Egyptian Turmoil

[darthbrowser]

Today is the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Yom Kipper War in 1973. In Egypt, lavish military parades and celebrations are underway.

Yet the country is anything but joyous.

In clashes between Egypt's military government and the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants President Mohammed Morsi to be reinstated, 51 people have been killed so far today - and as protests are ongoing, that number will most likely be higher by the nightfall: 51 killed so far in Egyptian protests (Associated Press).

This violence is nothing new - it is quite commonplace now. The most furious outburst happened only two months ago, in August: Death toll rises to 327 after troops clear pro-Morsi camps (NBC).

The outgoing death toll represents a rate higher than that seen during the Arab spring. Unlike countries such as Libya, stability has not returned to Egypt. Important locations and infrastructure have remained closed for two years, and the conflict between Egypt's Islamic and Secular factions is only widening. Some experts predict Egypt may soon spiral into another civil war, after the recent announcement from Hamas indicting that Palestinian militants would be willing to supply weapons to Morsi supporters.

Such a situation almost begs for escalation, as it is a true religious war - Egypt's secular military fighting powerful elements of the Muslim Brotherhood. Unlike the Arab Spring, which had religious undertones but was not overtly religious, a religious civil war could very well envelope the Middle East, as the region struggles to discover what role Islam will play in the coming century.

What do you all think? Will Egypt follow the pattern of escalation it has been moving on for the past few months, eventually leading to civil war? If so, will the war be openly religious? Will it spread across the Middle East?

On a side note, did the Arab Spring do anything positive for Egypt? It is the root cause if the current turmoil, or was it just a catalyst for trouble which has been brewing for some time?

[Harmless]

I really hope Egypt doesn't let this spread and do nothing about it...