Reviving #Nasser in #Egypt

This photo was spreading in Egyptian social media network as well the Egyptian news websites.

Allegedly this boy saluting late President Nasser was general Abdel Fatah El Sissi. There is no confirmation whether this boy was El Sissi or not but it is spreading like fire. 

El Sisi and Nasser "Al Masry Al Youm"

At Nasser tomb where Nasserites along Nasser family went to celebrate the 23 July anniversary a big banner with the photos of both Nasser and El Sissi was hanged. In Tahrir square you can see the posters of Nasser and El Sissi together are sold.

In a very emotional op-ed by Ibrahim Eissa in Tahrir newspaper called “El Sissi Egypt” last week , the TV host and editor in chief compared to the minister of defense has done on 3th July and how he resisted the alleged American pressures to keep Morsi as a president to what Nasser did in 1956 from nationalizing the Suez Canal.

Today is the 61st anniversary of the 23 July movement in Egypt , the original coup that is considered a revolution and actually caused a social economic as well political revolution in Egypt and Arab world. I can not get over on how the Egyptian mainstream media is trying to make from Abdel Fatah El Sissi a new Nasser figure whether intentionally or unintentionally.

 It is not a big secret that there is rise of Nasserite and Nationalism in Egypt nowadays. It started with the infamous words of ousted President Mohamed Morsi “What you know about the sixties” in Tahrir square from more than a year ago referring to Nasser and what he did against the Muslim brotherhood. Of course later he quoted Nasser in a positive way especially in his African tours and celebrations like Labor Day.

As the MB and Morsi started to commit political sins and mistakes , the people began to revive Nasser’s legacy from MB’s hate and despise. Generations that knew nothing about Nasser except that he was the president that brought down monarchy and nationalized the Suez canal  kept sharing clips from Nasser’s famous speech in 1960s about MB.

The misogynist chant against the MB in the protests “If Nasser were alive , he would make you wear veil and bracelets” was a common chant in the anti-MB protests through the past year. Of course all this is nothing compared to what is taking place on ground. The famous Tamaroud movement’s  co-founders are members are members of the Popular Current movement led by Nasserite Hamdeen Sabbahi.

Tamaroud young founders already were blessed and met with none other than Nasser’s close media aide Mohamed Hassanein Heikal even twice in a week. Heikal also met by the way Abdel Fatah El Sissi and revealed alleged latest exclusive events from the backstage on CBC TV channel . The MB members already claiming that this were a Nasserite coup backed by the States and Israel thanks to Heikal !!

Of course the only thing many Egyptians have revived from the Nasser legacy is the hate of the Muslim brotherhood and that famous leader was right in oppressing the MB. “He did not oppress the MB alone and actually the police state of Nasser was one of his worst sins that no one can deny or beautify that b all measures at all” 

Amazingly nobody is paying attention to Nasser’s legacy from economic policies on the other hand and I do not have any doubt that after couple of months the Nasserites will lose their popularity because people will remember that they do not want Nasser’s socialism and big slogans in the end of the day.

The Upper Class and Upper Middle Class that are currently calling El Sisi as the new Nasser and cheering for him will not tolerate to accept Nasser's social and economic policies once again in Egypt. Of course there are generations who ignore the fact that  Nasser’s popularity in Egypt among popular classes was not because he sent the MB to jail only but because the economic and social policies that he adopted in Egypt mainly. 

Besides this I do not think that those racists who are attacking Syrians and Palestinians day and night cheering for El Sisi will tolerate or accept or even understand the Pan Arabism or Pan Africanism nationalism adopted by Nasser. There is ugly increase in Egyptian Nationalism that says Egypt above the world and above all , Arabs and Africans are nothing.. bla bla bla

Every figure is the child of his own time and his own society. Abdel El Fatah El Sisi can not be Gamal Abdel Nasser and Gamal Abdel Nasser can not be El Sissi because simply despite the uniform and their position from the Muslim brotherhood, each of them is the child of his time , his own circumstances that is completely different than the other. The Egyptian society in 2013 is different than the Egyptian society in 1952.

Nobody can ignore or deny the huge popularity El Sisi now in the streets. This is why I do not think that he needs the media to make out of him a new Nasser.

By the way this popularity now can be bless and curse at the same time because people’s hopes are up in the sky.