Last month, Time Magazine featured the Egyptian president Morsi on its front page as 'The most important man of the Middle East'. It's an honorable title, but in the streets of Cairo the liberal protesters perceive this as demotivating nonsense.
True, recently he brokered a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and probably the United States think they found a new reliable partner to cool down protests against Israel. But is that a reason to put him on a throne?
For a long time this 'protection of Israel' was a reason for the US to support Mubarak and look away from human rights issues and now this seems to be happening again. After Morsi supporters attacked non-violent protesters last month, the US State Department released the message "Both sides are using violence". For the protesters it felt as another slap in the face.
And now Morsi has also won the referendum, providing himself a realm of being the winner of a democratic process. But only 21% of the people voted for his constitution. The vast majority of the people was against or indifferent and that doesn't create a solid base for the implementation of such an important milestone in the history of Egypt.
Millions of Christians, liberal Muslims and women fear all the vague and conservative elements in this new constitution but they were hardly able to campaign against it. Morsi had money to put huge billboards all over the country while the opposition had no time or money to compete on an equal level. The few media that dared to campaign against the constitution found their building literally non-stop surrounded by Islamists trying to silence them.
Last month I was at the global head quarters of the new peace initiative MasterPeace in Cairo, where they work on conflict prevention and the celebration of diversity in around 30 countries, including Egypt. For the first time in my life, my mother called from Holland with a warning: "On TV they are saying that Cairo is a war zone, please leave, now!".
Despite some violent clashes it's no war zone at all. The economy is still vivid and democracy is literally in the making. On Tahrir Square I found several stages used by people to spread their point of view. I still see this as sparks of hope, although the debate about the countries future is getting more and more polarized each day. New violence, revolution and economic downturn just seem to be a matter of time. That one lonely nut who can find a non-violent way out, probably via real national and impartial dialogue, will he or she please stand up? You should be the one on Time's cover! In my eyes you will truly be the 'Most important man of the Middle East'.