Bahaa Taher has given his views on Egypt since the revolution during an event celebrating the launch of his new book, Ayama Al-Amal w Al-Heera (The Days of Hope and Confusion) at Diwan bookstore in Zamalek.

The book brings together Taher's weekly columns written for Journalism magazine over the past two years.

Taher recounted the course of Egypt's transitional period and the role of the military junta, which ruled from 11 February 2011, when former president Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down, until President Mohamed Morsi were elected in June 2012.

He said the military junta had driven the revolution off course and delivered power to the Islamists.

“My new book could be seen as a detailed record of the revolution from my weekly window at Journalism, which expressed the views of a person who lived through the events and tried to write about them in a lively way,” Taher said.

“I did not have a positive opinion of the book before it was published but now I think the book is important because it gives the reader a chronological record of the revolution,” he added.

The author of Sunset Oasis said sectarian had been promoted to disrupt the course of the revolution and to distract people from their goals of freedom and democracy.

The military junta backed the Islamists and helped exclude revolutionary groups from the political scene, Taher claimed.

Taher said he respects the Egyptian Army, which he deems a historical pillar of the nation, but blamed its leaders for deliberately diverting the course of the revolution.

It is still too early to write a great novel on the Egyptian revolution, according to Taher, but writers should record its events to prevent the historical record being distorted.