OPINION by Prof Tariq Ramadan - There has
been no “Arab spring;” the perfume of its revolutions burns the eyes
like tear gas. For two years now I have often been asked why I have not
visited Egypt, where I had been forbidden entry for 18 years. Just as
often I repeated that on the basis of the information I was able to
obtain — confirmed by Swiss and European officials — the Egyptian army
remained firmly in control and had never left the political arena.
I never shared the widespread “revolutionary” enthusiasm. Nor did I
believe that events in Egypt, any more than in Tunisia, were the result
of a sudden historical upheaval. The peoples of these two countries
suffered from dictatorship, from economic and social crisis; they rose
up in the name of dignity, social justice, and freedom.