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| Morsi is Egypt’s Erbakan: University of London instructor |
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 TEHRAN – A University of London instructor has likened the ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to Necmettin Erbakan, who was pressured by the Turkish military to step down as prime minister and later banned from politics by the constitutional court.
“Morsi is Egypt’s Erbakan who was ousted by the military in Turkey,” Arshin Adib-Moghaddam told the Tehran Times in a recent interview.
Erbakan, the leader of the Islamist-rooted Welfare Party, was Turkey’s prime minister from 1996 to 1997.
Adib-Moghaddam also said, “The Ikhwan (the Muslim Brotherhood) and Morsi fell victim to the ‘deep state’ institutionalized around the military, which was not transformed in the process of the successful revolt against (Hosni) Mubarak.”
Adib-Moghaddam is a reader in comparative politics and international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London.
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: Why did Morsi lose power in Egypt?
A: The Ikhwan and Morsi fell victim to the "deep state" institutionalized around the military, which was not transformed in the process of the successful revolt against Mubarak. This is why I never called the events a revolution. There was radical transformation yes, but a revolution would have overcome the political power of the military as well, as it happened in the revolutions of modernity in Russia, China, Cuba and Iran. In the end, Morsi is Egypt’s Erbakan who was ousted by the military in Turkey.
Q: Which factors led to the ouster of Morsi?
A: Morsi was an unassuming leader during a period when charismatic governance was required. He did not manage to ameliorate all political poles constituting political power in Egypt. Neither did he sufficiently engage the military leaders. For right or wrong, he was considered a sectarian president who prioritized the interest of the Ikhwan over the national interest of all Egyptians. All of that does not legitimate the coup d’etat of a democratically elected leader, but it explains why it could happen.
Q: What is the future of Ikhwan in the political process in Egypt?
A: The yardstick of the new West Asia and North Africa is democracy and social equality. Egyptians will not allow the military to take over the state; not even to determine the politics of the country. The revolts will continue until a representative, non-sectarian and, inclusive government with a democratic mandate emerges. That’s when Egypt will be pacified.   Socialize this Subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch and receive all of TT updates right in your feed reader
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