Morsi Welcomes in the New Islamist Republic of Egypt

Once the Obama government made the decision to push Hosni Mubarak out of power in Egypt, there were only two outcomes available. Egypt would either become a new Turkey, an Islamist republic that retains some secularism and some respect for non-Muslims, or a new Iran, a full blown Islamist republic controlled by Islamists, for Islamists.

So far, the second outcome is looking to be the more likely.

Egypt’s president says the disputed constitution just approved in a referendum establishes a new republic and calls on the opposition to join a dialogue to heal rifts and shift the focus to repairing the economy.

Mohammed Morsi said Wednesday he acknowledges the “respectable” proportion that voted against the constitution drafted by his Islamist allies, but offered no concrete gestures to an opposition that has so far rejected his dialogue and vowed to fight the charter. Critics say the charter restricts freedoms and enshrines Islamic rule.

That’s because it does.