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Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian journalist Nabil Sharaf Al-Din, which aired on Al-Faraeen TV on July 17, 2010:
Nabil Sharaf Al-Din: When a group from the military tries to change the regime, and they abolish the constitution, disband the political parties, and completely change the regime structure, this cannot be called a "revolution." What happened in Iran with Imam Khomeini was a revolution. No one can deny this. The entire people took to the streets and changed the regime of the Shah.
What happened [in Egypt] in July 1952, however, was merely a military coup d'état, according to the most basic rules of political science.
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Let us examine the outcome. Today, we are paying the price for the July 1952 coup, because our current rulers would not have come to power if not for that coup. There is a chain of events. The difference between the regime of Gamal Abd Al-Nasser, and the regimes of Sadat, or of Hosni Mubarak, is exactly like the difference between 7Up, Coca Cola, and Pepsi Cola. It is a difference in form, not in essence.
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We were wrong in that period of history, and we must restore our society from the militarization caused by this coup. We are paying the price for this. From the zoo manager to the head of the most remote village – they are all military officers.
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