None of the initiatives being put forward to calm things down in Egypt, reduce the tension between the Muslim Brotherhood and the interim government, convince the Brotherhood not to hold protests, or stop government authorities from arresting the latter's leaders, will be successful. Indeed, developments and the situation on the ground have gone beyond any initiative that would include suggestions such as these, whether those promoted by some of the Brotherhood's allies or supporters, or those proposed by some of the dreamers within government circles. The current situation has made of such initiatives mere arenas of "babble" that provide the theorists and prominent figures of the elite with the opportunity to talk under the spotlight and in front of cameras, without this ever becoming tangible reality or having an impact. It has become necessary for one side to admit its failure, nay its defeat. And because the Muslim Brotherhood has grown accustomed to never admitting failure or to having committed mistakes, instead blaming its failure and mistakes on others, and because the interim government is moving forward on its way, backed by popular support, no reconciliation will take place between the two sides. The Muslim Brotherhood will keep going until the end. And every time the interim government takes a step on the political roadmap without stopping, the Brotherhood's protests on Al-Jazeera Live Egypt will continue to be crowded and resounding, disconnected from reality and without any impact on the ground. Yes, the Muslim Brotherhood has branches in different countries other than Egypt working tirelessly to save the original group, provide it with backing and support, and spur international institutions, local communities and governments in other countries into supporting Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood or at least sympathizing with it. It is also true that the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization, whether in Egypt or in other countries, has no shortage of funds. On the contrary, it has supporters who provide it with the funds needed to help the organization confront its enemies, maintain its activity, and compensate for its losses. It is also known that the Brotherhood has tremendous capabilities for dealing with civil society groups connected to human rights, inside of Egypt as well as outside of it, from whom it obtains statements and reports that include condemnations of the authorities and the interim government. It is also quite skilled at dealing with technology, starting from computers and social media websites, and reaching up to satellite television, issues of broadcasting and reception, and preparing footage, "clips" and segments. And it is true that the Al-Jazeera network, with all of its channels, has turned into a massive promotional machine that supports the Muslim Brotherhood, justifies the behavior of its members, creates a reality that does not exist on the ground, and spurs people in Egypt and outside of it to "support legitimacy", making them weep over the "ballot boxes that were nullified" and the "democracy that was toppled", and promoting terms and expressions as if they had been in common use or part of today's vocabulary, such as coup d'état, legitimacy and the millions who have been filling public squares ever since Morsi was deposed!! Yet none of this will reinstate Morsi as President, nor return the Brotherhood to power in Egypt. It will be of no use to incite people against the army, the police or the government, or to drive millions to take to the streets and demand returning the Brotherhood to power. The Muslim Brotherhood needs to reassess – and that is the one thing it has not sought or thought of ever since it started making blatant mistakes that have led to the fate and the situation it finds itself in today. Even after everything that has happened, not even a single voice has risen from within the Brotherhood to criticize the behavior of the group, explain its failure or recognize one of its mistakes. Muslim Brotherhood protests, shows of anger, marches and demonstrations are nothing new. Indeed, these are practices the group had engaged in under Mubarak, even if to a lesser degree, but what is surprising is that it engaged in them even when it was in power! Thus the expression "demonizing the Brotherhood" – promoted by the group and its supporters every time someone talks about the use of violence against the opposition under Morsi, or against everyone after he was deposed, or about the actions of the group's prominent figures, leaders and members – does not apply to the Brotherhood's situation. Indeed, the group demonized itself before anyone else did. There are numerous instances, examples, and evidence of the Muslim Brotherhood's demonizing practices during the year in which it ruled Egypt, such as clashes with state institutions, segments of the population, parties and figures who had endorsed, supported and elected Morsi president, which widened the rift between the Muslim Brotherhood and the President on the one hand, and society on the other. And if the Brotherhood suffered casualties among its ranks as a result of police violence, the unshakable truth is that there were casualties from among ordinary citizens who paid the price for the Brotherhood's armed demonstrations and protests. This is the Muslim Brotherhood's predicament, which has come to transpire in the failure, or let us say the lack of influence, of its protests, marches and calls to civil disobedience. Indeed, there is no longer anyone responding to them except for the men and women of the Brotherhood and some of those affiliated to the Islamist movement. And although the activity of the group on the ground obstructs the work of Egyptians, places hurdles before any development efforts, hurts tourism, harms the economy and increases people's livelihood crises, the Muslim Brotherhood still fails to realize that these are matters that only increase popular resentment against it and intensify demands to exclude it from the political scene, in addition to the fact that people do not interpret them as failure on the part of the government, but rather as the price to pay to be freed of violence. The experience of the Muslim Brotherhood's rule of Egypt was not a positive one, whether for Egyptians or for the Brotherhood itself. And the losers must reconsider their options and choose a new beginning – unless they have made the final decision not to have any beginnings, but only endings!
