Egypt's 'Founding Fathers' Emerge

Four of Egypt's most revered figures all share a common vision for a post-revolutionary democracy, but getting there won't be easy.

With Hosni Mubarak's two sons now in custody at the Cairo prison associated with the ousted president's oppressive regime, we figured it was time to briefly step away from the political sparring in this hemisphere to look at who's shaping Egypt's future.

Two months ago, protesters converged daily on Cairo's Tahrir square to call for reform. Their cause was bolstered substantially by Egypt's “three wise men,” writes David Ignatius in the Washington Post: Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, former foreign minister and head of the Arab League Amr Moussa, and the Coptic Christian CEO of Egypt's largest private employer, Naguib Sawiris.

“These senior figures didn't make the revolution; that was the work of the young activists who gathered in Tahrir Square” says Ignatius. “But the three played important supporting roles. Each took a personal risk by coming to the square and supporting the demonstrators long before the outcome was clear.”

Ignatius suggests the trio are a new Egypt's founding fathers, as they all share a similar outlook for their country: “They all favour a market economy, but one that protects and subsidizes Egypt's poorest citizens; they support continued ties with America, including co-operation between the U.S. and Egyptian militaries; and they want a secular government that protects individual rights."

A fourth voice to add would be that of novelist, dentist, and journalist Alaa Al Aswany, whom the Wall Street Journal's Matthew Kaminski likens to “a Vaclav Havel for this Arab Spring,” referencing the revolutionary Czech poet and playwright who helped bring down Communist rule before becoming president.

Al Aswany stayed in Tahrir Square for 18 straight days, and while his best-selling novels often painted a bleak picture of pre-revolutionary Egypt, he “now offers an optimistic, possibly overly rosy, view of Egyptian society. He plays down the danger of a takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood, the well-organized Islamist group,” and yearns for a return to the years when Egypt was the most modern country in the Arab world.

Finally, we'd be in dereliction of duty not to include Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy, whose blog and Twitter account are essential resources for following events in her homeland.