Egypt and Tunisia: Triumphs for the American Muslim Brotherhood
Last Friday, Yusuf al-Qaradawi — the most influential Muslim Brotherhood cleric in the world — returned triumphantly to Cairo from his exile in Qatar as the man chosen to lead Friday prayers at Tahrir Square. Given that the Muslim Brotherhood has been banned as an illegal organization in Egypt for decades and al-Qaradawi was banned from entering Egypt because of his support for jihad and his anti-Egyptian pronouncements, this is huge in its implications. Out of all the people in the world, secular or religious, that could have been invited to lead prayers at the epicenter of the Egyptian revolution, the man selected and embraced was the banned jihad-mongering leader of the illegal Salafi-Jihadi Muslim Brotherhood.
If that isn’t bad enough, it just so happens that Yusuf al-Qaradawi — banned from entering the United States in 1999 because of his support for suicide bombings — is the esteemed chairman-in-absentia of the Muslim American Society’s Islamic American University.
To anyone who has cared to know, this should not come as a surprise because the established links between the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the United States are substantial.
The Muslim American Society, considered to be the key Muslim Brotherhood policy organization in the United States, was founded in 1992 by two clandestine operatives of the Muslim Brotherhood: Ahmed Elkadi and Mohammed Mahdi Akef. At the time of its creation, Ahmed Elkadi was the head of the clandestine Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S., and Mohammed Mahdi Akef was the head of the Brotherhood’s international wing. Most recently, Akef served as the top leader, the supreme guide, of the Brotherhood from 2004-2010.
This secret genesis of the organization explains why in 2005, when asked by reporters if the Muslim American Society was a Muslim Brotherhood organization, then MAS General Secretary Shaker El Sayed stated that about 45 percent of MAS’ 1500 active members, which amounts to 675 individuals, actually belonged to the Brotherhood, and it explains why in 2008 Director of MAS Freedom Mahdi Bray traveled at least twice to Egypt in order to protest the treatment of Muslim Brotherhood members detained by the government.
Also in 2008, during an interview in his Cairo office, then Deputy Supreme Leader of the Brotherhood Mohammad Habib revealed that the Council on American Islamic Relations — the Hamas/Brotherhood front organization and un-indicted coconspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial — has a relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
I agree that this is a triumph for the Muslim Brotherhood – now. However they may find that leading in the light is a far different affair than opposition from the shadows.
The MB declared before the street protests in Egypt that began on Jan.25 that they would not participate. This is an acknowledgment that they thought the protests would fail, that the MB had next to nothing to do with their organization and that the MB themselves did not have enough feet on the ground to do such a thing themselves.
The greatest weapon the MB has in Egypt is the thing Egyptians have against Israel – they just don’t like them and it is pervasive, even among Christians. The problem for the MB is that that ‘thing’ cannot in reality be addressed without doing harm to the country.
Egypt cannot go to war with a military whose tanks and planes cannot be replaced unless the U.S says it can and it is unlikely the army is going to allow its main assets to be squandered and therefore compromise its own power base in Egypt which is brute force, or at least the threat of it.
80% of the governors of Egypt are ex-military and they and their colleagues deeper in the shadows have lucrative franchises they are not going to give up easily, certainly not to a loose confederation of Facebook anger and fundamentalist dreams of camping out in Jerusalem. On the other hand that Facebook ‘anger’ is very real and CAN put the numbers on the street with very few problems and they are not religious fanatics.
Opening the border with Gaza is a cause close to the hearts of many Egyptians who, for whatever reasons, see the Palestinian Arabs as virtual Egyptian citizens. However, allowing Hamas and hidden Saudi or Iranian money into Egypt to influence any elections is not going to be as straightforward as some fear and yet is a huge problem in Egypt’s future. Mubarak himself is probably chuckling in sheer despair and revenge at Hamas and the MB, virtually the same organization in many ways, being allowed to operate in Egypt in the open.
In terms of fundamentalism in the government, Egypt is vulnerable and this is nowhere more true than in regard to the Nile River. One need only build a nice, free dam in the new as yet un-named polity that has broken away from Sudan to have a ‘water on – water off’ scenario that would leave Egypt high and dry if it misbehaves. The Nile is so delicate that Egypt has declared for decades that any diversion of its waters is an act of war.
Egyptians do not fit into the idea of being global pariahs very well and this is even more true of the Egyptian economy which lacks the oil to sustain a political disenfranchisement from the outside world.
The West has wrung its hands over the idea of a Suez Canal basically being in the hands of Hamas but to whatever extent a fundamentalist government in Egypt tried to hold up the West using the canal is the exact extent Egypt might in the long run lose the canal itself and its income, especially by threatening Israel and the loss of the Sinai itself can be put in this mix.
Religion is nice but there is such a thing as the International Monetary Fund, foreign investment, the Egyptian Pound against other currencies, billions in tourism and many other more nuanced business considerations.
The Muslim Brotherhood is no longer an opposition party but one against presumably many parties that will appear and though it is posited that the greatest weapon is the MB’s organizational skills, they are in fact in the minority in Egypt and others can learn to organize as well.
The fact that the MB wants no political parties banned by religion but wants the office of President to be banned to a Christian is a problem. They are already faced with having to compromise this idea and that kind of hypocrisy is being noted and can be used against the MB as can all of the above in a shrewd campaign.
The army has yet to truly institute a single thing the protesters want and the second greatest demand, that the state of emergency be lifted, has yet to come to pass and everyone who cares about this is asking why. More uncertainty. Is the old regime reorganizing during this lull?
The old regime is not done yet and even if it is Egypt still awaits a political process and elections that could completely undo the MB, and if it doesn’t, completely undo Egypt.
The MB and Hamas are vulnerable because their main rallying cry is Israel and without that they don’t even really exist. What do they have to offer Egypt in real terms? It should be noted that there are plenty within Egypt that oppose the MB and they are not going to blithely sit back, grow beards, put head scarves on their wives and watch the Egyptian economy and the freedom they can all but see disappear into a mosque.
In the end, one has only to look at Gaza to see what Hamas and the MB have to offer Egypt and it is unending hand wringing, agitation, fundamentalist dogma, hostility to the West, economic destruction, unreality and pain.
The concepts of happiness, individual freedom, a good education, economic opportunity, dignity and freedom from fear are not to be found within either Hamas or the MB and yet those are the very themes which put feet on the streets even to the death all over northern Egypt.
Should the MB fail at election time, one can envision terrorism coming back to Egypt but that did not sit well with Egyptians in the recent past. Yes Egyptians are a religious and conservative people but whether or not they are willing to see their country torn to pieces for Sharia and a hatred of Israel remains to be seen. And then there is the military.
The Egyptians are a “conservative” people? The Egyptian military is heaviliy “dependent on the US for spare parts?” The same could be said of the Iranian people circa February 1979.
BTW, While it’s true that the fortunes of the Palestinian people in Gaza have gone from bad to worse under Hamas, and that should be enough to worn Egyptians what the Gazaization of their country would bring, the vast majority of Egyptians (who are pro-Hamas) blame the plight of Gaza-Palis on Israel. They are willfully blind to the true causes of Palestinian poverty, deprivation and misery. This blindness is tragic and is driving Egypt to disaster.
Readers, I implore you to read, ‘The Muslim Mafia’ and ‘Infiltration’.Events in the Mid East will become clear, and reflect on what is happening in your own US backyards. It ain’t pretty, but it IS the truth.What is happening in Egypt and elsewhere re the Muslim Brotherhood is a HUGE boon for their efforts in the US, and they are preparing accordingly.
They are so deeply embedded in Washington power circles, and within every major Muslim organization in the US, that they are just waiting to swoop in.
Rest assured, all your kiddies on US campuses are DIRECTLY affected by the MB.How?Through their massive infiltration on US campuses by the (innocuous sounding)Muslim Student Association, as if they are akin to any other student led group.They are not.There is irrefutable ! evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood implanted them on the campuses, to position them as leaders to implant Shariah in the US and prepare for jihad at their time of choosing.This is not hyperbole, nor sci-fi, it is reality.
Recall, Ms Siddiqui came straight out of the bowels of the MSA at MIT.(Be still my heart, my own kiddie had to share floor space with the MSA from 2003-2007,while a student leader at MIT Hillel. I know what I am talking about, I did my due diligence,Will you?)She was one of the 9/11/01 ‘helpers’ to Atta and his Islamic killers.And, she is just one of the few who got caught!!
Great article. I can’t find any of this in even conservative publications. People need to keep their eye on the ball and watch the jihadists and the mullahs.
Another important article on the Muslim Brotherhood in America-
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=266725
I believe the people in the NE and CA will be accepting of changes that are counter to what our nation has always stood for. Just give them feebies and the MB is in. Tell them they are oppressed, that the man has trampled them, they deserve more, allah will provide what ever they need, they need to take from the rich and pad their nests for a change, nonono don’t work for it brother,take it!
.. No one stops to realize someone , somewhere has to work to provide…you can’t simply keep taking.
Wow, that sounds biased. Well, it’s how we here truly feel, no use hiding it.
The MB should have a good foothold in prisons too. “I didn’t do it”..”i know brother, the man is oppressing you, let me help you”..blahblahblah
In America, in places where opinion is formed, the real problem is the other religion, Christianity. Radical islam, well, nobody’s perfect.
Meanwhile Obama is loving it. Is NASA still doing scientific outreach to worldwide muslim nations and people? You have to throw a few head fakes at times but it’s important to help your friends, O knows.
THE END OF PAX AMERICANA IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Iran under the genocidal regime of the nuclear-to-be mullahs is an expansionist power driven by the ideology of imperial restoration and Islamic world peace. From the beginning of its revolution in 1979 which stated the unification of Islam (return of the caliphate) as its goal Iran has targeted Israel and its main ally the United States for defeat and destruction; it has also been the bitter foe of Egypt for making peace with Israel and keeping it for an impressive 30 years. Now the era of hostility between Iran and Egypt seems to be over, signaled by a sudden change of policy by the pro-Islamist military junta on Iran’s use of the Suez Canal by its military ships. Just days after Hosni Mubarak’s departure Iran wasted no time testing the new regime by sending two of its warships into the Red Sea for passage through the Canal. Some reports say that the Syria bound ships entered the Canal this morning; other reports say their journey will start tomorrow. Whatever, this policy change is a dangerous concession to Iran; a gesture of blind appeasement and goodwill; a sign that Egypt is prepared to go radical, to break its peace with Israel, turn against the US and the West and join the growing Axis of Evil Islamist States on the belief that America’s days as a world power are numbered and the Pax Americana in the Middle East is near its end. No doubt about it, the successful pro-democracy revolt against Hosni Mubarak is going the way of “democratic” Gaza and setting the stage for a regional catastrophe.
Click my name to read the rest of this widely linked article.
ApolloSpeaks, apparently you are hitting some nerves with your blog.
Once again, someone f–ked with your site.
Too bad, I wanted to read your updates.
There was a brief problem with my site yesterday. It’s fine today. I’ve posted two new brief articles you might want to take a look at.
“These developments are especially ill-timed because, as the recent Congressional report on the Ft. Hood massacre has so clearly revealed, our military and counterterrorism forces still do not understand, nor have they identified, violent Islamist extremism as the enemy.”
There are precious few in our military and government aware of the threat imposed by the global Jihad but here’s a recently elected Congressman from Florida, Lt Col (Ret) Allen West responding to a Muslim apologist at a recent town hall meeting. We need another few hundred more like him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZx38i6iYs&feature=player_embedded
For now, I think people are over-obsessing about the Muslim Brotherhood. They are only one faction. Until two months ago they were the most organized opposition group in Egypt, but now they are over-awed by the democrats and nationalists – it would take only a fingernail of the crowd in Tahrir to crush Islamist opposition. These democrats and nationalists toppled Mubarak, and while they are as of now undecided about how to handle the M-B, that will be their problem as they organize and construct leaders and agendas. I’m a great worrier but I am not panic-stricken about the Brotherhood stealing the revolution – not yet, anyway.
2 million Egyptians in Tahrir Square chant “To Jerusalem we are heading, Martyrs in the millions.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du5emnvGgvg&feature=player_embedded#at=27
Their goal: the mass murder of Jewish innocents. It comes from the Koran war book.
Egypt created the PLO. The PLO Charter calls for the destruction of Israel.
The Arab League’s Charter states its goal is to eradicate the Zionist entity.
Hezbollah leader Nasarallah: If they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide. (Daily Star, Oct. 23, 2002),
The planned Second Holocaust extends far beyond Israel. Leaflets were distributed in major British cities which included slogans such as: “The final hour will not come until the Muslims kill the Jews.”
Britain’s response? “police appeared reluctant to prosecute because the calls to fight the Jews were carefully couched in quotes from the Koran.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1370900/Extremist-backs-%27kill-Jews%27-poster.html
Don’t think you are safe if you are not a Jew.
In a January 1976 article in Commentary, titled “The Return of Islam,” Bernard Lewis wrote, “In the period immediately preceding the outbreak of the Six-Day War in 1967, an ominous phrase was sometimes heard, ‘First the Saturday people (Jews), then the Sunday people. (Christians)’”. It is a common Arab Muslim saying. It’s also scrawled in graffiti.
Egyptian protesters promise to destroy Israel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWcKewmyh_o&feature=player_embedded
Muslim Brotherhood Wants War With Israel
Forex Bits | Yohay | January 31, 2011 2:54 pm GMT
Mohamed Ghanem, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, calls Egypt to stop pumping gas to Israel and prepare the Egyptian army for a war with it’s eastern neighbor.
http://www.forexcrunch.com/muslim-brotherhood-wants-war-with-israel/
‘According to a Pew opinion survey of Egyptians from June 2010, 59 percent said they back Islamists. Only 27% said they back modernizers. Half of Egyptians support Hamas. Thirty percent support Hizbullah and 20% support al Qaida. Moreover, 95% of them would welcome Islamic influence over their politics. When this preference is translated into actual government policy, it is clear that the Islam they support is the al Qaida Salafist version.
Eighty two percent of Egyptians support executing adulterers by stoning, 77% support whipping and cutting the hands off thieves. 84% support executing any Muslim who changes his religion.’
A huge percent of Muslim immigrants to Western countries declare they want Islamic sharia law implemented in their host countries. Will Western leaders continue to cooperate in the goal of Muslim conquest and extremely cruel sharia law in our countries by continuing the mass Muslim immigration invasion and colonization of our countries?
In Sweden, many Muslim youth wear a t-shirt proclaiming: “2030-then we take over”
Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan on “moderate Islam”: ‘These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate Islam.” Milliyet, Turkey, August 21, 2007.
Turkey’s Prime Minister, Erdogan, publicly read an Islamic poem: “The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and Muslims our soldiers…”
Not one inch of Jewish land must ever be surrendered to global jihad for a Muslim terror state implant in vulnerable little Israel. WE ARE ALL ISRAELIS.