After Egypt Coup, Hundreds Of Morsi Supporters Rally In Chicago
About a year ago, Wael Elfeqy waited in a long line to cast his ballot for Egypt’s first democratically elected president. His candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won the election but was removed from office and jailed last week when the military seized power.
“We were so proud,” said Elfeqy, a physical therapist from southwest suburban Justice who travels frequently to Egypt, where he was born. “We were so proud of our democracy, and these guys stole it from us.”
While thousands rallied in the streets of Egypt both for and against Morsi’s ouster, Elfeqy was among hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators who protested Sunday on the Magnificent Mile, outside Chicago’s Egyptian Consulate. The protesters lined the sidewalks, many waving U.S. and Egyptian flags and holding homemade signs denouncing Egypt’s military and interim leadership.
Egyptian military officials say the country’s acting leadership is preparing for a new round of elections, but many of those gathered Sunday in Chicago fear a return to an autocratic government like the one protesters toppled in 2011.
Like Elfeqy, many of the Chicago demonstrators were born in Egypt. Others had roots elsewhere in the Arab world but said they grieved for their Egyptian friends and worried that the instability would resound far from the tense streets of Cairo.
“I’m very, very afraid that the violence started in Egypt will affect everyone,” said Alex Alomary, a Jordanian software engineer living in northwest suburban Harwood Heights.
Fisal Hammouda, who left Egypt in the 1960s and now lives in Lisle, helped organize Sunday’s rally and led chants of “Only president is Morsi.” Hammouda said the U.S. government risks losing credibility if it fails to condemn the military takeover and push for Morsi’s return to office.
“God willing, he is going to be reinstated, because this was the will of the people and this was the first-ever fair election that happened in the history of Egypt,” Hammouda said. “The United States always says, ‘We are for democracy.’ This is a fair election.”
Morsi was elected last year after the 2011 protests that resulted in longtime autocratic President Hosni Mubarak’s fall from power. Those protests, part of the Arab Spring that saw pro-democracy uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East, gave hope to many Egyptian expatriates in Chicago.
“I consider myself an American, and democracy is extremely important to me,” said Ghada Fahmy, who emigrated from Egypt when she was 6 months old. “When Egypt went in that direction, we were hysterical with happiness.”
Many say the events of the last week, occurring just before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Monday evening, put a damper on the democratic spirit that they hoped would take hold in Egypt and spread through the region. But for Hammouda, a Muslim, there was at least some solace in knowing that the holiday was approaching.
“It comes at the right time,” he said, “because we’ll be doing extra prayers and have extra closeness to God.”
Chicago Tribune
