Beggars Can’t Be Choosers

I couldn’t so far conceive the economic vision of the Muslim Brotherhood to achieve the alleged renaissance for the Egyptian economy, which is now in the intensive care and awaits a miracle. Perhaps it finds successful ideas to back to life, especially during these critical conditions that we live now at all levels.

The Muslim Brotherhoods were able to build an economic empire confidentially under Mubarak’s rule. Yet, the MBs’ economic empire were believed to threaten the National Democratic Party’s tycoons. Therefore, Mubarak have confiscated MBs funds, thinking he would defeat them. For controlling all economy’s resources is their way to make their presence last long.

After deposing Mubarak’s regime, we haven’t touched the reverse impact on the MBs’ economic empire, and the tip of the iceberg. The most evidence proves that is when they were announcing that they had spent more than EGP700 million to enable “Morsi” to ascend Egypt’s throne.

Even though he seemed to have no opportunity at all to win the presidential election, the Muslim Brotherhood had given him all the chance through their money and dominance, and this made the MBs thought they are capable of implementing their successful strategy to a country like Egypt, through spreading slogans such as “Islam is the solution” during Mubarak’s era and “We bring goodness to Egypt” after the revolution.

To analyze the economic policy of any country, we shall refer to the economic theory it adopts, as capitalist countries favor the rich, while socialist countries benefit the poor. So, what theory does Egypt currently adopt? The answer has been obviously echoed several times by the regime, saying it is a combination of different economic theories within the framework of Islamic economics. Here the problem lies in the Islamic economic theory, not definitely in Islam.

In fact, most of the supporters of the Islamic economics lack the basic awareness that every theory requires testing its validation and setting ground rules before making it eventually come into effect. The Islamic economics is just a mere classical philosophy; a set of theoretical principles established by early scholars.  

When the Muslim Brotherhood came into power through their presumed best-laid Islamic economic plan, they have found themselves stuck with chronic economic plights. At the beginning, the MBs showed courage and muscles to face the country’s economic challenges, but things come out of their control afterwards and as expected.

Unlike the world of politics,  any economic plan cannot definitely be made up through delivering zealous orations.

The question here is what have the MBs actually done to fix the economy of the biggest country in the Middle East?  The only answer that we can find here is that all what the MBs have done is resorting to the traditional ways that had been formerly adopted by the ousted regime.

During the pre-revolution era, MBs used to attack the former regime’s economic system describing it as an illicit; a form of a mere usury. But after they came into power, they acknowledged the weakness of their economic platform and the necessity to resort to the former usurious methods as they used to name them before so as to find a way-out.

Working upon the Machiavellian method “The end justifies the means.”, the MBs rushed into requesting the usurious high-interest rate loans and grants; the magical key to handle the rising popular discontent.

The MBs have also resorted to increasing the tax and lifting the low-income subsidies claiming that such measures will fill the current escalating financial deficit.

After looking into these economic policies appearing for us clearly, where will MB’s ship sail?

The MBs have preferred to stay by the side of the rich where their figures are belonging to. The MBs deliberately turned against the impoverished people, as the prices were soared and unemployment rates climbed.

The MBs have even improved their relationships with the former regime businessmen as the well-known sayings go; ‘Many hands make light work’ and ‘Business is Business’.

On the contrary, the MBs have diminish the importance of Tahrir square’s youth and ignoring their demands for most of them are not of high-profile figures like the former regime fellows whom they (the MBs) would seek to benefit from.

Furthermore, MBs’ burning ambitions have make them believe that the ‘seat of power’  is only made for them. They are devoting  their time and efforts now so as to please the poor people temporarily to vote for them again.

The matter simply is not a long-term Islamic economic theory however the matter is ‘Every Penny Counts’.