Egyptian president has proven his good will

TEHRAN,Dec.17(MNA)--After more than two weeks of fierce debates and street clashes in Egypt, President Mohammed Morsi finally annulled his controversial decree, a move which was regarded by his opponents as a clear retreat from his position. However, Morsi is still continuing his policy of fighting against the remnants of the regime of former dictator Hosni Mubarak, and Morsi’s annulment of the presidential decree is not a backdown. And the Egyptian people’s massive participation in the referendum on the draft of the country’s new constitution clearly shows that Morsi has succeeded in his plan to establish a democratic state. Parts of the decree, which Morsi had said were necessary to expedite Egypt’s transition to democracy, were eliminated in a modified version of the decree. The move proved Morsi’s good will and showed that he has no plan to concentrate power in his own hands and establish a new dictatorship, as the secular and pro-Western groups had claimed. The opposition leaders are expected to oppose the results of the referendum because they are totally against the draft constitution. The main reason the opposition has adopted such a stance is that the draft constitution shows great respect for Egypt’s cultural and religious values, whereas they want a Westernized, secular constitution. However, Egypt’s Muslim masses are determined to realize the objectives of their revolution, and it seems that the revolutionaries will continue to support Morsi and the draft constitution, which they view as the most valuable tool for saving the revolution. Morsi’s role in the recent ceasefire between the Islamic resistance movement Hamas and Israel raised his profile on the issue of Palestine. This boosts his prospects for success since most Egyptians hate the fact that the former regime had close relations with Israel and they want the new system to gradually distance itself from the Zionists. Jafar Qannadbashi is an expert in African politics based in Tehran. (By Jafar Qannadbashi )