Discouraged by Tech Glitches, TV Host Loses Faith in Arab Democracy

Following are excerpts from an interview with Ali Abu Sukkar, member of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, which aired on Etejah TV on October 14, 2013.

Ali Abu Sukkar: During an entire year of Morsi's rule, we never heard...

TV host Tawfiq Shoman (in studio): Mr. Ali Abu Sukkar...

Ali Abu Sukkar: We never heard of people being killed and bodies burned.

Tawfiq Shoman: Mr. Ali is only hearing my initial questions...

Ali Abu Sukkar: We never heard of party headquarters being burned down, or of leaders of Egyptian parties being arrested...

Tawfiq Shoman: Mr. Ali Abu Sukkar, I beg you to talk to your soundman. Your soundman is doing whatever he feels like! That's unheard of!

Ali Abu Sukkar: ... Muhammad Al-Bayoumi declared that he preferred the security solution.

Tawfiq Shoman: Mr. Abu Sukkar!

Ali Abu Sukkar: ...This is annihilation, not political exclusion. He prefers the security solution of killing the Egyptians to the ballot box.

Tawfiq Shoman: Mr. Ali Abu Sukkar, if you can hear me, I ask you to get rid of your soundman. He thinks he can run the show the way he likes. This is unacceptable!

Ali Abu Sukkar: Brother, I can't hear you. The audio is not clear.

Tawfiq Shoman: You didn't answer my question. The pan-Arabists say that you Islamists are takfiris, and takfir and democracy do not go hand in hand. That was my question.

Ali Abu Sukkar: Yes, first of all...

Tawfiq Shoman: There goes the sound again... and there goes the picture as well... The picture is gone too.

I deeply apologize to our viewers for the disruption in the audio and video. This seems to be the reality of the Arab world. We do not know how to run things – neither in politics nor in technical matters. We do not know how to operate a satellite and receive audio and video, yet we want to have a democracy. Goodbye...