The military plays a unique role in the political life of the Arab Republic of Egypt. All of the country's former presidents, with the exception of Morsi, came from military backgrounds.

Former Chinese Ambassador to Egypt An Huihou said the Egyptian military was the major force oppressing the Muslim Brotherhood in the past. Although the military ostensibly respected and cooperated with Morsi's elected government, it remains more in line with the values and governing ideas of secular parties than with those of the Muslim Brotherhood.

New cracks

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood will not be willing to give up its power, which it gained through free elections. Morsi's supporters have launched new protests against the military in bloody clashes that left dozens dead.

Observers predicted that the situation in the country will remain unstable for the time being. Many uncertainties persist, and the worst case scenario of armed conflict cannot be ruled out.

The Muslim Brotherhood was long in an illegal status, but it managed to attract wide grassroots support. Opinion polls showed the approval rating of Morsi peaked at 80 percent nationwide.

"Though the Muslim Brotherhood was dealt a major blow during the upheaval, it will not fall apart and will surely fight back against the secular parties and the military. It is still a force that cannot be neglected in Egyptian politics," said An.

However, An added, if the Muslim Brotherhood feels it is being overtly oppressed, it might choose to fight back using the strategy of terrorism, which will cause even bigger trouble for Egyptian society.

Liao said that to achieve the reconciliation of Egypt, the three major players—the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian military and the secular parties—should sit down for peaceful talks.

"It is unfortunate that the Egyptian military did not use its influence to promote dialogue between the Muslim Brotherhood and the secular parties. The ouster of Morsi further split the country," Liao told Beijing Review. "The Muslim Brotherhood still enjoys high support, and without its participation, the political transition of Egypt is meaningless."

Egypt could now be mired in a vicious circle, wherein its economy cannot recover from recession due to ongoing social instability. Media reports show that during the one-year rule of Morsi, more than 7,000 protests took place in the country. The situation in Egypt is reminiscent of Algeria in 1992, when that country's military leadership took control just as an Islamist party neared electoral victory. The result was an eight-year-long uprising in which some 100,000 Algerians died.

Changes in Egypt's domestic situation act as a sort of weather vane. Observers remarked that political changes there may further split the Middle East.

Iran, Turkey and Tunisia expressed their concern about the Egyptian situation and voiced support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkey and Tunisia characterized Morsi's ouster as a military coup, and described the Egyptian military's oppressive tactics as a massacre.

But some other Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which saw the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power as a threat to their own national security, welcomed Morsi's departure and offered congratulations to Egyptian Interim President Adly Mansour. Meanwhile, following the Egyptian upheaval, secular forces in Tunisia are also ready to create waves of anti-Islamism.

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