in Arab countries.

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