Tag Archives: Egypt

The Failed Revolution In Egypt

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In January of last year, over 50,000 protesters filled Tahrir Square in Egypt to protest the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. They were demanding freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, it does not appear that that is what they got.

The U. K. Telegraph reported yesterday on what has happened in Egypt since the original protest.

The article reports:

The two presidential candidates who, as counting nears completion, seem to have got through to a second round of voting are the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood‘s front party, the FJP, and a former Air Force general who was prime minister when the “last dictator” Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down.

It really doesn’t seem like much of a choice, but the author of the article has a slightly different view. He states that this is democracy in action–the candidates got the votes and are therefore the choice of the people.

The article points out how the two candidates won:

The three losers appealed to people who like to argue about politics and ideas, and have “messages”. But they were essentially dilettantes. The Brotherhood and the ex-regime spoke directly to the concerns of ordinary Egyptians, and said what it could do for them.

The Brothers frighten the West with their Islamism. But their campaign talked about education for the poor, and defending traditional values. They came out strongly in favour of free market economics, and while it would be wrong to say Hayek won the election, in most of provincial Egypt, the imam, the teacher, the engineer and the local shop-keeper make more sense than semi-Marxist rhetoric coming out of Cairo; think of Britain and France in the 1950s, captivated by Angry Young Men and Sartre respectively, but voting Tory and Gaullist, and you get the idea.

Shafiq had one message: Mubarak was Mubarak, but security is security; two years ago you could walk the streets safely, and now you can’t. For communities traumatised by crime, that speaks loud.

This is a lesson that should be learned by American politicians–if you want to win, have a plan!

I don’t see any hope for a democracy in Egypt. If the Muslim Brotherhood wins this election, they will institute Sharia Law and that will be the end of freedom. I hope that I am wrong, but the lessons of history are, unfortunately, on my side.

 

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What Should We Do In Syria ?

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Victor Davis Hanson posted an article at National Review today about the situation in Syria. It is entitled, “The Bad-Good Idea of Removing Assad.” That pretty much says it all.

The Bashar Assad dictatorship murders its own people, aids and arms Hezbollah, and targets Israel. This is not a dictator that America can do business with. However, what happens if he is ousted?

The article states:

But intervention, even if by air or through stealthy military assistance, requires some sort of strategy, and right now the United States does not seem to have any coherent one. We expected that post-Qaddafi Libya, and an Egypt without Hosni Mubarak, would be far better. They might be some day. But right now, emerging Islamic republics are hardly democratic. Some seem every bit as anti-American as were the dictatorships they replaced — and they could be even more intolerant of women, tribal minorities, and Christians. 

The point is not that we should support only idealists who promise an Arab version of Santa Monica, but that we do not oust one monster whom we are not responsible for only to empower one just as bad whom we would be responsible for. 

Our success in overthrowing tyrants in the Middle East is not matched by any success in what the dictatorships were replaced with. Sharia Law is enshrined in the constitutions of both Iraq and Afghanistan and will be in the Egyptian constitution. All we have done is replace one bad ruler with another bad ruler. That is not what America has done in the past, nor should it be what America does in the present.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. Mr. Hanson brings remarkable insight into the question of what we should be doing about the slaughter that is currently going on in Syria.

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An Interesting Development In Egypt

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Andrew McCarthy posted a very interesting story at National Review today about some recent events in Egypt. He reminds us that the hope of Egypt (and the ‘Arab Spring’) was that democracy and religious tolerance would spread through the Arab countries of the Middle East. Unfortunately, that hope has not been realized. The radical Muslims are even fighting among themselves.

A few weeks ago a Shiite mosque opened in Cairo.

The article tells the story:

It’s a 90 percent Sunni country, with even Christians vastly outnumbering the Shia. So, in their euphoria over the mosque’s inauguration, Shiite clerics heralded this Husseiniya (as Shiite mosques are known) as a symbol of rapprochement. The mosque would bridge the sectarian divide: a Shia center in this bustling Sunni city, yet a house of worship, thus emphasizing what unites rather than divides Muslims in one of Islam’s most important nations.

The initial story sounds encouraging–maybe religious tolerance could come to Egypt. Unfortunately, the tolerance didn’t last long–the mosque was shut down last week.

The article reports:

Yesterday’s euphoria is melting into today’s harsh reality. In Cairo, home to the Muslim Brotherhood and the sharia jurists of ancient Al-Azhar University, “democracy” has meant the rise of Sunni supremacists. Turns out they don’t do bridge-building. Their tightening grip has translated into brutalizing dhimmitude for Christians and increasing intolerance of Shiism — which the Sunni leaders perceive less as Islam than as apostasy, an offense that sharia counts as more grievous than treason.

The Muslim Brotherhood was born is Egypt in 1928 as a reaction to the secularization of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The purpose of the Muslim Brotherhood was (and still is) to set up a world-wide caliphate governed by Sharia Law. That is also the goal of the Shiite regime in Iran, but obviously the Shiites assume they will be the ones running the caliphate. This is going to get interesting at some point because of that basic difference of philosophy, but the differences will probably not be an issue until after the world-wide caliphate is established (isn’t that encouraging?).

The article further reports:

In the Brotherhood’s way of thinking, as best articulated by Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “democracy is just the train we board to reach our destination.” It’s a process, a conveyance, not a culture. In the case of Turkey, it was popular elections that enabled Erdogan to seize power and gradually transition a society away from democracy. In the case of Egypt, it is popular elections that have installed the Brotherhood and other Sunni supremacists, enabling them to orchestrate the much less challenging transition from an Islamic culture to a sharia state.

Because members of the Muslim Brotherhood are actively participating in our government at many levels, we are continuing to fund the Islamization of the Middle East. We are supplying people who want to destroy our way of life with the weapons to use in doing it. Until the American government takes an honest look at our policies in the Middle East (including Irag and Afghanistan where we have allowed Sharia Law to be written into their constitutions), the Muslim Brotherhood will quietly continue to consolidate its gains. Democracy is possible in the Middle East, but as the article by Andrew McCarthy states, democracy has to be introduced into the culture first. 

 

 

 

 

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Saudi Arabia Has Closed Its Embassy In Cairo

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Yesterday’s Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia has closed its embassy in Cairo after protests by Egyptian activists at the embassy. The protesters are protesting the arrest of Ahmed al-Gizawy, who was arrested when he arrived in Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. The Saudis have accused Mr. al-Gizawy of smuggling Xanax (which is an illegal substance in Saudi Arabia) into the country.

The article further reports that the protesters believe that Mr. al-Gizawy is being held because of a court case he brought in Cairo over the illegal detention of Egyptians in Saudi Arabia. The Egyptians have been held without trial. Mr. al-Gizawy had been tried and sentenced in absentia in a Saudi court, but was not told that in advance of his trip.

Before the fall of Mubarak, the government of Egypt would not have allowed protests against the Saudis. One reason I find this interesting is that I believe that the rulers of Saudi Arabia are the next target of the Muslim Brotherhood in the ‘Arab Spring.’ They are the major non-democracy still standing in the Middle East. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia practices Sharia Law, it is under the control of the Saudi royal family–not the Muslim Brotherhood.

Make no mistake, the Muslim Brotherhood supports a world-wide caliphate–but only one which they control.

 
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The Arab Spring Strikes Again

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Today’s Jerusalem Post is reporting that Egypt has terminated its supply of natural gas to Israel. The article reports that a senior Egyptian military official has stated that the deal is not cancelled, but halted because of a business disagreement over the transfer of payments.

A BBC story on the shutoff reported that Egypt supplies around 40 percent of Israel’s natural gas. Israel uses natural gas to generate electricity.

The article at the Jerusalem Posts reports:

“We have no information that the contract has been nullified,” one Foreign Ministry official said.

The official added that if the report was indeed true it would be a “grave development” with ramifications on the normalization of ties between the two countries under the 1979 peace treaty. But, the official added, this was not an agreement between governments, but rather between private companies and the Egyptian government.

Steinitz said he viewed with “deep concern the unilateral Egyptian announcement over terminating the gas deal with Israel, both because of its diplomatic and economic aspects. This is a dangerous precedent that diminishes the peace treaty” between the neighboring countries.

On March 23 the Los Angeles Times reported:

The Obama administration announced Friday that it intends to deliver all $1.3 billion in promised aid to Egypt’s military this year, despite calls from lawmakers and rights advocates to hold back money because of limits on political rights in the North African nation.

It seems to me that if Egypt cuts off the supply of natural gas to Israel, America should immediately cut off all aid to Egypt.

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The Propaganda Campaign Begins

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On Tuesday the Center for Security Policy posted a story about the propaganda campaign the Muslim Brotherhood is waging in America to sway public opinion so that we will continue to send money to countries like Egypt which they have taken over.

Yahoo News reported yesterday that members of the Muslim Brotherhood met with low-level National Security Council staff at the White House.

What is this about? It’s about keeping the flow of money going to the people who want to take away our freedom.

The article at the Center for Security Policy reminds us of some basic facts about the Muslim Brotherhood:

 Of course, they’d like to keep the U.S. largesse flowing for as long as possible and once U.S. citizens begin to glom onto the Brotherhood’s anti-Western, anti-Christian, anti-Israel sharia agenda, that might not be so easy. The Muslim Brotherhood motto doesn’t come across so well once people know what’s in it:

 Allah is our objective, Muhammad is our Prophet, the Quran is our law, Jihad is our way, and dying in the way of Allah is our highest aspiration.

They might start thinking about what the Muslim Brotherhood logo, means, too: the Arabic word at the bottom of the circle is waidu, meaning “prepare,” and comes from the first word of Qur’anic verse 8:60, which tells Muslims to “Make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy.”   

Someone might ask the Christians in Egypt what they think of the new government. Egypt has already driven out the Jews, now they are working on the Christians.

The article at the Center for Security Policy reports:

A Muslim Brotherhood perception management team is coming to Washington, D.C. Georgetown University’s Saudi-funded Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understandingand its Director, John Esposito, will host a delegation of Egyptian members of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party for “a discussion” on April 4, 2012

Then, the group will join fellow Brotherhood-affiliates from Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia the next day at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for a program to be moderated by Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University and a senior associate in the Middle East Program at Carnegie.

 Professor John Esposito founded the Georgetown Center that now bears the name of the Saudi royal prince whose $20 million dollar endowment in 2005 bought a devoted pro-Islamic program at this Catholic university in the nation’s capital. Professor Nathan Brown, another apologist for sharia Islam, testified for the defense in the first Holy Land Foundation HAMAS terror funding trial, in which he attempted to whitewash the obligatory Islamic annual zakat tax, a portion of which according to sharia (Islamic law) must go to jihad.

Let’s look at this for a minute. The Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding is Saudi funded. You know, the Saudi Arabia that bans Bibles and Christian churches from its country. The Saudi Arabia that gave us the 911 terrorists. The Saudi Arabia that is know to be the home of one of the most virulent forms of Islam. These are the people talking about ‘Muslim-Christian Understanding.’ America needs to wake up to what is happening here. The difference between Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood is method–not goal. Both are dedicated to the idea of a worldwide caliphate under Sharia Law. Al Qaeda wants to do it through violence, the Muslim Brotherhood wants to destroy America through subversion of its government. That means the end of the U.S. Constitution. We can pay attention now or we can wonder later what happened to our freedom.

 

 

     

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Congress? What Congress?

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Big Government posted an article yesterday about America’s military aid to Egypt. Congress has halted aid to Egypt until and “unless the State Department certifies that Egypt is making progress on basic freedoms and human rights.”  President Obama evidently has other ideas. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce that America will resume funding Egypt’s military despite Congressional restrictions.

The article reports:

Even Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), a man with whom I’ve never agreed on anything, sees the foolishness of this endeavor: “I believe [sending the aid] would be a mistake. The new [restrictions were] intended to put the United States squarely on the side of the Egyptian people who seek a civilian government that respects fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and to clearly define the terms of our future relations with the Egyptian military.”

If Congress ever intends to be relevant, it needs to get its head out of the sand and confront President Obama on this power grab. Never-mind that Christians, Jews, and innocent civilians are being killed in Egypt on a regular basis by the government brought about by the ‘Arab Spring,’ this is simply unconstitutional.

Sending military aid to Egypt at this time will do nothing except destabilize the Middle East and make Israel more vulnerable to attack. I think Congress may have figured out that the new government of Egypt is not our friend, but evidently the President hasn’t.

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This Really Isn’t Very Surprising

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The Arab Spring is not looking too good right now. It seems as if some of the countries in the Middle East have swapped one form of tyranny for another. It doesn’t seem as if freedom is part of the picture of the governments being formed.

Bloomberg.com reported yesterday:

Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament voted to include 50 of its lawmakers in a 100-member panel tasked with writing a new constitution, with the remainder coming from other institutions.

So half of the people writing the constitution will be Islamists and the rest may or may not be.

The article reports:

The makeup of the committee has been the focus of wrangling over the degree of influence Islamist groups will have shaping the constitution. The Muslim Brotherhood’s party alliance makes up the largest bloc in the recently elected parliament, followed by a Salafi alliance. Salafis are followers of an austere interpretation of Islam.

When we look at this, we need to remember the historic roots of the Muslim Brotherhood. Both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis support Sharia Law as the law of the land. Individual freedom is not part of Sharia Law. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna. It was formed in reaction to the secular society that was being set up in Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The mission of the Muslim Brotherhood is a worldwide caliphate. The takeover of Egypt will be one more step in that direction.

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They Did What ???!!!

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an old pirate ship.

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I’m hoping this story is just a nasty rumor, but since I fear it may not be, I am reporting it. Big Peace is reporting today about an Arabic Al-Arabiya story entitled (pathognomonically), “ ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman at Forefront of Egyptian-American Prisoner Exchange Deal.”

The story states:

The Egyptian government began taking steps to respond with the American offer to release 50 Egyptians being held in American prisons–including Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman—in exchange for the release of 19 Americans accused in the case of foreign funding of civil society organizations. This is according to what was confirmed by Major General Muhammad Hani Zahir, an expert in military studies and international counterterrorism. 

Zahir in comments to the newspaper ‘al-Masriyun’ said it was necessary for Egypt to exploit America’s weak position, especially after condemning its citizens in cases affecting Egyptian sovereignty over its territory. He added that Egypt should not permit this exchange to take place unless the American administration agrees to release more than 500 Egyptians being held in American prisons, of whom the Egyptian foreign ministry knows nothing.

We need to understand that kidnapping and taking hostages are a standard way of raising money and gaining things that would otherwise be unattainable in the Middle East. We are stupid if we have even considered making this offer. It will only lead to more situations where Americans are held hostage.

In speaking of the rules that govern Islamic societies, the article at Big Peace reports:

Indeed such odious “rules” were iterated by all four classical schools of Islamic jurisprudence, across the vast Muslim empire. Specifically, Ibn Abi Zayd Al_Qayrawani (d. 996), head of the North African Maliki school at Qairuan, and the famous Syrian jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328) of the Hanbali school under the Mamluks, wrote the following:

[Ibn Abi Zayd Al_Qayrawani ] There is no inconvenience to kill white non-Arabs who have been taken prisoner… 

[Ibn Taymiyya] …If a male unbeliever is taken captive during warfare or otherwise, eg., as a result of a shipwreck, or because he has lost his way, or as a result of a ruse, then the imam may do whatever he deems appropriate: killing him, enslaving him, releasing him or setting him free for a ransom consisting in either property or people. This is the view of most jurists and it is supported by the Koran and the Sunna…

It is time to come to the realization that all civilizations are not created equally and that to negotiate with barbarians is folly. We need to delay (and eventually cancel) all aid to Egypt and demand that they release the Americans they are holding hostage. This situation is an example of why America needs a strong President and a strong military. Currently we have a weak President who is trying to destroy our strong military. November of this year is the time to bring change to the White House.

A Very Nasty Game Of Chess

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CNS News reported the following yesterday:

A top Muslim Brotherhood official has warned that any cuts in U.S. aid to Egypt could affect Cairo’s peace treaty with Israel – the latest sign that Egypt’s emerging political forces intend to call Washington’s bluff over the diplomatic dispute triggered by a crackdown on non-governmental organizations. 

When America has a President who is perceived as weak, bad things happen. This is an example.

At present 16 Americans and 27 other people working for Non-government organizations that promote democracy are being held in Egypt awaiting trial.

This is called blackmail. The Muslim Brotherhood has made it clear since they began seizing power in Egypt that the treaty with Israel was signed by a government that was no longer in power and would be reviewed.

Unfortunately this is a lose-lose situation for America because of the way the Obama Administration has handled the Middle East since President Obama took office. The President has consistently put pressure on Israel to make concession to those who want to destroy it, and has created doubt in the governments of the countries surrounding Israel as to whether or not America would come to Israel’s defense if needed. The only way to end this blackmail is to tell Egypt in no uncertain terms that any attack on Israel will be regarded as an attack on America and will be responded to as such. Any breaking of the treaty with Israel for whatever reason will be regarded as an act of war. Then we need to stand behind what we say. Unfortunately, in the Obama Administration that will never happen–we will be blackmailed again.

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In Egypt Nobody Is Above The Law

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No one is above the law in the new Egypt; however, we might want to take a close look at what the law says.

Today’s U.K. Telegraph reports that Naguib Sawiris, Egypt’s richest man, is to be tried for retweeting a cartoon showing Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse wearing a black face-veil (as worn by the Salafis).

The article reports:

The case against Mr Sawiris, owner of the Orascom business empire and the country’s most prominent Christian, was filed originally by a group of lawyers affiliated to the radical Salafi Islamist movement. Few expected it to be taken up by the prosecuting authorities.

But the Salafis have become a powerful force in the new Egypt after sweeping to second place behind the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party in elections. They are pushing for tighter implementation if not a rewriting of Egypt’s constitution, which is supposed to be based on the principles of Sharia law.

The fact that Mr. Sawiris is actually going to be tried is a result of the “Arab Spring” in Egypt. It really doesn’t sound as if democracy and freedom are taking root.

The article quotes Mamdouh Ismail, a member of the once-banned Gamaa Islamiya, who commented that he didn’t really expect the case to actually move forward. He also stated, “This shows that after the revolution nobody is above the law.”

Frankly, it is a little disconcerting to watch that law evolve.

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The Arab Spring Turns Into Winter

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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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The March Toward Sharia Law Continues In Egypt

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The Associated Press is reporting today that Islamists have received 70 percent of the seats determined so far in the second stage of the Egyptian elections. The Muslim Brotherhood won about 86 of the 180 seats in this round–about 47 percent. The Al-Nour Party (the Salafists) won about 20 percent. The seculalrists that led the rebellion against Hosni Mubarak won less than 10 percent of the seats.

The article reports on a part of the power struggle currently going on in Egypt:

The election is the first since Mubarak’s Feb. 11 ouster and is the freest in Egypt’s modern history. The 498-seat People’s Assembly, the parliament’s lower house, will be tasked, in theory, with forming a 100-member assembly to draft a new constitution.

But its actual role remains unclear. The military council that has ruled since Mubarak’s fall says the parliament will not be representative of all of Egypt, and should not have sole power over the drafting of the constitution. Last week, the military appointed a 30-member council to oversee the process.

The military has traditionally held a lot of power in Egypt. It looks as if they are not in a hurry to give up that power. The military in the past has been more secular than the two parties that won the majority of votes so far. It will be interesting to see how this eventually works out. Frankly, my money is on the Muslim Brotherhood–they have been planning to implement Sharia Law in Egypt for a long time, and I don’t see them giving up now.

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Human Rights Commission in the House of Representatives Testimony

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Please click on the link below to hear testimony on coverage of events in Egypt as the Muslim Brotherhood consolidates its power.

Raymond Ibrahim (Middle East specialist and Associate fellow, Middle East Forum) testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of Representatives. Reps. Frank Wolf and James McDermott presented \”Under Threat: The Worsening Plight of Egypt\’s Coptic Christians.\”

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This Is Not Unexpected But It Is Unfortunate

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Many people had high hopes for an Arab Spring when tyrants in the Middle East were toppled during the beginning of this year. Unfortunately, the tyrants that were toppled allowed freedom of religion and were somewhat tolerant of Israel and the West. Now in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist Al-Nur party, both of which support an Islamic state, have gained control of the Egyptian Parliament. As a result of these two Islamic parties gaining control, the Coptic Christians (who have been in Egypt since 42 AD) have been increasingly under attack. Now we are seeing Egypt’s attituded toward Israel reflect the new political reality in Egypt.

Haaretz is reporting today:

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said that the country’s peace treaty with Israel needs re-evaluation by the country’s new parliament, in press remarks by a senior member of the group published Friday.

“A long time has passed since the Camp David accord was signed, and like the other agreements it needs to be reviewed, and this is in the hands of the parliament,” said Mahmoud Hussein, the group’s secretary-general.

This is like asking the local foxes to reevaluate security in the chicken coop. The article further reports:

“The brotherhood believes the treaty is of great importance, but it is not on the top of our list. There are other priorities for the time being,” Hussein told the regional Asharq al-Awsat daily.

“Generally, Israel does not honor the agreement,” he added.

He denied a report saying that the Muslim Brotherhood had reached an understanding with the United States and Israel on “the importance of safeguarding the peace treaty with Israel.”

There are two things to note in this statement–Israel is accused of not honoring the treaty (therefore Egypt can easily break it) and the denial of the report that there was an understanding with the United States and Israel on the importance of the treaty. Unfortunately, the Obama administration is not viewed as dedicated to protecting Israel, and the enemies of Israel will probably use the months before the 2012 elections in America to do as much damage to Israel as possible, fearing that if a new U. S. President is elected in 2012, he might support Israel.

The statement by the Muslim Brotherhood about the Israeli-Egypt treaty is not encouraging.

 

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The Numbers In The Egyptian Election

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The Egyptian Gazette reported today on the results of the recent elections in Egypt. The party of the Muslim Brotherhood (the Freedom and Justice Party) won 36.62 percent of the vote. The Salafist Al-Nur party (which advocates an Islamist government similar to Saudi Arabia) won 24.36 percent of the vote.

Both of these political parties have as their aim the establishment of an Islamist caliphate in the Middle East. Although the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) markets itself as moderate–it’s goals are not.

This election is the first step of a three-step process.

The article reports:

Voting on Monday and Tuesday was only the opening phase of an election for a new lower house of parliament that is taking place in three stages, but the returns reveal the main political trends now shaping Egypt.

Only one third of districts have voted. The rest of the country will go the polls in a further two stages later this month and in January.  
 
Voters were required to pass three votes: two for individual candidates and one for a party or coalition.
 
The military took over the government when Mubarak stepped down and are currently in control of the interim government. It is expected that there will be a power struggle between the current military government and the political parties that won victories in this election.
 
The article reports:
 
The first test will be over the formation of a new caretaker government, with the Brotherhood insisting on the right to form a cabinet.
 
The second struggle with be over a new constitution next year and the relative powers given to parliament, a new president to be elected by next June, and the army.
 
The military helped maintain Egypt as a secular country. If their power is diminished as the new government forms, there is a strong possibility that Egypt will become more like Saudi Arabia. There have been a significant number of attacks on Egypt’s Coptic Christians since the revolution in Egypt, and there will be less freedom of religion in Egypt as the Salafist Al-Nur party and the Freedom and Justice Party consolidate their power. This is not good news either for Israel (both parties are strongly anti-Israel) or for freedom of religion around the world.
 
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The Problem With The Arab Spring

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A modern Coptic monastery

Image via Wikipedia

In February the world watched as Hosni Mubarak stepped down from being President of Egypt. The world held its breath as it hope that freedom would come to that country–true freedom–including freedom of religion. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way.

Since President Mubarak was deposed, there have been increasing attacks on the Coptic Christians, who have lived in Egypt since 42 AD. The Coptic Christians in Egypt are the largest Christian community in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, John Hinderaker at Power Line reported on the beating death of a Christian high school student in Mallawi, Egypt. The 17-year old was ordered by his teacher to cover up a tattoo of a cross on his wrist. Instead, the student showed a cross he wore around his neck. He was then beaten to death by his teacher and two of his fellow students who were Muslims.

This is the fruit of the Arab Spring.

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There Really Is Nothing New Under The Sun

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Yesterday the U.K. Daily Mail reported that scans of a 2, 250 year-old mummy show that the man died a slow and painful death due to prostate cancer.  The man is believed to have been between 51 and 60 years old when he died.

The article reports:

The earliest diagnosis of‭ ‬metastasising prostate carcinoma came in‭ ‬2007 ‬when researchers investigated the skeleton of a‭ ‬2,700-year-old Scythian king who died,‭ ‬aged‭ ‬40 to 50,‭ ‬in the steppe of Southern Siberia,‭ ‬Russia.‭

‘This study shows that cancer did exist in antiquity,‭ ‬for sure in ancient Egypt.‭ ‬The main reason for the scarcity of examples found today might be the lower prevalence of carcinogens and the shorter life expectancy,‭’ ‬Paula Veiga,‭ ‬a researcher in Egyptology,‭ ‬told Discovery News.

Evidently we have a higher incidence of cancer today because we live longer and we have more things that cause cancer. Who knew? Might it be possible that we have more incidences of cancer today because we live longer and there are many more of us?

I do actually find it encouraging that cancer has been with us for a very long time. To me, that is an indication that man did not cause it and that science can find the cause and medicine can cure it!

 

 

 

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Tying Up The Loose Ends Before The War Starts

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Benjamin Netanyahu

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I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade, but sometime in the next year there will be a war in the Middle East which will probably involve Israel. As soon as the United States begins to limit its presence in the area, the Muslim Brotherhood (a group charged with expanding the caliphate through democratic means) will consolidate its gains in Egypt, Libya, and Turkey, attempt to increase its power in Iraq and Afghanistan, and begin to make things very uncomfortable for Israel. I am not sure what form any of this will take, but it is fairly easy to see it coming.

Meanwhile, Israel is quietly getting prisoners back from Muslim countries as it prepares for the inevitable. Yesterday Haaretz reported that:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved on Tuesday a prisoner exchange deal with Egypt to release suspected Israeli spy Ilan Grapel in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners. 

The article further reports:

Grapel was originally charged with espionage, although the charges were later changed to incitement, insurrection, and damaging a public building during the uprising that took place in Egypt earlier this year. The U.S. has been especially active in trying to secure Grapel’s release during the last two months. 

I do wonder why the United States was so interested in getting Grapel released. As usual, Israel had to engage in an uneven swap to get its citizen back.

I see this as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to bring home all the Israeli prisoners held in Muslim countries he can before any hostilities begin. There may be more of these deals in the near future.

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November 3rd In Stoughton Massachusetts

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AN EVENING WITH KENNETH TIMMERMAN
“The 12th Imam, Iran and the Bomb”
November 3, 2011 @ 7:30 PM
Ahavath Torah Congregation
1179 Central Street
Stoughton, MA 02072
Admission: $10
Ken Timmerman is one of the half-dozen true experts on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the U.S. today. Prominently featured in the recent documentary, “Iranium,” he heads the Foundation for Democracy in Iran. FDI is the only group among all those with Iran-related programs that works actively and closely with the pro-freedom movement inside Iran. Ken has spent much of this summer (2011) meeting with Iranian dissidents in Europe, and regularly briefs the U.S. intelligence community on their activities and beliefs. Amongst his experiences, Ken spent 5 months in a PLO jail in Lebanon.
Ken has also been the lead investigator for the “Iran links” lawsuit by families of 9/11 victims. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with John Bolton for his work on Iran in 2006, and won the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media award for investigative reporting in February 2011.

More information on Ken can be found at: www.kentimmerman.com, or at his foundation’s website: www.iran.org.

For information email office@atorah.org
Cosponsored by Americans for Peace and Tolerance, ACT Boston



 

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An Angry Mob Is Not A Basic Part Of Freedom

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Today’s New York Times reported that an angry mob has attacked the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and that Israel sent military jets to evacuate the Embassy staff.

The Times reports:

In Washington, the White House said in a statement that Mr. Obama had “expressed his great concern” about the embassy situation in his conversation with Mr. Netanyahu. The statement said Mr. Obama called on the government of Egypt “to honor its international obligations to safeguard the security of the Israeli Embassy.”

Israeli officials said the six trapped embassy staff members were rescued by Egyptian commandos early Saturday morning, after hours when Egyptian military and security forces had appeared to stand idle on the sidelines for fear of confronting the mob.

“This went on for 13 hours and there was real concern for the safety and lives of our people,” an Israeli official said. “The mob penetrated the embassy and at the end there was only one wall separating it from six of our people.”  

This is not a comforting move by the newly free people of Egypt. The Times further reports:

For Egypt’s interim military rulers, allowing the invasion of a foreign embassy is an extraordinary breach of Egypt’s international commitments that is raising security concerns at other embassies as well. 

Does anyone remember that in the Iranian revolution in 1979, the American Embassy was attacked and hostages taken? This does not sound like the actions of a democracy in the making.

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Some Notes On Yesterday’s Attack On Israel

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J. E. Dyer posted an article at Hot Air today listing three things about the attack on Israel that he considered significant.

The first thing to be noted about the attack is that it was mounted from Egypt. This is a change. This is the result of the “Arab Spring” revolution that happened in Egypt this past year. That revolution will not bring peace–it will lead the world closer to war.

The article points out:

It’s too early to determine where alliances and affiliations will shake out in the future.  But it’s not too early to recognize that Hezbollah and Hamas, along with their patron Iran, have reason to stake a claim in the future of Egypt.  Their orientation is no longer as solidly centered on Syria as it was six months ago.  Hamas’s horizons have traditionally been narrower than Hezbollah’s, but either one is in a position to see influence and freedom of action in the Sinai as an alternative to its traditional ties to Damascus.  That bodes ill for Egypt.

The second notable point about the attack is that it was a sustained multi-pronged attack.

The article points out:

But the 18 August attack encompassed at least two buses and a car (the vehicle carrying the two Israeli children who were killed), as well as the emergency response forces and the IDF helicopters dispatched to search for the attackers.  Nearly 7 hours after the initial attack (at almost 7:00 PM in Israel), gunfire was reportedly directed from the Egyptian side of the border at Israelis in the vicinity of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was conducting a press conference from the site of the attack.  That would seem to indicate that the terrorists were able to regenerate or hold forces in reserve on the Egyptian side of the border – a bad sign about both their tenacity and the security conditions in that part of the Sinai.

Again, this represents an escalation of previous attacks on Israel by its neighbors.

The third aspect of this attack is that it may create a perception that Egypt needs to increase her troop levels in the Sinai.

The article concludes:

The prospects, therefore, are for a continued, incremental expansion of the Egyptian troop presence in the peninsula.  It is well to remember why the Sinai was demilitarized in the first place: to ensure that Egypt would not be in a position to launch a surprise attack on Israel.  Establishing an ever-higher “normal” for the level of forces there will chip away at that insurance.  Is Egypt anxious to launch an attack on Israel?  Not today.  But as an Egyptian troop presence grows in the Sinai – for reasons that seem iron-clad and urgent as they crop up – that could certainly change.

Obviously, none of this is moving in the direction of peace. Since Iran is pulling the strings on much of this activity, I wonder if the purpose of this activity is to take the eyes of the world off of what is happening in Syria. Syria is a puppet state of Iran, and the unrest there is not good news for Iran. A new government in Syria might have a streak of independence that could interfere with Iran’s plan for its middle east caliphate.

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Consequences Of The Egyptian Revolution

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The revolution in Egypt did not bring in a peace-loving democracy. It ended the rule of a government that had made peace with Israel. Today’s attack on Israel from Gaza and from Egypt confirmed that fact.

Today’s Washington Examiner reported on the terrorist attacks on Israel which killed eight people. The attacks were launched from Gaza through the Sinai Peninsula.

The article reports:

Though it seemed clear the gunmen had come through Egyptian territory, Gen. Khaled Fouda, the governor of the southern Sinai district, said no shooting had come from the Egyptian side.

“The incident underscores the weak Egyptian hold on Sinai and the broadening of the activities of terrorists,” said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. “The real source of the terror is in Gaza, and we will act against them with full force and determination.”

The Sinai desert, dominated by Bedouin tribes and never entirely under the control of the central government, have grown more violent since a popular uprising toppled longtime Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak in February. Since then, assailants have repeatedly blown up a crucial pipeline carrying natural gas to Israel and Jordan.

Egypt is in transition right now. According to the Financial Times on July 13, 2011, Egyptian elections are scheduled for November, having been postponed from their original date of September. Registration and campaigns will begin in September, but the voting will not happen for about a month and a half after that.

Unfortunately the chances of a new government in Egypt being a friend of Israel (or even not participating in any military action against Israel) are very slim. Israel lives in a bad neighborhood, and Egypt and Turkey were two countries in that neighborhood that respected Israel’s right to exist. Turkey is in the process of setting up a Muslim state and I don’t believe Egypt will be far behind. There goes the neighborhood.

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