Bad Dudes of a Salafist Extremism,
Hoping to gain control in Gaza Strip,
And Egypt doesn’t want Islamic State,
On the eastern border of Egyptian Sinai,
With A Design Of Salafi Utopia Expansion!
A previous Egypt peace treaty with Israelis,
And now Egyptian favor of Fatah over Hamas,
Will soon cause Islam Antichrist to extract Price
From Egypt by conquering her in a coming Attack!
December 5, 2008
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Daniel 11:42,43 – He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. [43] But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
(See Archive Prophecy Updates 233B to 236B)
Most Americans are not aware of the many different sects and movements which have sprung up in the Islamic faith since the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The Salafi Movement is one of them, and its influence is on the rise, particularly in Gaza and on the European continent. Since the excerpt which follows our heading speaks of this sect, I am including the excerpt from “Salafi Utopia: The making of the Islamic State,” by Maryam El-Shall. I offer from it a quote from Ibrahim, “The New Arab Salafi Order, page 22, as follows:
BEGIN PARAGRAPH QUOTE
“When the militants are persuaded to spell out their ideology, attitudes, and feelings, the listener comes away with an overall impression of what they are against but with only a vague, though colorful, impression of what they would do if they were in power. They have deep-seated hostility towards the West, Communism, and Israel. Any ruler who deals with or befriends any of them would be betraying Islam. Excessive wealth, extravagance, severe poverty, exploitation and usury have no place in a truly Muslim society. They disapprove of nearly all the regimes in the Arab and Muslim worlds. They attribute many of the decadent aspects of behavior to . . . Western influence or the squandering of oil money, and they firmly believe that should “true Islam” be implemented . . . the Muslim world would be independent, free, prosperous, just and righteous societies.”
END PARAGRAPH QUOTE
Begin Excerpt 1 from Arutz Sheva
Egyptian Won’t Tolerate ‘Islamist Emirate’ in Gaza
Kislev 7, 5769, 04 December 08 02:50
by Hana Levi Julian
(IsraelNN.com) The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Egyptian Parliament has taken a stand against the increasing trend toward Islamist extremism in Gaza.
Mustafa al-Faki told participants at a conference in Cairo this week that his country would not tolerate the establishment of what he called an “Islamist emirate” on Egypt’s northern border.
According to a report published Thursday in the London-based Arabic language Al Hayat newspaper, al-Faki blamed the Hamas terrorist organization, which controls Gaza, for the repeated breakdown of renewed unity talks with the rival Fatah faction.
Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas has expressed his willingness in statements over the past several months to meet with Hamas officials and work out their differences.
Hamas, however, has been reluctant to come to the table.
Abbas, whose term in office is set to expire next month, has also said he will not leave his position, claiming that elections for the post were meant to be held at the same time as legislative elections in 2010. Hamas has said it will not recognize his claim to the position after January 8, 2009.
The two groups struggled for control of the Palestinian Authority government after Hamas won the elections in a landslide victory in January 2006, leaving Abbas as chairman of the PA but installing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as Prime Minister.
The struggle ended after numerous negotiations mediated by various Arab leaders broke down, and clashes between the two factions escalated into a brutal militia war in Gaza.
Hamas decisively ousted the Fatah leadership from the region in June, 2007 and seized total control of Gaza. Fatah retained control over the PA territories in Judea and Samaria, governed by Abbas from his headquarters in the Muqata, the Ramallah office once occupied by his PLO predecessor and mentor Yasser Arafat.
Repeated attempts by Arab League members to bring the two sides back together again have failed.
Begin Excerpt 2 from Jerusalem Post
Analysis: Al-Qaida-style Salafist extremism gains real power within Hamas armed wing
December 2, 2008
jonathan spyer , THE JERUSALEM POST
Al-Qaida-type Salafi Islam is rising in popularity within the ranks of Hamas. This trend is particularly noticeable in the movement’s armed wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigades.
Observation of this process shows that attempts to draw a clear dividing line between the “nationalist” Muslim Brotherhood-inspired Islamism of Hamas and the Salafi trend can no longer be sustained. The growth of Salafism within Hamas is part of a larger pattern of increasingly extreme Islamic piety and practice in Gaza.
The existence of Salafism within Hamas is not a new development. Indeed, Hamas leaders have long been aware of the potential threat this outlook represents to their authority. As long ago as December 2001, the Israeli authorities intercepted a document produced by Hamas prisoners in Israeli custody which warned of the spread of al-Qaida-type ideology among Hamas members.
However, supporters of Salafism now appear to be achieving positions of real power within Hamas.
In mid-2006, Izzadin Kassam commander Muhammad Deif was badly wounded by an IDF missile strike and subsequently left the Gaza Strip for a long period of recuperation.
His replacement at the helm of the Brigades was Ahmad al-Ja’abari, who carried out his tasks in close cooperation with two allies, Ali Jundiyeh and Nizar Rayyan. All three of these men are known supporters of Salafism.
Rayyan is considered to be the key tactical planner of the Brigades at the current time. He is believed to have formulated Hamas’s operational plan for the takeover of Gaza in July 2007. He is also thought to have formulated Hamas’s plan for resisting a major IDF operation into Gaza.
He is in charge of weapons production for the Brigades, and is also believed to command its suicide units. Rayyan maintains close relations with a Saudi Salafi cleric resident in Ramallah who is a supporter of al-Qaida.
One level below, the majority of the five brigade commanders of Izzadin Kassam are also Salafis. Among them, Muhammad as-Sanwar, commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade, is a particularly significant figure.
He was among the planners of the Kerem Shalom attack in 2006 in which then-Cpl.
Gilad Schalit was kidnapped.
Deif returned to the Strip via the Sinai-Gaza tunnels in November 2007. Deif himself is known as a very strict Muslim, but the nature of his links to the Salafis are unclear. However, in early 2008, he complained to friends that his own influence in the Izzadin Kassam Brigades had declined, since the “Salafists had taken completely over.”
Salafi supporters within Izzadin Kassam are organized, and are known to have made contact with the al-Qaida leadership. As early as 2006, a group of 200 Salafi-oriented Izzadin Kassam members opposed to a cease-fire with Israel made contact with al-Qaida. As a result, an open letter from al-Qaida was sent to Hamas. The letter contained advice for combating the cease-fire.
Friction over the cease-fire resurfaced in June 2008. Salafi elements within the Izzadin Kassam Brigades made clear their opposition to the renewed tahadiyeh (period of calm) with Israel. At that time, an Izzadin Kassam-associated Web site published a list of nine attacks carried out in 2002-2005 for which Hamas had never previously taken responsibility.
The Salafis remain firmly entrenched within Izzadin Kassam at all levels.
There have been reports, however, of an internal power struggle, with Deif seeking to replace Ja’abari, or at least to reduce his influence. In July 2008, a group of Salafi members of the Brigades split off to form a new group, al-Jaljaleh (Thunder).
Friction also exists between the Brigades and other Hamas-controlled military organizations, such as the Executive Force in Gaza. The Executive Force, formed after the Hamas election victory in 2006, is responsible for a variety of policing and paramilitary functions in the Strip. On June 25, 2008, the Executive Force sought to arrest a number of Izzadin Kassam members suspected of criminal activity. Ja’abari refused to hand them over, and the men remained at liberty.
This friction notwithstanding, the rise of supporters of al-Qaida ideology within Hamas cannot be seen in a vacuum. Rather, it is an element of a broader process of the Islamization of many aspects of public life taking place in the Gaza Strip.
This may be seen, for example, in the many incidents of women in “immodest” dress being stopped by members of the Executive Force in the weeks following the July 2007 coup.
This has led to the near disappearance of non-hijab wearing women from the streets of Gaza. There have also been reports of enforced observance of Ramadan, and harassment of unmarried couples seen together by members of the Force.
All these incidents are signs that the rise to power of Hamas, and within it of extreme Salafi elements, are events of more than simple immediate political significance.
After the July 2007 coup, Rayyan declared that “the secular era in Gaza has ended without leaving a trace.” Events in the subsequent 18 months show little to disprove this declaration.
Jonathan Spyer is a senior Research Fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs Center, IDC, Herzliya.
Begin Excerpt 3 from Jerusalem Post
Syrian ambassador to Egypt leaves Cairo
December 4, 2008
The Media Line News Agency , THE JERUSALEM POST
The Syrian ambassador to Egypt has left Cairo in what some observers note is an indication of tension in Syrian-Egyptian relations.
Ambassador Yousuf Ahmad left for Damascus on Wednesday with his wife and five large suitcases, according to a UPI report.
The ambassador is ostensibly taking time off for the upcoming Id al-Adha Muslim festival, but rumors suggest Syria is in fact recalling its ambassador from Cairo over tension between the two countries.
Syria has expressed displeasure with Egypt over Cairo’s handling of the internal Palestinian conflict, alleging that Egypt, which has been mediating between Fatah and Hamas, has not taken a balanced approach in the dispute.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem recently said that any party mediating between the various Palestinian sides should be impartial. He was implying that Egypt was siding with Fatah and conspiring against Hamas.
During a conference of Arab foreign ministers last month, Muallem reportedly enraged the Palestinian delegation when he called for the participation of Hamas representatives in future Arab League meetings.
Arab critics accuse Syria, which hosts several key Hamas leaders-in-exile, of siding with Hamas in the conflict.
Ahmad denied that he was being recalled from Cairo and insisted his departure for Syria was a routine holiday.
Cairo has said any allegations of Egyptian bias in the conflict are untrue, and insists it is taking an even-handed approach to the dispute.
However, Mustafa al-Fiqi, the head of Egypt’s parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, lashed out at Hamas on Wednesday and accused it of obstructing the Palestinian talks.
Egypt will not tolerate the establishment of an Islamic state in the Gaza Strip, Fiqi said.
The Egyptian daily Al-Gumhouriyya, which toes the government line, carried a scathing criticism of Muallem and the Syrian regime on November 28.
“The whole world knows [Syrians] are the ones who are helping Hamas on Fatah’s account,” the editorial said.
“You and Iran are standing behind Hamas, while you claim to support the Palestinian cause” the paper wrote, in a reference to the Syrian foreign minister.
In a follow-up item, the editor accused Syria of foiling the Palestinian dialogue.
Cairo has been trying to defuse the tension by saying the comments published in Al-Gumhouriyya were the individual thoughts of the editor and did not reflect the official Egyptian position.
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