Egypt's hopes betrayed by Morsi

[abuhaif]

...Most Egyptians want the Muslim Brotherhood. They want Sharia.

Well, as Tommy J. said, 'The people get the government they deserve.'

 

[Solomon2]

lol, people like agentny17 don't repersent most Egyptians.

Most Egyptians want the Muslim Brotherhood. They want Sharia.

Our fear of criticizing the Brotherhood

23/12/2012

By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. Mr. Al Rashed is also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based in Dubai.

Now, following their ascent to power in Egypt, in the eyes of many the Muslim Brotherhood are like the holy calf, namely nobody criticizes them, as they equate this with criticizing Islam! This is a rule that we cannot accept, for the Brotherhood are nothing more than a political party and are no different than any other political party in this regard.

We have seen the start of a relentless campaign to protect the Brotherhood and its practices, seeking to place the Egyptian regime above criticism and grant this political movement a sense of sanctity it does not deserve, for no other reason that it proclaims itself “Islamic” and its followers sport the so-called “prayer bump” on their foreheads! For us, the Brotherhood are nothing more than a political group, they make mistakes and commit errors, and they should be appreciated and indeed criticized based upon their actions. I say to those in the region who are afraid of the Brotherhood’s supporters: we have lived under this media terrorism for years. We were confronted with this on numerous occasions in the past and it never succeeded. One day, those who are afraid of this will discover what I myself discovered in previous such campaigns. We faced this terrorism on numerous occasions in the past, including from Hezbollah, being accused of being traitors and Zionist agents simply for discussing its actions. However those who fought us unjustly yesterday have turned against Hezbollah today, criticizing them utilizing language that we ourselves would not dare use! We heard the same thing, for us and against us, from these very same people over the issue of Iran, who they previously viewed as the “champion” of Islam and “nemesis” of Israel, whilst today they have completely reversed their position and are now criticizing Iran far more than we ever did! They also previously defended the Bashar al-Assad regime, believing its lies about pan-Arabism and the Palestinian Cause and fighting the enemy, completely ignoring the crimes it was committing. The al-Assad regime did not begin its terrible crimes in March of last year, when the Syrian popular revolution broke out; rather it had been committing these for years. Even when the al-Assad regime was responsible for the deaths of dozens of Lebanese leaders and senior politicians, they continued to call it the “resistance” axis and assert that anybody who objected to this was in Israel’s service! Under this pretext, these same people defended al-Assad and his supporter’s crimes. We also recall those who lauded Al Qaeda during the terrorist organization’s early days, defending the worst group in the history of Islam and portraying them as if this were the shade of great Islamic hero Khalid ibn al-Walid.

I say to all those who sanctified Hassan Nasrallah, and attacked us over Iran, Bin Laden and al-Assad: be patient, do not rush to judge those who criticize the Brotherhood in Egypt or elsewhere. This is politics, and the Muslim Brotherhood is a political organization; they are not infallible. If you just look at the situation a few weeks following their ascent to power in Egypt, you will – unfortunately – see that many Brotherhood figures had already not hesitated to resort to deception and slander. What they said about Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei during this period is a simple model of the manner in which they seek to discredit anybody who opposes them, and this includes slinging accusations of apostasy and treason! They said that ElBaradei had sold Iraq out and was responsible for its destruction, along with other false allegations, when anybody who was accurately monitoring the situation well knows that of all the Arabs who have run international institutions, he is amongst the most moral and ethical and he completely rejected international intervention in Iraq. However the Brotherhood deleted this with a stroke of their pen and promoted a false version of ElBaradei and his accomplishments to monopolize power and remove a political rival!

I am well aware that it is difficult for some people to differentiate between those who view Islam purely as a religion, and those who work in politics and raise religious slogans. This is thanks to some opportunists rushing to exploit religion and religious slogans for their own benefit. Criticizing the ruling Muslim Brotherhood does not mean that one is criticizing Islam, they are not the Prophet’s Companions; rather this is nothing more than criticizing a normal political group, as any other. When we criticize a socialist group, for example, this does not mean that we oppose social justice or its values. When we criticized the Baathists and supports of pan-Arabism, this did not necessarily mean that we rejected the concept of Arab unity! Therefore we must not bow down to slogans, religious or otherwise; these should not be immune from criticism. Those who raise such slogans are nothing more than politicians and political parties, whilst opposing the Freedom and Justice Party does not mean support for slavery and injustice! These are just names, and they are used to attract public support in this manner.

Unfortunately, somebody may avoid one ideological trap only to stumble into another. We see the same mistakes being made again and again, only each time over different “names” or “attributes”. Therefore, it is only those who worship this holy calf - whether we are talking about the Brotherhood or anybody else – who continually fall into this trap and sanctify this false idol…as for the rest of us, we know better!

 

[Pakistanisage]

Well, the great Democratic Republic of Egypt has approved the new Constitution (Congratulations my Egyptian Friends).

Now that this is settled, maybe Egyptian people can have their elections of the lower house of their Parliament and get on with the business of Statehood.

 

[Solomon2]

Well, the great Democratic Republic of Egypt has approved the new Constitution (Congratulations my Egyptian Friends).

Now that this is settled, maybe Egyptian people can have their elections of the lower house of their Parliament and get on with the business of Statehood.

Not so fast, kiddo.

EGYPT INDEPENDENT

Monday 24 December 2012

Is it a division or a revolution?


Islamists’ distorted understanding of democracy — which has divided Palestine between Fatah and Hamas, plunged Algeria into civil war and led to the secession of South Sudan — is what guides the Muslim Brotherhood’s management of Egyptian affairs.

However, to say that Egyptians are divided and that Egypt is on the verge of civil war is erroneous. Egypt is more united than ever — united against one ruling faction that is systematically undermining an inspiring revolution.

The Western media talks about a rift in the population, and the White House spokesperson refuses to call the developments in Egypt a revolution. But Egypt is not divided. Divisions occur when there are two antagonistic popular factions. But when ordinary citizens take to the streets in large numbers, and when institutions and political forces — never before known to act in unison — come together against an organized group, then what we have is a revolution.

Sensing danger, several political institutions and segments of the popular masses have united, brushing aside their differences to overcome the worst nightmare that the country has seen.

This is the first time that the bureaucratic institutions of the deep state have stood opposed to the president. Even before his fall, former President Hosni Mubarak did not lose the support of the pillars of the state. Today, the judges have gone on strike, the Supreme Constitutional Court has suspended its work for the first time in its history, the journalists are protesting and the lawyers are choosing to overlook their discord with the judges.

According to the Muslim Brotherhood’s estimation, preliminary results from the first round of voting in the constitutional referendum suggest that 56.5 percent of voters support the draft, while the “no” camp scored a somewhat unexpectedly high 43.5 percent of the vote.

The National Salvation Front, meanwhile, estimates that more than 60 percent of voters reject the Islamist constitution.

If we take into consideration the massive violations reported during the voting process, these results clearly reflect a decrease in the popular support of the Islamist movement. The Brothers got a majority approval only in the less developed provinces, and they got it through the use of sectarian propaganda bribes.

Following President Mohamed Morsy’s issuing of the 22 November Constitutional Declaration, we felt that a coup was being launched, one that may lead to the hijacking of the state. We saw mass protests in which the majority of participants were ordinary citizens with no partisan or political affiliations. And for the first time, we saw a unified leadership for the secular political forces.

It is true that the feloul (remnants of the Mubarak regime) have joined the ranks of the revolutionaries, but the fact that the feloul have joined hands with the anti-Morsy protesters is illustrative of the amount of danger they feel — not of a conspiracy, as the political leadership likes to claim.

The judges' strike is not a conspiracy against the regime. The fact that the so-called Couch Party, which preferred stability at whatever cost in the past, has abandoned the couch is telling. Entire families that had been opposed to the 25 January revolution decided to take part in the million man protests rocking the country, with hopes of securing a better future for their children.

The unity of journalists from across the political spectrum was prompted by a feeling that freedom of expression is at stake — a freedom which they only gained following years of struggle.

Egyptian Christians, who joined the protests defined by their Egyptian rather than religious identity, were singled out for criticism by extremists such as Safwat Hegazy, Khaled Abdallah and Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagy, whose extremist minds are unable to conceive that the people are uniting against them.

On the other hand, most of the participants in the protests staged by Islamists are members of organizations who are shipped to the protest sites to create the illusion of mass support. When the Brotherhood's headquarters were besieged and set on fire, ordinary citizens did not spontaneously spring to the defense of those who claim to have popular support. The Brotherhood resorted to terrorist threats after the attacks, saying they had militias to use when the zero hour comes, according to Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat al-Shater.

Morsy’s failed leadership has also united Egyptians. The government has never been as disoriented, with decisions being made and withdrawn overnight. The state is not run transparently, and the Brotherhood — which is still not a legally registered group — continues to direct Morsy's actions.

Egyptians also harbor fears regarding the developments in Sinai. While the US has lauded Morsy's role in mediating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the suspicious relationship between the Brotherhood and its branch in Gaza evokes fears, particularly as Sinai increasingly becomes a terrorist hub.

Islamists in general are playing on the feelings of people dreaming of a state where Sharia would be implemented. But before that can be done, the jurisprudential legacy of the old scholars needs to be modernized and filtered.

Many Islamists are good willed, but their minds have been molded to a unilateral way of thinking that only accepts absolutes, except when it comes to the words of the so-called sheikhs who abuse religion. Their dream of a Sharia-based state threatens to blow up even those modernization gains that were won under military rule.

Those honest, though extremist, minds were exploited by the US in Afghanistan, and exploited again to kill the dream of an Arab Spring. The US fears that those nations — whose oil it wishes to keep to itself — will wake up. It ignores the fact there are people who live on those lands and who have the right to live in free countries, rather than see the leadership of their states handed over to military, religious and tribal fascists who become marionettes in the hands of sectarian minds.

Islamists were empowered to rise following the downfall of Mubarak, and the same scenario that is unfolding in Egypt is being prepared for in Syria. The Syrian opposition was not recognized by the US until the Syrian National Council was expanded to incorporate the Brotherhood and Islamists.

As the Brotherhood pushed ahead with its coup, disguised in the form of a referendum, they felt quite sure about its outcome, and they were so blinded by their confidence that they forgot that the implementation of the conditions for the IMF's loan — tax hikes — would spark popular fury.

They only realized what was happening when the anger on the streets promised to turn to a hunger revolution.

The paradoxes on the political scene remind us of the story of two women who both claimed to be mothers of the same child. The woman who was lying did not mind if the child was ripped apart to share between them. Likewise, Islamists seem to insist on leading the nation to destruction, just to get their share of power.

For thousands of years, Egypt has not witnessed civil war. And it will not. The talk about civil war is a form of terrorism, and Egyptians know all about it. The good news, amid this tragedy, is that Egyptians are willing to pay the price for freedom.

 

[Developereo]

Well, the great Democratic Republic of Egypt has approved the new Constitution (Congratulations my Egyptian Friends).

Now that this is settled, maybe Egyptian people can have their elections of the lower house of their Parliament and get on with the business of Statehood.

The US and Israel have lost their stooge Mubarak.

Now, it's on to Plan B: depict anyone who resists Israel/US as an "Islamist".

Will the ordinary Egyptians fall for this age old tactic? Let's hope they have the wisdom to see through the propaganda.

 

[tyrant]

I know about 15 Egyptians around and they are either pro-MB or pro-Nour, except one who liked Amr Mousa.

 

[Pakistanisage]

Not so fast, kiddo.

You can jump up and down all you want ZIONIST, but your goose is cooked.

Mursi is the man who came out on top democratically and he is steering Egypt in the right direction - away from Israel.

So now three of North African countries are in the hands of MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

Europe has abandoned your A$$ as well as evidenced by the recent UN vote for Palestinian non-state status.

The noose is tightening around your scrawny neck pretty fast, my Zionist friend.

Tera kiya banaega Kaliyeh ?

 

[Solomon2]

...now three of North African countries are in the hands of MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD...The noose is tightening around your scrawny neck pretty fast, my Zionist friend.

Is it really the Jews and Zionists who have to worry about the M-B noose? The Free Officers sent armies into Israel, the M-B has a branch that just gave up firing rockets. And there aren't any Jews left in Egypt itself for the M-B to terrorize.

Tera kiya banaega Kaliyeh ?

Translate if you want a response.

 

[AUz]

You can jump up and down all you want ZIONIST, but your goose is cooked.

Mursi is the man who came out on top democratically and he is steering Egypt in the right direction - away from Israel.

So now three of North African countries are in the hands of MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

Europe has abandoned your A$$ as well as evidenced by the recent UN vote for Palestinian non-state status.

The noose is tightening around your scrawny neck pretty fast, my Zionist friend.

Tera kiya banaega Kaliyeh ?

Not only that, but Turkey is also under Islamic Party and IsraHell has also deteriorated her relations with Turkey. Asymmetric threat from Hamas/Hezbollah is more than ever , since these groups can target Tel Aviv at will...Western stooges are being over-thrown and people's governments are rising up in the Middle-East, Mashallah. Israel's economic conditions aren't good either and more than 41% of Jews are thinking of migrating from Israel...Arabs are at their strongest militarily (equippment wise) and world's opinion is greatly anti-Israel right now...Israel has already lost Europe....

All in all, illegal right-wing Jewish Israeli regime is getting suffocated day by day.... And add a Mashallah to all this

 

[Developereo]

You can jump up and down all you want ZIONIST, but your goose is cooked.

Sadly, I don't share your optimism.

Controlling people in a dictatorship is easy.

The tricky part is to control the populace through the "free" media, and the Western media are absolute masters at this kind of mind control. Expect to see a coordinated media assault on anyone and everyone who is deemed a challenge to Western/Israeli interests.

The Egyptians are new to this concept of a free media; they are going to be putty in the hands of the Western media wizards.

 

[KS]

lol south asian muslims advising egyptian muslims about the 'ground realities' in egypt...insecure idiots. Let the egyptians decide for themselves.

This thread shows the difference in the thinking of middle-eastern muslims and South Asians muslims today . ME muslims are gradually becoming more and more enlightened while retaining their religion while our South Asian muslims ,well.....

Let me complete it......less said the better.

 

[doublemaster]

lol south asian muslims advising egyptian muslims about the 'ground realities' in egypt...insecure idiots. Let the egyptians decide for themselves.



Let me complete it......less said the better.

By the way, why dint you say anything about Solomon2 ?? oh yeah...he is not muslim. So he can say whom egyptian has to elect.

 

[kobiraaz]

@KS lol i have a lot egyptian friends in other forums and i follow hundreds of them in twitter. I know the ground reality! I have invited two to visit the forum and they said these two egyptian don't represent them majority. I just repeated what they said to me before the voting! Now you people know after voting who has the majority! And still indians jumping up and downn lolz

 

[Mahmoud_EGY]

@KS lol i have a lot egyptian friends in other forums and i follow hundreds of them in twitter. I know the ground reality! I have invited two to visit the forum and they said these two egyptian don't represent them majority. I just repeated what they said to me before the voting! Now you people know after voting who has the majority! And still indians jumping up and downn lolz

 

[Pakistanisage]

These "creatures" have no chance of forming an independent basis of right and wrong outside the instructions of their Sheikhs, Mullas, and their dark age books. I gave up on them. Only way is to treat them like what they really are, animals. A bunch of animals. Also, worth mentioning they are the minority, loud, organized one, and well supported from outside countries thu.

@agentny17 , Are you a Coptic Christian ?