Whither Egypt’s Liberals?

The Wall Street Journal:

Squeezed between an assertive military and the country’s resurgent Islamist movement, many Internet-savvy, pro-democracy activists are finding it increasingly hard to remain relevant in a post-revolutionary Egypt that is struggling to overcome an economic crisis and restore law and order.

“The liberal and leftist groups that were at the forefront of the revolution have lost touch with the Egyptian people,” says Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center. “These protesters have alienated much of Egypt. For some time they’ve been deceiving themselves by saying that the silent majority is on their side — but all evidence points to the contrary

The online activists started this revolution because they could no longer live under a dictatorship. But now the Islamists are reaping the benefits because they’re a numeric majority. Like life, Democracy is not fair.

An interesting question to raise now is: Will the west shift its focus from promoting “Democracy” to promoting Liberal values like freedom of speech, minority rights and equality under the law ?