What If Ousting Morsi Preserves Democracy?

When the Egyptian military removed Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi from Egypt’s highest office, the cry immediately went up internationally that this was a violation of democracy. 

Consider this, however: Morsi was elected President of Egypt under promises of moderation and true representation of the people. However, his presidency quickly became synonymous with Egypt’s freedom-quenching Islamist constitution, resulting in the Egyptian military removing him from office. And as Reuters notes, although the constitution “names Morsi as the supreme commander of the armed forces, the military remains master of its own destiny and a rival source of authority” in Egypt.

In other words, the Islamist constitution for which Morsi said he would “pay his life” on July 2 left the military the freedom to act in light of the will of the people.

Here are some questions to ponder: What if ousting Morsi was not a violation of democracy as much as a guarantee that democracy would remain alive and well in Egypt? What if ousting him was a simple, straightforward way of saying “no” to the Muslim Brotherhood?

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.