Know Your History

In 1918, the Ottoman Empire fell in 1918. It was a caliphate. The caliphate was abolished on March 3, 1924 (since the early 16th century, the Ottoman sultans had laid claim to the title of caliph of the Muslims). From February to June 1926 the Swiss civil code, the Italian penal code, and the German commercial code were adopted wholesale. As a result, women’s emancipation was strengthened by the abolition of polygamy, marriage was made a civil contract, and divorce was recognized as a civil action.  Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the great leader of the National War of Independence who pioneered the revolutions and reforms that founded modern Turkey. In response to Turkey becoming a secular country, in1928 Hassan al Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The purpose of the Muslim Brotherhood was to create a new caliphate by bringing all lands to the Caliph’s rule pursuant to shariah. When the Ottoman Empire was carved up after World War I, maps were drawn with little regard for ethnic groups or past history. That is part of the root of today’s Middle East wars.

During the First World War (in 1917), the British issued The Balfour Declaration, a public statement announcing its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population. Three years later, the League of Nations codified the boundaries set forth in the Balfour Declaration. (The name Palestine had been given to the region after the Romans conquered the Jews in 70 A.D. as an insult to the Jews. There was never a country of Palestine.) In 1919, a formal agreement on the  mandated Jewish homeland was signed in London. The agreement was signed by Emir Feisal ibn-Hussien, representing and acting on behalf of the Arab Kingdom of Hedjaz, and Chaim Weitzman, representing and acting on behalf of the Zionist Organization. The  boundaries of this land included all of Israel (including Gaza, Samaria, West Bank, etc.) and what is now Transjordan. It is telling that Emir Feisal had written a letter agreeing to exactly what the land division was and pledged that he and the Arab states would carry out this agreement. Jordan was supposed to be the modern Palestinian state. Unfortunately, in 1920, Britain began limiting the immigration of Jews into the Jewish state while the Arabs were freely allowed to immigrate. That was a major part of the tensions that would ensue when Israel became a nation.

There is much more to this history–Jordan became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan had originally been part of the land promised for the Jewish nation, but Thomas Edward Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) made some promises to the Arabs in exchange for their support against the Turks. For a time, ‘Palestinian’ refugees were allowed to live in Jordan, but they were kicked out after they attempted to overthrow the government. To put it simply, there is enough Arab land to settle the ‘Palestinians’ anywhere in Arab land, but the Arabs do not want them. They are useful as a political tool to be used to ‘drive Israel into the sea,’ but they are an unruly people who tend to be violent.

That is a brief look into the background to the current mess in the Middle East.

Outlawed Again

On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the government of Egypt has dissolved the political party of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and ordered its assets liquidated. The name of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party was the Freedom and Justice Party. So much for truth in advertising.

The article reports:

The decision against the Freedom and Justice Party comes after a recommendation by the court’s advisory panel that noted the party’s leaders had already been accused, and in some cases convicted, of murder and inciting violence.

The recommendation added that the police investigation stated the party headquarters and offices were used to store weapons.

The Middle East news agency said the decision is final.

The court decision is part of a wider crackdown against the group and its members that landed thousands in jail, including a many sentenced to death on charges of inciting violence.

The government declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group late last year, accusing it of orchestrating a wave of violence to destabilize the country after the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member, in the wake of mass protests against him.

This is not the first encounter between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian government (and unfortunately it may not be the last).

The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al Banna. In 1923 when the Turkish empire was dissolved and the modern state of Turkey established, Mustapha Kemal, known as Ataturk, wanted to abolish the caliphate and set up secular rule. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in reaction to the secularization of Turkey.

Some of the bylaws of the Muslim Brotherhood:

…the need to work on establishing the Islamic State

…the sincere support for a global cooperation in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia

The assassination of Anwar Sadat was carried out by a nationalistic group associated with the Muslim Brotherhood because Sadat had made a peace treaty with Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood is active in America with a number of front groups. The Muslim Brotherhood plan for North America can be found in the exhibits in the Holy Land Foundation Trial that took place in Texas in 2007. There is also a list of unindicted co-conspirators that includes many groups now accepted as Muslim spokespeople by our government.

The danger posed by the Muslim Brotherhood is worldwide–America is not exempt from that danger. The difference between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda is method–not goal. The Muslim Brotherhood did not support the attack on September 11, 2001, because they felt it was too early to attempt to destroy America with violence–they felt they needed more time to destroy America politically. That is an ongoing process.

Let’s Follow Their Example

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded by Hassan al Banna in 1928. The bylaws of the Muslim Brotherhood state include the following:

“The Muslim Brotherhood is an International Muslim body which seeks to establish Allah’s law in the land by achieving the spiritual goals of Islam and the true religion which are namely the following:

…F) The  need to work on establishing the Islamic State:

G) The sincere support for a global cooperation in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic Sharia.

The above is taken from the Official Muslim Brotherhood Website on 9/7/2010. It is referenced in the book, Shariah The Threat to America published by the Center for Security Policy in 2010.

Yesterday the Washington Post posted a story stating that the military government of Egypt has declared that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist group. The military government of Egypt is correct. The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt as an antidote to the secularization of Turkey after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. The stated purpose of the Muslim Brotherhood is to form a worldwide caliphate under Sharia Law. It is implied in their by-laws that overthrowing existing governments is an acceptable means to this end. The military government of Egypt understands that fact and chooses not to be overthrown.

The article reports:

Deputy Prime Minister Hossam Eissa said that, in response to the bombing (a bombing Tuesday in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura), the government had decided to classify the organization as a terrorist group. Eissa did not provide evidence that the Brotherhood was involved in the bombing or any other recent attacks on security forces in Egypt.

“Egypt was horrified from north to south by the hideous crime committed by the Muslim Brotherhood group,” Eissa said, according to the AP. “This was in context of a dangerous escalation to violence against Egypt and Egyptians [and] a clear declaration by the Muslim Brotherhood group that it still knows nothing but violence.”

“It’s not possible for Egypt the state nor Egypt the people to submit to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism,” he added.

On Wednesday, a Sinai-based jihadist group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, or Ansar Jerusalem, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing, which killed 15 people, including 11 police officers, in one of the deadliest such attacks in Egypt in years.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not a peaceful organization. The government of Egypt has realized that. It is time America woke up and realized the danger the Brotherhood represents to America.

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Egypt A Year After The Revolution

It has been a year since Mohamed Morsi became President of Egypt. Egyptians are not happily celebrating that anniversary. Yesterday the Christian Science Monitor reported that as large crowds protested in Cairo, a small crowd attacked the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The article reports:

A Brotherhood spokesman, Gehad El Haddad, said on Twitter that a group of “thugs” was attacking the headquarters, and said two police captains left their posts protecting the headquarters to join the attack. No eyewitnesses reported seeing police engage in the attack. But Morsi has struggled to bring the security forces, long used for suppressing the Muslim Brotherhood, under his control. The police’s refusal to protect the Brotherhood headquarters and other Brotherhood offices are a telling sign.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al Banna. Hassan al Banna was killed in 1949 by Egyptian security services. A ban on Muslim Brotherhood activities was lifted in 1951. In 1952, the Muslim Brotherhood worked with Gamal Abdel Nasser and some young officers who overthrew King Farouk. Nassar began a crackdown on the Brotherhood in 1954, and much of the organization left Egypt and began operating worldwide. In the past, when Egypt had a leadership crisis, the military took control, and whomever they supported took power. However, President Morsi quickly moved to prevent that from happening.

In August, I reported (rightwinggranny.com) that President Morsi ordered Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to retire.

I stated:

This move essentially transfers power away from the military and strengthens the power of the President and the Parliament. The Parliament that was elected in Egypt was largely fundamentalist Islamists who support Sharia Law. Taking control of the military breaks down the last barrier to Sharia Law and to Egypt becoming what Iran became after the 1979 revolution there. The next step will be the official breaking of the treaty with Israel (which will only happen when Egypt feels that it has gotten all the U. S. foreign aid money it is going to get).

By taking power away from the military, President Morsi consolidated his power within Egypt. However, the people who began the revolution in 2011 were not all supporters of Sharia Law. Many of them wanted democracy. Democracy does not mean one election and then tyranny. Because it has become evident that President Morsi is steering Egypt toward being a caliphate, many of the people who originally wanted a change in government do not like the change they got.

It remains to be seen whether or not Morsi will hold power. The Muslim Brotherhood is very powerful and is not above using force to maintain power. It would be wonderful to see freedom come to Egypt, but I seriously doubt that will be the way this ends.

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Ignoring The Statements Of Those Who Want To Harm Us

Yesterday the Washington Times posted an article about a statement CIA Director nominee John Brennan. Mr. Brennen stated, “Jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one’s community, and there’s nothing holy, legitimate, or Islamic about murdering innocent men and women….Nor do we describe our enemy as jihadists or Islamists.”

The article points out that Mr. Brennan’s statement is at odds with the statements made by those who lead the jihadists.

The article reports:

Osama bin Laden described his war against the United States as a jihad as early as March 1997, when he told CNN that “we have declared jihad against the U.S., because in our religion it is our duty to make jihad so that God’s word is the one exalted to the heights.”

The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, wrote in a pamphlet titled “Jihad” that “Many Muslims today mistakenly believe that fighting the enemy is jihad asghar (a lesser jihad) and that fighting one’s ego is jihad akbar (a greater jihad).” The present spiritual adviser of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, writes in his book, “Fiqh of Jihad,” that Muslims may engage in violent jihad against Israel.

If your next door neighbor continually threatens you, do you ignore the threats or do you pay attention and at least take defensive action? It seems that Mr. Brennan would choose to ignore the threats.

Sun Tzu is quoted as saying, “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” That is one of the basic rules of war. Whether we like it or not, we are at war. The Islamists have made that clear. We can put someone in charge of the CIA who is in touch with  reality or we can put someone in charge who will ignore reality.

I believe that John Brennan’s statements, as well as some of his past military actions outside the chain of command (see rightwinggranny.com) should disqualify him for the position of Director of the CIA. Unfortunately I believe he will be confirmed and his appointment will put America at risk.

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Who Is The Muslim Brotherhood ?

The Muslim Brotherhood has been called ‘moderate Muslims’ by American national security people. That might have something to do with the fact that there are people with links to the Muslim Brotherhood in the highest levels of our government. Meanwhile, CBN News reported on Tuesday that a Norwegian television documentary, called “Freedom, Equality and the Muslim Brotherhood,” is unmasking the Muslim Brotherhood’s plans for world domination.

The article reports:

Kamil al-Najjar, one of the film’s subjects, left the Muslim Brotherhood and consequently is under threat of death.

“They’re trying to deceive the people,” al-Najjar tells al-Kubaisi in the film. “They have managed to deceive a lot of Western politicians into believing them.”

“Their only aim is to control the world with Islam,” he said. “They know they cannot use force to convert the West, so they use deceit.”

However, Muslim Brotherhood leaders are quite open about their intentions with those like al-Kubaisi, who traveled to the Middle East and speaks fluent Arabic.

“The Muslim Brotherhood’s dream is to form a total Islamic state,” Muhammed Mahdi Akef, who was the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood until 2010, told al-Kubaisi.

Gamal al-Banna, the brother of Hassan al-Banna, the man who founded of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928, was interviewed for the movie. He stated, “They (the Muslim Brotherhood) do not believe in freedom at all. There is no Islamic authority that respects freedom or democracy.”

The article further reports:

But one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s key spiritual leaders, Sheik Yusef al-Qaradawi, said on Arabic TV that “defeating Rome, Italy and Europe means that Islam will come back to Europe.”

“Must this victory necessarily be won by war? No,” the leader said. “I believe Islam will conquer Europe without using violence.”

“The Muslim Brotherhood, it’s not like, ‘We will take over the world and the power,” Al-Kubaisi told CBN News.

“No, no, it’s not like this,” he explained. “They don’t speak about power at all. No, they say, ‘Now, we want only this, and then this, and then this’…and then they start to work to gain more power.

Please follow the link to the CBN News article to see the short video behind this report.

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