In Egypt's public squares, dueling definitions of democracy (CS Monitor)

Worth a read. As the title states, dueling definitions. And often fluid interpretations. ~ pinto

In Egypt's public squares, dueling definitions of democracy

Proponents of deposed President Morsi say the coup has deprived them of their vote. But the coup's backers say there is more to democracy than majority support.

By Christa Case Bryant, Staff writer / July 26, 2013

Cairo

As military helicopters swept low over Tahrir Square today, eliciting cheers from the billowing crowds, protesters kissed posters of Egyptian Armed Forces chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and compared him to a pharaoh.

But just a few miles away at Rebaa al-Adawiya square in Nasr City, the Muslim Brotherhood’s alternative to Tahrir, the tone was very different. As collective cries of “Allahu Akbar” – God is great! – filled the air, some protesters went as far as to say that Gen. Sisi should be exiled or even killed to prevent a civil war in the wake of the military's decision to depose President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Brotherhood and Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

The dueling street protests represent a battle over how to define democratic legitimacy in the new Egypt. Some insist that the fundamental basis of democracy, or power by the people, is the street.

But others see such protests as having overthrown the ballot box along with Mr. Morsi, wiping out not only a heavy-handed leader but also the basis of a system that, when mature, is meant to counteract such excesses.