Egyptian president’s resignation spurs joy, power vacuum

IOWA CITY - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek's resignation shows that political change in the Middle East can happen without violence, according to people with ties to Iowa and Egypt.

“We will go to vote, join political parties, and we will speak our own minds and not be afraid anymore,” said Hassan Selim, a 23-year-old Egypt native living in Cairo. His wife is Alida Ogren-Gunderson, a 25-year-old Cedar Rapids native.

In a phone interview from Cairo, Selim described the scene in El Tahrir Square as an eruption of tears, song and celebration when Mubarek announced Friday he would leave power after 30 years as president.

“Everyone was jumping in the air everyone was hugging everyone,” said Selim, who has participated in the protests since the beginning. ”The army is with the people of Egypt and so we in the square feel very protected.”

Hani Elkadi, an Egypt native who teaches art at Kirkwood Community College, said Egyptians have showed the world they are patient, but not submissive.

Elkadi, who came to the University of Iowa in 1980 to join the International Writing Program, was held on house arrest for two years when he returned to Egypt in 1981 because Mubarek's government thought he might be a spy, he said.

“We ought to celebrate the fact that the autocratic dictatorship has fallen down,” Elkadi said. However, “we should not overlook the fact that what happens next is equally important.”

The vacuum created by Mubarek's removal disturbs what has been a “cold peace” for three decades, Elkadi said. He fears that potential leaders will be American puppets or Islamic fundamentalists.

Vicki Hesli, a University of Iowa political science professor who has traveled to the Middle East to study opposition parties, said the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will likely play a larger role going forward.

“To keep the West from reacting negatively, there has been a downplaying of the role of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Hesli said.

Some people may associate the group with terrorism, but the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has renounced violence and performs positive functions, such as providing social welfare and criticizing corruption, Hesli said.

Hesli points to the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, which initially worried Western governments. “It's been very constructive and positive,” Hesli said.