A VERY BAD MOVE BY THE U.S.!
July 1, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Ironically, the two reports which follow came out on the same day. I have been watching the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt for some time, and am in accord with the first article from MEMRI, which made it very difficult for me to understand why the United States
has approved having contacts and dialogue with them. I believe the assessment made in the first article is correct. It was a bad decision to do what is stated in the second article from World Tribune, and I believe it will
do us more harm than good in the future.
Begin MEMRI Article
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
June 28, 2007
Warnings in the Egyptian Press: The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Is Going the Way of Hamas in Gaza
In the wake of Hamas’ takeover of Gaza, some in the Egyptian press have expressed fears that the Muslim Brotherhood may seize power in Egypt.
They expressed concern at the similarities between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and said
that lessons should be learned from the Palestinian experience in Gaza.
The following are excerpts of articles from the Egyptian press:
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is Trying to Reproduce Hamas’ Experience in Gaza
Tariq Hasan, a columnist for the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram, wrote: “In Egypt there are those who are trying to reproduce what Hamas did in Gaza… For anyone who has the slightest doubt about this and wants proof, it is sufficient to consider statements by Brotherhood representatives in parliament… They said that Egypt waved the Zionist flag, despite the people’s opposition to this. This means that Egypt, like the Palestinian Authority, deserves that a revolution should take place in it.
“The Brotherhood, like Hamas, does not recognize the legitimacy of the parliament that ratified the peace treaty with Israel, nor the legitimacy of the state that ratified these agreements, since [in its view] it is a traitorous state that works for foreign interests and that does not represent its people. From these statements we understand that the Hamas problem is not [limited to] just Gaza, but it is also in Egypt, and that the Bro
therhood holds the same positions and uses the same ideas and statements with which Hamas conducted a putsch against the [legitimate] government, and through which it declared Gaza a rebel region under its rule.
“Here in Egypt the Brotherhood brought out the masked militias in Al-Azhar University, and there in Gaza Hamas put them to use. Here they changed the Egyptian flag and removed the eagle of the Republic from it, and there they took down the Palestinian flag and waved the green flag of Hamas.
What can we expect?…
“In light of this severe threat, it is not enough for us to say to people ‘look at what Hamas did in Gaza’ in order to warn them about the Brotherhood in Egypt. We must learn the lessons without delay.
“Hamas won the game it was playing, and the Brotherhood is doing the [same] thing. There, there was a government that allowed them to take part in elections without their recognizing the legitimacy of that Authority [i.e. the PA] and without their being made to accept the state’s constitution and its laws. Hamas used the elections and democracy as an instrument [in order to take power], and then they turned the matter over to the armed militias in order to conduct a putsch against everyone.
“Here, there are [Muslim] Brothers who do not recognize the legitimacy of the state and oppose the constitution and the law, and despite this, we find people who say that [the Brotherhood] represents them and speaks in their name in parliament… Whoever ignores this [matter] will bring us into the gates of hell that we saw in Gaza…”
The Egyptian People Feel There is a Danger From Within
Chairman of the executive council of the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef, Karam Gabar, wrote in his column: “Hamas is the Brotherhood of Palestine – the Palestine branch [of the Brotherhood]. They hold a place at the top of the list of members of the international organization of the banned group [i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood]. This means that this is a worldwide movement that does not recognize national identity, the flag, or the anthem.
They do not recognize a homeland that must be defended and for which one must give one’s life. The homeland for them includes any plot of land on Earth on which the flag of the Brotherhood may be flown… Hamas is the same thing.
Whoever does not share their faith is [considered] outside of Islam, and he is treated like one of the infidels…
“For Hamas and the Brotherhood, democracy is just dancing with Satan. The people who harbor the most enmity for democracy are those same groups who think that they have a divine mandate to rule and to implement the shari’a they see fit, and not Allah’s shari’a. Democracy for them is just a means to take power; afterwards, they whip democracy with lashes and behead it with the sword… No one can raise their head and speak up without becoming an infidel who must be punished.
Their democracy is worse than dictatorship…
“In the history of Hamas and the banned [Muslim Brotherhood] there are incidents that are blacker than black: murders, torture… Hamas and the banned [Muslim Brotherhood] have no written law, [and both movements] do not recognize the this-worldly judicial system or secular judges.
“Their judicial system is speedy, and it has a special law [taken] from the worst exegetical texts
from the days of the ridda, separatism, and darkness.
The end of [their trials] – which last no longer than a few minutes – is swords, or a traitorous bullet, without fair trial. The banned [Muslim Brotherhood] recognizes the law of the country in cases where it serves their interests, and afterwards it rebels against the law, casts aspersion on the judicial system, and does not honor the legitimate [government] or the constitution…
“For the first time, the Egyptians felt dread when they saw the students of Al-Azhar University conducting combat displays with the same methods as Hamas, and in the same clothing, with the same slogans and tools. The public felt the danger growing under [its] skin, flowing in [its] blood, and touching on [its] nerves – a real danger flowing from the depths, and not something imported from abroad…”
Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are Dragging the Entire People to Suicide
In his daily column, the editor of the Egyptian daily Al-Gomhouriya Muhammad ‘Ali Ibrahim wrote: “Hamas is the Palestinian side of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which has become the heart and the brain of the world organization of the Brotherhood, and whose Supreme Guide has become the one who motivates, advises, and guides all of the Islamist currents in the world…
“I imagine myself a Palestinian living in Gaza, or an Egyptian living here [in Egypt] if, God forbid, the Brotherhood had a majority in parliament. First, if what Hamas did against Fatah were to happen anywhere in the Arab homeland… the result would be, quite simply, that people would not receive salaries, schooling, [medical] treatment, or services…
“I imagine that when Hamas considers murdering Mahmoud Abbas, it will in no way ask the people, since it [already] received a mandate at the ballot box… It is possible that Hamas will receive orders from Iran and will carry them out, and then it will drag the region into a destructive total war. It is also possible that Tehran will convince the Hamas leaders to repeat Hizbullah’s experience…
“In short, the victory of Hamas and the Brotherhood at the ballot box does not mean that they are politicians and that they are capable of running the state, with all of the political [implications] and the responsibility that this entails. All that Hamas is capable of doing is to be crack troops of suicide. Unfortunately, however, they are not committing suicide alone. They are forcing the entire people to commit suicide, and I fear that this is the same tactic and path that the Brotherhood in Egypt is taking…”
Begin World Tribune Article
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE
WorldTribune.com
U.S. approves contacts with Muslim Brotherhood: ‘Region is going Islam’
June 28, 2007
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has been quietly engaging the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Officials said the State Department has approved a policy that would enable U.S. diplomats to meet and coordinate with Brotherhood leaders in Egypt, Iraq, Syria and other Arab states. They said the program would first be restricted to elected officials from the Brotherhood and eventually be extended to their political chiefs.
“The region is going Islam,” an official said.
“We see this in nearly every country in the Middle East. We either understand it and engage with it or find ourselves completely out of the picture.”
The Brotherhood has been regarded as the inspiration for Muslim movements throughout the Arab world. The organization, founded in Egypt, spread through Saudi financing and has served as the inspiration for Al Qaida.
Many Arab countries have banned the Brotherhood. But in Egypt, a party composed of Brotherhood members has won 20 percent of the seats in the National Assembly and plays a major role in domestic policy.
In 2007, officials said, the State Department was quietly fostering ties with
the Brotherhood. U.S. embassy staffers in Cairo have attended sessions led by parliamentarians from the Brotherhood and invited the Islamists to official receptions.
“We respect the laws of this country,” U.S. ambassador to Egypt Francis Ricciardone said. “But, at the same time, we’re ready to establish relations and hold meetings with all the legal political elements in the country.
Officials said a U.S. approach toward the Brotherhood was vital in wake of the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in late June. They said the policy could encourage what officials have identified as a pro-Western wing of the Palestinian Islamic movement.
The administration policy has been supported by the Democratic-controlled Congress. On April 7, House leaders, including Democratic whip Rep. Steny Hoyer, attended a reception by the U.S. embassy in Cairo that included Brotherhood deputies. The reception took place at the ambassador’s residence.
The State Department has been discussing the new policy with the U.S. intelligence community. On June 20, the department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research convened a meeting with members of the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency to expand dialogue with the Brotherhood.
The proposal was based on a study by Robert Leiken, a researcher at the Nixon Center. The study, commissioned by the National Intelligence Council, urged the United States to open a formal channel to the Islamic movement.
Such a channel would include formal meetings with Brotherhood leaders throughout the Arab and Islamic world and invite members to study or work in the United States. Officials said the law enforcement community, particularly the FBI, opposes the proposal, concerned that this would facilitate Al Qaida plots to attack the United States.
At the State Department forum, Leiken was opposed by Hillel Fradin, an Islamic expert from the Hudson Institute. Fradkin was said to have argued that engaging the rigidly ideological Brotherhood would dash any hope for reform within political Islam.
“You make them partners,” Zeyno Baran, Fradkin’s colleague at Hudson, told the New York Sun. “They might Islamize the Muslims, but it’s okay because they can think or do what they want as long as they are not violent. That is the misunderstanding and mistake.”
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