A spiritual view of Egypt in transition

Originally appeared on spirituality.com

For most Egyptians, and for many global onlookers, the aftermath of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as Egypt’s president has been an ecstatic moment akin to the falling of the Berlin Wall. TV and radio broadcasters are having a field day capturing a momentous historical event. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook are abuzz with celebrations, from all corners of the world.

Into that fray of emotion stepped a very calm-headed Moez Masoud, a popular Cairo host of English and Arabic broadcasts about Islam, who has been a stalwart of the protests. And in an interview with the BBC directly following Mubarak’s announcement, Masoud wanted to talk about the spirituality of the Egyptian people.

He spoke of the congregating masses in Tahrir Square in terms of their spirituality and said he would devote his life to harnessing the “spiritual, not just religious” life of the Egyptian people, to help develop “the right kind of character.” He said he felt that spirituality, not the feared emergence of radical Islamism, was what the Egyptian people were about, and he vowed to help “de-radicalize the environment.”

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