Daily Times

Egypt has a new constitution. An intellectual flare was sent up to Washington, D.C. for an English-language translation of the document. A professional colleague graciously expedited the request. There is an initial need to acknowledge the obvious, prior to examining this nascent and hastily scrambled constitution. Translation of documents defining legal governance can be lacking. I do not presume the translation provided is accurate, but I do consider it adequate to address the ‘look’ of a new Egypt. This newly minted constitution now stands as the foundational capstone of the Tahrir Square revolution. Bloodshed requires careful consideration and honour.

Law, theory and conceptual models remain my great love. By the time the two-part commentary hits the page I will have read the constitution several times. But it only took a few minutes of initial reading (to Article 50, to be exact) for a theoretical base to emerge from the shadows with shocking clarity. There is little doubt as to what is easily recognisable. The Egyptian constitution is not an ink blot. The hidden architecture of the document reveals an understanding of affinity analysis.

For the uninitiated, affinity analysis branches into and benefits various areas of research. One of the most common uses for the affinity analysis model is to determine what is called market basket analysis for retail industries. The purchase behaviours of consumers are data-mined to determine how to effectively cross-sell and up-sell a product while the wallet is still open. There is a reason that department stores stock lipstick in the same general area as nail polish. It is reasonable to assume that toothpaste will be next to mouthwash and toothbrushes as opposed to eggs and whipping cream. If you have an Amazon account, electronic point of sale allows Amazon to ‘recommend’ additional books based on your purchasing history with them. Market basket analysis is a valuable tool for businesses.

A market basket approach has also been taken in crafting the new constitution for Egypt. There appears to be a subtle alignment of western thought with Islamic thought to cross-sell and up-sell the vision of the Muslim Brotherhood. Wary and weary diplomatic corps members have developed a distinct malaise since the heady onset of the Arab Spring, so the deployment of an affinity script creates more confusion than already existed.

Affinity analysis methodology is also used to examine mosaic communities and the impact that they have on each other. Egypt has one predominant community with smaller mosaic aspects, which include Coptic Christians, Jews and other minority religious groups. The authors attempt to place what appear to be low-impact and impartial articles within the constitution with regard to mosaic population groups. Is the document a sufficient guardian of these rights? We shall examine these issues.

Affinity analysis has strident play in the craftsmanship of the Egyptian constitution. The Islamic concepts and aspects of Shariah jurisprudence are given a cross-sell and up-sell look with a steady inclusion of handpicked words, which spring from a democratic wellspring of thought. What is it that the Egyptians have purchased? And what are the illusions that have been marketed within the document? So let us get started. Let us take a quick glance at the Preamble.

“We, the people of Egypt, in the name of the Merciful God and with his aid…”

The Preamble gets off to a good start by giving voice to both the Creator and the created being.

A very rapid and perhaps a bit too clunky transition is made to identify the constitution as the legal produce from the revolution of January 25, 2012. The right to bread, a basic food for the poor, finds place alongside the right to freedom, social justice and human dignity. A cultural renaissance is envisioned and a unified people proclaimed. This unity of people is reminiscent of what is written in Surah al-Imran 103 with figurative word usage of bunyan al- marsus. Muslims are commanded to hold tightly to the word of Allah and His revelation through the Qur’an (like a solid edifice or firmly cemented structure).

Principles are laid out regarding the authority of the people, democracy, an opaque reference to human dignity and women’s rights, freedom, equality and equal opportunity. The document then moves into a full display of the meaning of Islamic conduct in context to the state organ. Freedom is declared to be within the parameters of the rule of law. “No power shall override that of righteousness.” Whose righteousness? That of God or that envisioned by man? Islam contains a vast code of personal conduct. For the observant Muslim, freedom exists only under the shade of the Qur’an. Servants of the state are tasked with public order (hisbah), which includes state curtailment of personal freedom for public good. Cobblestones of hisbah are scattered throughout the constitution.

National unity is lauded. The armed forces are declared apolitical and…pigs fly. The blessing of security is tied to the maintenance of vital geopolitical alliances with countries of the Nile Valley and the Muslim world. Al-Azhar is declared the mainstay of national identity. The Azhari scholarly class will be dominant players and steadily wield influence regarding any major decisions made by the state.

As the Preamble winds to a close, there is flowery adverb/adjective usage. But the Arabic and Islamic Shariah are affirmed as the beacons of moderate enlightened thought. Is it possible that Surah an-Nur (24:35) is the backdrop for this particular language usage? (Layer of light above layer of light.)

The constitution is a mix of Islamic principles and western democratic thought to facilitate political purchase by the Egyptian public. The word craft is also possibly meant to ease the discomfiture of the west. If you pick the fruit of western freedoms and place them in your market basket, the fruits on adjacent shelves are definitely of Arabic seed stock. The document presents a mix of western freedom and Islamic principles of governance. The state overshadows and remains the custodian of any real freedom offered to citizens. Time will display the character of men.

(To be continued)

The writer is a freelance journalist and author of the novel Arsenal. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com