The Arab Spring Turns Into Winter

On Sunday the Jerusalem Post reported that Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood party in Egypt, has stated that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will not recognize Israel “under any circumstance.”  The statement was made to the Arabic daily al-Hayat in an interview published on Sunday.

In the recent elections the Muslim Brotherhood party and the Salafi al-Nour Party (ultra conservative Islamists) received about 65 percent of the vote.

When asked during the interview whether the new government of Egypt should recognize Israel, Dr. Bayoumi replied, “This is not an option, whatever the circumstances, we do not recognize Israel at all. It’s an occupying criminal enemy.”

The two Islamist parties (the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi al-Nour Party) will be writing the new constitution for Egypt. This is not good news for Israel or for peace in the Middle East.

The other thing to watch here will be the role of Saudi Arabia as Islamists take over the Middle East. Although Saudi Arabia is an Islamist state, the Saudi princes have held on to their power and have so far avoided the revolutions that have occurred around them. It will be interesting to see how the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken over the governments all around them impacts their nation.

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