A Voice Of Reason In The Middle East

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became President of Egypt in June 2014. He was elected by the Egyptians after the removal of President Morsi, who was attempting to move Egypt in the direction of a caliphate–including Sharia Law and persecution of Christians. The Obama Administration has not been overwhelmingly supportive of President el-Sisi, but has promised to deliver the military aid previously promised to Egypt.

During his presidency, President el-Sisi has moved to eliminate the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, blaming the group for much of the political unrest in the country. Recently, he called for a revolution in Islam that would discourage the current violent aspect of the religion.

The Washington Free Beacon reported yesterday:

In a speech on New Year’s day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a “religious revolution” in Islam that would displace violent jihad from the center of Muslim discourse.

“Is it possible that 1.6 billion people (Muslims worldwide) should want to kill the rest of the world’s population—that is, 7 billion people—so that they themselves may live?” he asked. “Impossible.”

Speaking to an audience of religious scholars celebrating the birth of Islam’s prophet, Mohammed, he called on the religious establishment to lead the fight for moderation in the Muslim world. “You imams (prayer leaders) are responsible before Allah. The entire world—I say it again, the entire world—is waiting for your next move because this umma (a word that can refer either to the Egyptian nation or the entire Muslim world) is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost—and it is being lost by our own hands.”

I am sure President el-Sisi speaks for many Muslims when he says, “We have to think hard about what we are facing. It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire Islamic world to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing, and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible.”

We need more Middle Eastern leaders like President el-Sisi.