Egyptians have always been a very peaceful people. They never had violent reactions like those we have seen in Iraq or Syria. Incidents of violence in the past were minor, unlike what we are seeing now. What is taking place is, in my view, a departure from the tradition of Egyptian political culture and is due to several factors.
Egyptian society is suffering from extreme polarization. On one side we find the secular, military-led government condemned by the United States and Europe for human rights violations. On the other side, there is the Muslim Brotherhood, which has failed in governance due to a lack of experience. They have always been a social organization, but had never operated as a secular political force.
