Recently in Egypt Category

Not surprisingly, authorities are not holding the army accountable, but are instead leveling retaliatory charges against two Coptic priests for "incitement." Egypt's post-revolutionary government is beating Orwell at his own game; one will recall that this was the first large-scale public act of brutality of its kind by the army against its people. The Maspero massacre of Christians was the prototype case for the behavior that has followed against other protesters, and what the army got away with there, it has continued against the rest of the population.

But first, they came for the Christians, and no one cared. "Two Coptic Priests Charged With 'Incitement' in Maspero Massacre," by Mary Abdelmassih for the Assyrian International News Agency, February 11:

(AINA) -- Two Coptic priests appeared yesterday before an investigations judge in connection with the events of the Maspero Massacre, in which 28 Copts were killed and 329 injured after being shot and run over by and military Armored Personnel Carriers (AINA 10-10-2011). Father Mattias Nasr of St. Mary's Church in Ezbet el-Nakhl in Greater Cairo and Father Filopateer Gameel of St. Mary's Church in Giza, both founding members of the Maspero Coptic Youth Union, which organized the October 9 demonstration, were accused of causing the death of military soldier Mohamed Ali Shetta, possession of weapons, use of force against the military, attempting to storm the Maspero TV building and incitement to violence.

As evidence, the investigating judge produced video footage collected from radical Islamic websites. "Between the footage there were parts in which a shaikh called on me to convert to Islam," said Father Filopateer.

Commenting on the investigations Father Matthias Nasr said: "I wonder about the conditions prevailing in Egypt now, whereby victims are being investigated, while the real perpetrators are ruling the country and continuing with their crimes against the Egyptian people and peaceful demonstrators everywhere."

According to Father Nasr, the investigations carried out by the military police follow the same lines as those of the Mubarak regime, where the victims become the accused. "We all saw who ran over the demonstrators and who shot at them, all Egyptians saw that on videos and photos. These investigations will not intimidate us or make us retreat from demanding our rights."

Outspoken Coptic Priest Filopateer Gameel said he was not worried about the accusations levied against him and Father Mattias, because they are untrue and can easily be defended, but "the tragedy is the victims of the Maspero Massacre and Two Saints Church in Alexandria will not receive justice, and the assailants will not be punished."

Catch 22:

Father Gameel accused Brigadier Hamdi Badeen, head of the military police, as well as generals Damati, Assar and Mohamad Emara, of being responsible for the Maspero massacre, and submitted evidence against them and asked for an investigation, but the judge told him that being high ranking military officials, they can only appear before a military prosecutor and not a civilian one. "I told the judge as long as the military are ruling the country, none of them will be brought to justice."

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights has called for a change to the articles in the Military Judiciary Law to lift the protection of military officers who commit crimes against civilians and to allow the general prosecution to question them.

Father Filopateer said the case of the Maspero Massacre will most likely end with charging the three who drove their personnel carriers with unintentional manslaughter and each would probably be detained only for one week in his unit.

The ruling military council has denied all along that military forces used live ammunition against the Maspero protesters, or that personnel intentionally used armored vehicles to run over civilians.

Fathers Mattias and Filopateer were summoned in October 2011 by the military prosecution but they refused to deal with the military investigations, and demanded a civilian judge on grounds that the military "is a direct opponent in this case." The investigation was mandated by the Minister of justice.

Prior to appearing before the investigating judge, they were informed that they are prevented from leaving the country, together with Coptic attorney Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization, who is due to appear before prosecutors on February 11 for investigation in connection with the Maspero Massacre. Gabriel views this as a political decision "to damage Coptic symbols, and to use them as scapegoats for a crime in which some top military officials are accused of being complicit."

Wherever Sharia experiences a resurgence, the observable effect is a decrease in tolerance and an increase in harassment. We tried to tell you. "Islamists in Egypt halt filming of TV series," from Agence France-Presse, February 9:

Islamist students halted the filming of an Egyptian television series at Cairo's Ain Shams University protesting against the "indecent" clothing of the actresses, the production company said Thursday.

Misr International films had obtained permission from the university's management to film on site, the head of the company, Gaby Khoury, told AFP.

But "when the shooting started, the director of the engineering faculty, Sherif Hammad, came to tell us that some students and teachers were against it, because of the clothing worn by the actresses," he said.

The series, adapted from the novel "Dhat" by Egyptian author Sonallah Ibrahim, takes place in the 1970s, "when women wore short clothing."

Hammad "insisted that the filming should stop and that we would be reimbursed ... explaining that he was not able to guarantee the protection of the materials or the artists," Khoury added.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, the production company said "the student members of the Muslim Brotherhood at Ain Shams University had prevented the film crew from the 'Dhat' TV series from shooting the scenes set at the university."

The students had objected to the "indecent" clothing, it said, and "categorically refused" to let the filming continue unless the costumes were changed.

Islamists have become a potent force in Egypt's already conservative society in recent years, and won more than two-thirds of the seats in the recent parliamentary elections.

Earlier this month, the Arab world's most famous actor, Adel Imam, was sentenced to three months in jail for "defaming Islam" in several roles on stage and screen.

Imam said he would appeal the sentence.

On particularly prominent display here is the use of the Orwellian "reconciliation meetings," where "reconciliation" depends in practice on Christians' giving into whatever demands are imposed on them. "Alexandria: forced eviction of 62 Coptic families by the Salafis," from AsiaNews, February 9:

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The radical Muslims are trying to empty a village near Alexandria of its Coptic population - 62 families, on the basis of unfounded allegations against a Copt. The Copts of Kobry-el-Sharbat (el-Amerya) were attacked on Jan. 27 by a crowd of some three thousand Muslims led by Salafi leaders who set fire to the Copts houses and shops. The violence were sparked by the allegations of a barber Muslim Toemah, who claimed that a Coptic tailor of 34, Samy Mourad Guirgis, had "illegal" photos of a Muslim woman on his cell phone. Mourad has denied the charges, and turned himself in to police in fear of his life. The Muslims set fire to his house and his shop, and his whole family was forced to leave the village. Mourad is still under police custody.

Since then there have been three "reconciliation meetings" in the police headquarters in el-Amerya, attended by representatives of the Coptic Church, the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood. According to police, the woman concerned has denied the whole story, and no compromising photos of any kind were found Mourad’s cell phone. But radical Muslims argue that "Muslim honor has been damaged," and at the first meeting, they refused any type of compensation for the Copts who were innocent victims of their violence.

On 30 January a crowd of Muslims attacked the village of Kobry- el-Sharbat for the second time, setting fire to three Christian homes, under the eyes of the security forces. Following this Islamic representatives have requested that a wealthy Coptic merchant, Soliman, be expelled from the village, accusing him and his sons of having fired into the air while their house was being burned. The family of the merchant denies that there were gunshots, and no one was injured. The police, however, has issued an arrest warrant for Soliman’s sons.

On 1st February in a "reconciliation meeting" demands were made for a number of Coptic families to be expelled from the village and the forced sale of Soliman’s assets, under the supervision of the Salafist Sheikh Sherif el-Hawary. Otherwise Kobry el-Sharbat would be attacked again, and the Coptic houses completely burned. Soliman signed the agreement, defined by father Boktor, who was present at the time, "a complete injustice." Soliman agreed only to avoid further damage to the Copts. Magdy Khalil, head of Middle East Freedom Forum, said that "reconciliation meetings" were totally illegal, and that the complicity of Egyptian authorities is obvious and urged Copts to return to their homes. "If we accept this, we will open the door to an avalanche of forced evictions." And forced deportation is a crime under international law.

More: "Muslim Council in Egypt Evicts 8 Christian Families, Seizes Their Property," by Mary Abdelmassih for the Assyrian International News Agency, February 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

(AINA) -- National and international rights groups have consistently criticized the recourse to the so-called "reconciliation meetings" -- dubbed "Bedouin sittings" -- that take place between Copts and Muslim assailant after every attack on Copts. The meetings are conducted under the auspices of state security. Last week a series of meetings were held by radical Muslims to decide on the fate of the Copts in a village in Alexandria, and Muslims insisted that the whole Coptic population of 62 families must be deported because of an unsubstantiated accusation levied against one Coptic man.

Copts in the village of Kobry-el-Sharbat (El-Ameriya), Alexandria, were attacked on January 27 by a mob of 3000 Muslims led by Salafi leaders, who looted and torched homes and shops belonging to Copts. The violence was prompted by allegations made by a Muslim barber named Toemah that a 34-year-old Coptic tailor, Mourad Samy Guirgis, had on his mobile phone illicit photos of a Muslim woman. Mourad denied the accusation and surrendered to the police for fear for his life. Muslims looted and torched his workshop and home after he surrendered to the police, and his entire family, including his parents and his married brother Romany, were evicted from the village. He is still in police detention.

Three "reconciliation meetings" were held at the El-Ameriya village police headquarters. They were attended by Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood representatives from neighboring villages, as well as church representative. Muslims demanded the eviction of all Coptic inhabitants from the village because "Muslim honour had been damaged."

Many believe that the mobile phone story was fabricated as an excuse to start violence against the Copts. According to the police, the woman in question denied the story and no photos were found on Mourad's mobile phone, according to Ihab Aziz, a Coptic-American activist who is presently in Egypt.

During the first reconciliation meeting it was agreed that only Copts who were directly involved with the Mourad incident would be evicted, and the church demanded compensation of two million pounds for the innocent Copts whose homes and businesses were torched on January 27. Muslims, especially Salafis from the neighboring villages, refused any kind of compensation and insisted on the eviction of all Copts.

On January 30 a Muslim mob attacked Copts in Kobry-el-Sharbat for the second time, and torched three Coptic homes in the presence of the security forces, "which took the role of an onlooker and made no effort to stop the violence," according to Joseph Malak, lawyer for the Coptic church in Alexandria. "This proves that the assailants were not afraid of the security forces or the law."

Muslim representatives demanded the eviction of the wealthy Coptic merchant Abeskhayroun Soliman, together with his four married sons and their families, accusing them of causing sedition by shooting in the air when Muslims broke into and torched their home while the family was inside. "No one was wounded due to the alleged shootings, which the family says never took place. The police authorities issued an arrest warrant for two of the Soliman sons," said Ihab Aziz.

The Solimans have been in hiding with a Muslim family which saved them from their burning homes, and is presently giving them protection. Muslims threatened that if eight Coptic families were not evicted by February 3rd, all remaining 54 Coptic families in the village would be subjected to violence after Friday prayers. They called it "Friday of Eviction" and "Friday of Clean-up."

On Wednesday February 1, a hastily organized reconciliation meeting was arranged by security authorities, and was attended by Ebeskharion Soliman and one of his sons.

The terms of the agreement which resulted were:

- eviction of eight Coptic families, namely three of the Mourad families, in addition to five Soliman families.
- selling of the assets of the wealthy Abeskhayron Soliman family within three months by a committee, under the supervision of Salafi shaikh Sherif el Hawary. Soliman has no right to get involved in the sale or even accompany a prospective buyer.
- the Committee is to collect any money accrued from the sale of his land, properties, businesses as well as collect promissory notes pending from business transactions by the Soliman-owned chain of stores.
- in case of non-implementation of this Agreement, all Copts in the Kobry-el-Sharbat village will be attacked, their homes and property completely torched....

There is more.

In a recent TV interview, Hazim Abu Ismail, a candidate for Egypt’s presidency with affiliations to both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, made clear that the hijab, or veil for women, would be enforced under his leadership. More importantly, along the way, he exposed his views more generally—that there is little freedom under Islam. Especially telling is the military analogy he used: being a Muslim is like being a member of the military; you must obey all its dictates, including dress codes. He fails to add, however, that, whereas much military service is voluntary, in Islam, if you are simply born to Muslim parents, then you have joined Islam—whether you like it or not. Hence, all the persecution of Muslim apostates. But as Abu Ismail puts it, “This is Islam.” Translated excerpts of the interview follow:

Host: You have already begun to try to impose a particular dress code for us.
Abu Ismail: I’ve begun to? It’s the Lord of the Worlds [Allah] who said so. I have nothing to do with it!
Host: Allah left it for me to decide as a personal freedom.
Abu Ismail: Who said that? Where’d you get that from. See, that’s the whole point: If you claim that Allah considers it your personal freedom, show me your reference? Nobody has ever said that -- except for people have no understanding of Sharia.
Host: There is “no coercion in religion” [Koran 2:256].
Abu Ismail: This is concerning the creed, you don’t force someone to convert to Islam.
Host: So when Allah in the Koran mentions “religion,” it is synonymous with “creed”?
Abu Ismail: Exactly.
Host: So when He says “today I have perfected your religion for you” [Koran 5:3], He is only talking about the “creed.”
Abu Ismail: Yes; for example, when you say “no coercion to join the Military Academy,” it means that you are free to join or not—but if you do join, then you are obliged to wear their uniform, to attend their classes, to attend the training with them, and to obey their leader.
Host: There is a problem here—shall I say to the unveiled woman who wants to avoid hijab that she should change her creed?
Abu Ismail: Exactly, bravo. If she is a Muslim. You see, this is the difficulty; this is Islam. Does she want to be a Muslim and not obey Allah’s rules? Let them say so; that’s all I ask; let them be honorable and just speak up.

This guy again: Mamdouh Ismail, who, while taking his oath of office, added words to abide by Allah's law. Large and small attempts to impose Sharia by any means available promise to continue in Egyptian society. "Egyptian Salafi MP calls to prayer in parliament session, met with anger," by Eman El-Shenawi for Al-Arabiya, February 7:

Salafi member of the Egyptian parliament was ordered to “stop talking and remain quiet” by the Speaker after he loudly recited the Azan, or the Muslim call to prayer, while ministers were in session on Tuesday.

Mamdouh Ismail surprised fellow MPs when he stood up from his bench, calling out “God is great … Hasten to prayer,” a call usually made from minarets of mosques.

He was met with angry remarks from Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Saad al-Katany: “There is a mosque outside for you to go and recite the Azan in and pray in if you want.

“This room is for discussion only. You are not more religious than us nor are you more vigilant over prayer than us,” Katany added.

Ismail received his comments with further protest, but the Speaker retaliated with: “Do you need media attention? You are a respectable lawyer, do you need the attention?

“I will not permit you to talk [in the session] again. Sit down,” he then ordered Ismail, to which the Salafi complied after a few angry gestures.

His microphone was silenced and he was no longer heard from in the remaining session.

Ismail said that he gave the call to prayer because it was the time of the Asr, or afternoon, prayer.

“We are not in the Vatican, this is a Muslim country, we need to pray on time,” Ismail said after the session.

Muslims pray five times at set times throughout the day as it an obligatory pillar of Islam.

Ismail said that politicians had been missing out on many prayers during the parliamentary sessions and this should be resolved.

“I had asked the Speaker several times to organize the parliamentary sessions around prayer times, so that we do not miss them. The Speaker agreed and said he would take action, but he never followed through,” Ismail said.

“His reply to me was like that of a dictator, even though he was in the wrong.”

Nearly one quarter of the new parliamentary representatives come from the ultraconservative Salafi movement that follows a strict interpretation of Islam.

The alliance led by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party took about 47 percent of the seats.

The Egyptian parliament was recently elected in the first votes since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak last year after the popular uprising.

They're fleeing all that "tolerance" that's just breaking out all over. "Egypt’s Christians, post-Mubarak," by Aline Sara for NOW Lebanon, January 31:

“We don’t feel as safe as before,” said Georges Nader, an Egyptian Copt who lives in Cairo. A year after the revolution that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Nader said that the number of Egyptians Copts fleeing the country was on the rise.

“Half of my family is in Canada or the US, and they are trying to get us out of the country too. We are just waiting for the right opportunity,” the 25-year-old told NOW Lebanon.

Last fall, the Egyptian Coptic Church’s lawyer Naguib Gibrael estimated that some 100,000 Christian families had left the country in the preceding months, and that since Mubarak’s ouster, sectarian strife has escalated in the country.

A little over a year ago, 21 Copts died in an attack on a church in Alexandria, while last spring, another 15 were killed in Imbaba when three Coptic Orthodox churches were burned.

It wasn’t until last October, however, that violence peaked, with a new group behind the hostilities: Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The military body, which assumed power in the wake of Mubarak’s fall, responded to a peaceful Coptic demonstration against churches being burned by setting the security services on protesters, resulting in 27 deaths. None of those responsible for the killings have been brought to justice.

Of course not. The army would have to arrest itself.

Josette Abdullah, a Cairo-based clinical psychologist, said that even though she as a Copt has never experienced threats or discrimination in Egypt, Christians’ current fears are understandable.
“Even with my name, which is clearly not Muslim, I have never encountered any problems, and from my personal experience, in addition to historically speaking, Egypt has shown relatively few signs of sectarian violence,” she said. “But lately, it seems to be about wreaking havoc, and whoever is behind the instigation is willing to create tension between religions or other groups in society.”

Though on paper, Egyptian Christians and Muslims are equal by law, many admit that Copts, who make up approximately 10 percent of the country’s population, are often discriminated against. Between 2008 and 2010, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) recorded 52 cases of Coptic-Muslim conflict. Many fear that with the new Islamist majority in parliament, things will only get worse.

“At first, Islamic figures will come across as protectors of their Christian brothers, but that is solely about reeling in support,” said Georges al-Sanady, a 25-year-old engineer from Cairo. Sanady says that after paying lip service to equality, the Islamists in power will try to enforce Sharia law.

“It will not happen overnight, but Christians are not buying this, regardless of their social class,” he said....

At least 73 people were killed and hundreds injured. And of course we all know that Islam is a Religion of Peace, and therefore it simply isn't possible that its peaceful and moderate adherents would ever be moved to violence. It must therefore be the fault of...the Zionists!

"Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri: America and Israel Are Responsible for Port Said Soccer Bloodbath," from MEMRI, February 2 (thanks to Wimpy):

Following are excerpts from a statement by Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri, which aired on Sawt Al-Sha'b TV on February 2, 2012.

Mustafa Bakri: Our country is entering a state of anarchy. This anarchy is caused by America, Israel and the former regime. Look at the New Middle East scheme. Don't talk about all the minute details. What happened in Port Said is a continuation of what happened in Muhammad Mahmoud Street, in Al-Qasr Al-Ayni Street, across from the government, across from Maspero, and in the soccer match against Tunisia. They are all connected. It is an attempt to bring this country down.

More glories of the Arab Spring -- and remember, this is the kind of anti-free speech law that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with the willing cooperation of the Obama Administration, is trying to bring West.

This man has had a 40-year career making fun of all sorts of people and things, but only now has he run afoul of the law.

"Egyptian film star sentenced for insulting Islam," from Reuters, February 2:

CAIRO - The Arab world's most famous comic actor, Adel Imam, has received a three-month jail sentence for insulting Islam in films and plays, a court document showed on Thursday.

Imam, who has frequently poked fun at authorities and politicians of all colors during a 40-year career, has one month to appeal the sentence and will remain out of jail until the appeal process is concluded.

The sentence Wednesday evening came weeks after Islamists swept most seats in a parliamentary election. The case was brought by Asran Mansour, a lawyer with ties to Islamist groups, and had languished in court for months, judicial sources said.

Mansour accused the actor of offending Islam and its symbols, including beards and the Jilbab, a loose-fitting garment worn by some Muslims, the Egyptian news portal Ahramonline reported.

Among films and plays targeted by the lawyer were the movie "Morgan Ahmed Morgan" and the play "Al-Zaeem" ("The Leader"), the report said.

Imam was also handed a fine of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($170) in absentia, the court document showed. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

How many are the lies that Egypt’s military regime has forwarded concerning its role in attacking and killing Egyptian demonstrators since it usurped power a year ago?

There were, for instance, the lies concerning the Maspero massacre, where the military slaughtered Christian Copts who were protesting the constant attacks on their churches—including by running them over with armored-vehicles.

Despite all the video evidence [apparently now removed by YouTube], the military regime insisted that it would “never, never” run over civilians; that the very idea was “impossible, impossible!” It even showed a video of a military-vehicle running amuck, claiming it was hijacked by Coptic protesters (it was later revealed that an Egyptian soldier was, in fact, inside driving).

More recently, Mohamad Tantawi, the head of the military—and de facto head of Egypt—insisted that the widely circulated video of soldiers beating, stripping, and kicking a female protester is “entirely fake”—a ludicrous assertion, even if Jimmy Carter supports it.

Who is the latest victim to be scapegoated for the military’s crimes against its own citizenry? None other than the U.S.A.

Ongoing accusations that American officials were involved in killing Egyptian civilians have prompted the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to deny it through a January 27 press release:

As we have stated in previous press releases, there is absolutely no truth to reports that U.S. embassy employees or diplomats were involved in hit-and-run incidents using U.S. diplomatic vehicles, injuring or killing protestors in January 2011 in Cairo. There is also no truth to statements alleging that the keys inside U.S. diplomatic vehicles are coded and can only be used by U.S. Embassy employees. On January 28, 2011, however, a number of our U.S. Embassy vehicles were stolen. After these vehicles were stolen, we heard reports of their use in violent and criminal acts. If true, we deplore these acts and the perpetrators. Egyptian authorities have conducted an investigation that has led to the recovery of some of these stolen vehicles.

Who is behind these accusations? The military? As mentioned, it did make similar accusations against Coptic protesters, saying they hijacked and manned the military-vehicles that ran over fellow Copts at Maspero—only to be exposed as lying by Al Dalil.

While it is not altogether clear who is behind these accusations—this report indicates a lawyer of a former Egyptian official being tried, while older reports mention “communiqués”—it is, of course, the military regime that stands to gain by this latest case of blaming the other.

The message changes with the audience. When the Brotherhood's members are talking among themselves, or to Arab and Muslim audiences, there is a very firm, if not openly antisemitic, line against peace with Israel.

It is plausible, though, as part of the Ikhwan's gradualist approach, that the Camp David Accords will see an incremental erosion, and their contents will be used as leverage in attempts to blackmail Israel into concessions. The accords are, after all, a two-part package, tying conditions for "peace" in the broader Middle East to peace with Egypt.

"German FM: Brotherhood committed to peace with Israel," by Mohamed Abdel Salam for Bikya Masr, February 1:

CAIRO: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle renewed on Tuesday his support for more openness and respect towards the new democratic Islamic forces in Egypt.

He said in statements during a visit to Cairo, where he met with the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Kamal Ganzoury, Foreign Minister Amr Kamal, and the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Mohamed Morsi.

He described his meeting with Morsi as “encouraging” and said that the latter stated clearly his belief in pluralism, and stressed that the FJP party is committed to maintaining peace with Israel.

Westerwelle met on the second day of his visit to Egypt, with Tantawi, who emphasized his commitment to the roadmap towards democracy.

His visit also came as thousands of anti-military protesters continue to demonstrate in central Cairo, demanding an end to the military junta’s rule over the country.

Westerwelle will next visit Israel as a part of his Middle East tour and the Palestinian territories on Wednesday.

Tensions between Egypt and Israel have been tense in recent months following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The natural gas pipeline to Israel has been attacked 10 times since the uprising, and protesters attacked and raided the Israeli Embassy in Egypt in September following a cross-border raid by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killed at least four Egyptian soldiers.

Don't you hate it when your tensions are tense?

When the uprising was useful to them, they did not hinder it, and they supported it. Now they've got a good thing going and the usefulness of the revolution and of public dissent as a means to an end has run its course, unless the Ikhwan decides to leverage it against the military in its own power struggle. "Egypt Islamists stop protesters on way to parliament," from Agence France Presse, January 31:

CAIRO — Hundreds of Egyptian protesters demanding the end of military rule were prevented on Tuesday from reaching parliament by backers of the Muslim Brotherhood, which holds the majority in the assembly.

"We are standing here as a human shield, because if the protesters go any further, they will clash with the police. They want to enter parliament, what do you expect me to do?" Muslim Brotherhood member Hamdy Adbdelsamad told AFP.

Behind him, anti-military protesters chanted against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that took power when Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising last year.

Activists had called for a march from Cairo's Tahrir Square -- the symbolic heart of the Egyptian uprising -- to parliament to press the newly-elected MPs to implement the goals of the revolution.

They want the ouster of the military junta, an end to the military trials of civilians, the restructuring of the interior ministry and a guarantee of freedoms and social justice.
Islamist and secular protesters stood side by side in Tahrir Square during the 18 days of protests that toppled Mubarak in early 2011.

But tensions have risen between them since parliamentary elections propelled the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood to the centre stage of politics, with its Freedom and Justice Party now controling 47 percent of the assembly.

Secular protesters accuse the Islamists colluding with the ruling military to maintain their new-found power.

"Badie, you are selling the revolution!" the anti-military protesters chanted, in reference to Mohammed Badie, the Islamist movement's supreme guide.

"The Muslim Brotherhood youth are blocking all roads to the parliament, preventing the anti-military protesters... There are huge numbers of them standing in rows like militias," one anti military protester told AFP....

I just received an email from a friend who lives in Egypt, which ends with the following anecdote:

I went to the veggies market last Friday, I usually go on Friday anyway, but this time for the first time the merchants stopped selling anything when they heard the call for prayer!!! Most of them left their young kids to watch over the goods and they went to pray. Most of the customers also disappeared and the few like me who were oblivious to the “New Misrstan” had to wander around aimlessly and wait for those idiots to return! It was unbelievable, suddenly we are living in Saudi or Afghanistan without the need for a passport or a visa.

“Misrstan” is a play on words meaning “Egyptistan” — as in, “Afghanistan,” “Pakistan” — you know, all those extra “pious” Muslim nations. And of course, where Muslim prayers are practiced with rigidity, you can rest assured any number of other “pious” practices — such as hatred for infidels, including in the prayers — are also being upheld. Anyway, this is but another subtle example, directly from the ground, of how Egypt continues to change.

Probably. "Brotherhood would cancel Camp David Agreement, says Hezbollah official," by Haitham Dabbour for Al Masri Al Youm, January 30:

Tehran — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will eventually cancel the Camp David Agreement, despite the group’s announcement that it respects international agreements Egypt has signed, said Amin al-Sayed Ibrahim, head of Hezbollah’s political council.

Speaking to the “International Conference on Islamic Awakening and the Youths,” Ibrahim said that the Egyptian military, so as not to lose its clout, would never allow the Brotherhood to write the constitution or even form a constituent assembly to write the constitution.

Following their electoral victories in Parliament, Egypt's most organized political group has offered assurances that it would respect the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

When asked early this month whether Washington believed that the Islamist party would uphold the treaty, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the party "has made commitments to us in this regard.”

That and 50 cents will get you... 50 cents. They may have noticed that the Ikhwan's message changes with its audience.

Ibrahim said that the current unrest in Syria is a conspiracy and not a revolution, as western media claims. The Egyptian delegation clashed with him over the remarks.

“The Syrians transfer arms to the Palestinian resistance,” he said.

Over 1,200 young people from Iran as well as 73 other countries are participating in the two-day conference, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Monday.

The organization and transition to violence always seem to happen more than a little too easily, once again suggesting a rampage waiting for an excuse. And any old excuse will do.

These are not the makings of a stable society, and there can be no prosperity if society is so unstable that one fears anything one invests in might be obliterated at the drop of a hat.

Self-government, such as Egypt is said to desire, depends on the government of the self, on the individual level, and in communities. "Over 3000 Muslims Attack Christian Homes and Shops in Egypt, 3 Injured," by Mary Abdelmassih for the Assyrian International News Agency, January 28:

(AINA) -- A mob of over 3000 Muslims attacked Copts in the village of Kobry-el-Sharbat (el-Ameriya), Alexandria this afternoon. Coptic homes and shops were looted before being set ablaze. Two Copts and a Muslim were injured. The violence started after a rumor was spread that a Coptic man had an allegedly intimate photo of a Muslim woman on his mobile phone. The Coptic man, Mourad Samy Guirgis, surrendered to the police this morning morning for his protection.

According to eyewitnesses, the perpetrators were bearded men in white gowns. "They were Salafists, and some of were from the Muslim Brotherhood," according to one witness. It was reported that terrorized women and children who lost their homes were in the streets without any place to go.

According to Father Boktor Nashed from St. George's Church in el-Nahdah, a meeting between Muslim and Christian representatives was supposed to take place in the evening in Kobry-el-Sharbat. But, by 3 P.M. a Muslim mob looted and torched the home of Mourad Samy Guirgis, as well as the home of his family and three homes of Coptic neighbors. A number of Coptic-owned shops and businesses were also looted and torched. "We contacted security forces, but they arrived very, very late," Said Father Nashad. The fire brigade was prevented from going into the village by the Muslims and the fires were left to burn themselves out. "Those who lost their home, left the village," said Father Nashed.

Coptic activist Mariam Ragy, who was covering the violence in Kobry-el-Sharbat , said it took the army 1 hour to drive 2 kilometers to the village. "This happens every time. They wait outside the village until the Muslims have had enough violence, then they appear." She said that she spoke to many Copts from the village this evening who said that although their homes were not attacked, Muslims stood in the street asking them to come to their homes to hide. "They believed that this was a new trick to make them leave, so that Muslims would loot and torch their homes while they were away," said Ragy.

The Gov of Alexandria visited al-Nahda, near Kobry-el-Sharbat, this evening and told elYoum 7 newspaper that the two Copts and one Muslim who were injured were transported to hospital. He said that the family of the Muslim girl whose image was on the Copt's mobile phone wanted revenge from the Coptic man. They broke into his home and torched a furniture factory located in the same building.

Joseph Malak, a lawyer for the Coptic Church in Alexandria, said it is too early to count injuries to Copts or losses to their property.

Mr. Mina Girguis, of the Maspero Youth Union in Alexandria, said that "collective punishment of Copts for someone else's mistake, which is yet to be determined, is completely unacceptable." He believes that the reason for this violence is fabricated, and the military is behind it. "They are trying to divert the attention from the second revolution which is taking place now."

Father Nashed denied that Islamists were present, only ordinary village Muslims, and could not give an explanation as why people who have lived together amicably for years could commit such violence. "Maybe because of lack of security, they think that they can do as they please."

He said that the nearly 65 Coptic families were ordered to stay indoors and not to open their shops and businesses tomorrow. He added that security forces did not arrest any of the perpetrators, "on the contrary, they were begging the mob to go home."

By midnight the violence had subsided.

I tried to tell you. Or maybe Larijani is just a "fearmongering Islamophobe."

"Iranian leader: Egypt’s new parliament a step toward Islamic regime," from Al-Masry Al-Youm's Egypt Independent, January 26 (thanks to Wimpy):

The inauguration of Egypt's new parliament is an important step toward fulfilling public demands for the establishment of a regime based on Islam, said Ali Larijani, speaker of the Iranian parliament, in a letter on Wednesday. The letter was sent to Saad al-Katatny, People's Assembly speaker.

In the letter, Larijani extended his congratulations to Katatny and expressed pleasure that the latter had been elected as parliamentary speaker.

In the message, posted on Al-Alam channel online, Larijani also said he hoped that brotherly ties between the two countries would grow stronger.

Given the importance of parliamentary cooperation in the development of bilateral relations, Iran's parliament is ready to help promote parliamentary collaboration, Larijani said....

In November, Mojtaba Amani, director of the office for Iranian interests in Cairo, said he expected diplomatic relations between Cairo and Tehran to normalize after Egypt's parliamentary elections.

The jizya tax is a state protection racket. This was a private-enterprise version, of which there are many in Egypt now, as this report describes. "Nag Hammadi: Muslim bandits kill two Copts. Christians live in fear of being kidnapped," from AsiaNews, January 27:

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Two Copts, father and son, were killed yesterday in Bahgourah, a suburb of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt, shot dead by a Muslim bandit, and his accomplices because they refused to pay the money demanded by the racket. Four days ago the head of the gang, Ahmed Saber, asked Moawad Asaad, a Coptic contractor for a large sum of money to enable him to continue working.

Yesterday afternoon Ahmed Saber went to Asaad’s home to demand the money, the Copt refused to get into Saber’s car to speak, for fear of being kidnapped. At that point, four men came out of the car armed with machine guns and opened fire on Moawad and his son Asaad Mowad an engineer. Both were killed instantly. Their deaths have sparked the protest of thousands of Christian Copts outside the government building at Nag Hammadi, demanding protection for the Coptic community, the victim of racketeering and violence by Muslims. A sit-in is taking place in front of police headquarters, attended by four thousand people who have vowed to continue the protest until Ahmed Saber and his accomplices are arrested.

The Bishop of Nag Hammadi, Kyrollos, said since last year Ahmed Saber, well known to the police, has extorted money from members of the Coptic community, and kidnapped the children of Christians to get the ransom money. "Police have received numerous complaints about these crimes. I do not understand why they have not arrested them. I think that the police, and Muslims, are fully responsible for the situation of terror in which the Copts of Bahgourah live." The bishop called the authorities in Cairo, and the Interior Ministry demanding that protection be provided to the Copts living in the Nag Hammadi, "who are constantly subject to kidnappings and terror."

The Obama administration supports “democracy” and “self determination” in the Middle East—two euphemisms that, in the real world, refer to “mob-rule” and “Islamic radicalization,” respectively. Yet, as Jimmy Carter recently put it: “I don’t have any problem with that [an “Islamist victory” in Egypt], and the U.S. government doesn’t have any problem with that either. We want the will of the Egyptian people to be expressed.”

Sounds fair enough. The problem, however, is that Muslim clerics openly and unequivocally characterize democracy and elections as tools to be discarded once they empower Sharia law. Thus Dr. Talat Zahran holds that it is “obligatory to cheat at elections—a beautiful thing”; and Sheikh Abdel Shahat insists that democracy is not merely forbidden in Islam, but kufr—a great and terrible sin—this even as he competed in Egypt’s elections.

The Obama administration can overlook such election-exploitations because the majority of Muslims are either indifferent or willing to go along with the gag—with only a minority (secularists, Copts, etc.) in Egypt actually objecting to how elections are being used to empower Sharia-enforcing Muslims.

But what if Muslims do not win elections? What if there are equal amounts of non-Muslims voting—and an “infidel” wins? What then? Then we get situations like Nigeria.

While many are aware that Boko Haram and other Islamic elements are waging jihad against the government of Nigeria, specifically targeting Christians, often overlooked is that the jihad was provoked into full-blown activity because a Christian won fair elections (Nigeria is about evenly split between Christians and Muslims).

According to Peter Run, writing back in April 2011

The current wave of riots was triggered by the Independent National Election Commission’s (INEC) announcement on Monday [April 18, 2011] that the incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, won in the initial round of ballot counts. That there were riots in the largely Muslim inhabited northern states where the defeat of the Muslim candidate Muhammadu Buhari was intolerable, [but] was unsurprising. Northerners [Muslims] felt they were entitled to the presidency for the declared winner, President Jonathan, [who] assumed leadership after the Muslim president, Umaru Yar’Adua died in office last year and radical groups in the north [Boko Haram] had seen his ascent [Christian president] as a temporary matter to be corrected at this year’s election. Now they are angry despite experts and observers concurring that this is the fairest and most independent election in recent Nigerian history.

Note some key words: Muslims felt “entitled” to the presidency and seek to “correct” the fact that a Christian won elections—which they assumed “a temporary matter.”

Of course, had elections empowered a like-minded Muslim, the same jihadis would still be there, would still have the same savage intent for Christians and Westerners—Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden.” But there would not be a fullblown jihad, and Obama would be singing praises to Nigerian democracy and elections, and the MSM would be boasting images of Nigerians with ink-stained fingers.

Yet the same jihadi intent would be there, only dormant. Like Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood—whose ultimate goal is “mastership of the world”—they would not need to expose themselves via jihad, would be biding their time and consolidating their strength.

Now, back to the Egyptian clerics, specifically Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami—yet another leader in Egypt’s Salafi movement, who teaches that Muslims must preach peace when weak but wage war when strong. Discussing the chances of a fellow Salafi, Burhami asserts:

We say—regardless of the outcome of the elections—whether he [his colleague, the aforementioned al-Shahat] wins or loses, we will not permit an infidel [kafir] to be appointed to a post where he assumes authority over Muslims. This is forbidden. Allah said: “Never will Allah grant to infidels a way [to triumph] over the believers [Koran 4:141].” We are not worried about losing elections or al-Shahat losing votes. We will not flatter or fawn to the people.

What will you and your associates do, Sheikh Burhami—wage jihad? Of course, that will not be necessary: unlike Nigeria, most of Egypt is Muslim; one way or another, “elections” will realize the Islamist agenda.

Thus, whether by word (al-Burhami) or deed (Boko Haram) those who seek to make Islam supreme prove that democracy and elections are acceptable only insofar as they enable Sharia. Conversely, if they lead to something that contradicts Sharia—for instance, by bringing a Christian infidel to power—then the perennial jihad resumes.

Raymond Ibrahim is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

The story and the rhetoric change with the audience. Does Mahmoud Ghezlan really suppose the kuffar are too dumb to notice the conflicting messages?

You can't fool all of the infidels all of the time. "Brotherhood vows to shun Israeli officials," from the Egypt Independent, January 25:

The Muslim Brotherhood will not speak or meet with Israeli officials and its stance on Israel is not up for discussion, group spokesperson Mahmoud Ghezlan told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

“It’s illogical to have dialogue, any dialogue, in light of the Israeli practices against the Arab peoples,” the paper quoted him as saying in an article published Wednesday.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor told Israeli radio that Israel has not ruled out talks.

“We will be happy to hold dialogues with whoever wants to have dialogue with us,” Palmor said.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party controls 47 percent of the seats in the newly formed People’s Assembly, but the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is still running the executive branch of Egypt’s government.

Some fear that Islamists will push for ending the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Western officials met with several Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist leaders after People’s Assembly elections.

Ghezlan said the group had not received a similar invitation from the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, but that any such request would be rejected.

Ford just got a big boost in the Salafist market. "Egyptian Sheikh: Driving a Chevy is Haram," by Angie Nasser for Now Lebanon, January 24:

"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..."

A Salafi sheikh in Egypt has reportedly issued a fatwa that buying [or driving] a Chevrolet vehicle is haram because the American brand’s logo looks like the Christian cross.

In the video below, prominent Egyptian TV presenter Amr Adeeb takes the sheikh’s joke-of-a-fatwa to task, saying, “We’ve reached a really strange place with this.”

“The car’s been around [for a century] and only now did you notice there’s a cross on the car?”

Adeeb also notes that the car is not used or presented as a form of religious iconography: “Do we hold mass for it? Do we pray for it?” And his guest chimes in with a comment about the self-centered nature of the fatwa itself: “As if the people who came up with the logo were thinking that we want to put this special logo on the car just to piss us [Muslims] off?”

The TV presenter concludes, “With all of the problems in Egypt, you’re concerned about the cross?... We’re calling for unity [in the country] and then you come up with [fatwas] like this?”

By the way, there’s actually a few theories going around about the symbolism behind the Chevrolet logo. One common story is that General Motors co-founder William C. Durant copied the design off some wallpaper he saw in a Parisian Hotel. But historian Ken Kaufmann says the logo is actually based on iconography used by the Southern Compressed Coal Company ad for its “Coalettes” logo....

Years of observation of footage suggest Toyota pickups still have the jihadist market cornered. The duplicitous Muslim Brotherhood, for its part, might prefer "Dodge."

The Brotherhood and the Salafis don't even need to collect the jizya from the Copts, as long as they've got Barack Obama.

"Obama set to speed aid to Egypt: official," by Warren Strobel for Reuters, January 25 (thanks to Wimpy):

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule.

Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a U.S. delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide "more immediate benefits" to Egyptians, who earlier this month conducted their first democratic elections in decades.

"During this period, we want to be as supportive as we can. This is an historic moment. Egypt's a country of enormous importance," Hormats said.

Under the plan, some non-urgent U.S. aid slated for other countries - he did not name them - would be redirected to Egypt. And funding in the pipeline for long-term programs in Egypt would be shifted to quick-impact projects, he said.

Hormats, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum, emphasized that the White House had not made any final decisions, and that he was providing Washington's "broad thinking" on the subject.

It was unclear whether the total amount of U.S. aid to Egypt would be increased. "Whether it's an increase or whether it's reprioritizing existing assistance, we're still working this out," Hormats said.

Still, he made clear the United States wants to be seen as doing more to assist a hoped-for democratic evolution in Egypt, where the military still holds ultimate power on the first anniversary of protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak....

Islamic spokesmen in the West routinely say that the Qur'an's command to fight against Jews and Christians, impose the jizya (poll tax) upon them and make them submit as inferiors to Islamic rule (9:29) is a relic of history, never to be revived -- and that only greasy Islamophobes say otherwise.

Yassir Al-Burhami didn't get the memo.

"Egyptian Salafi Leader Yassir Al-Burhami Compares the Christians of Egypt to the Jews of Al-Medina," from MEMRI, December 3, 2011 (air date; posted more recently), with thanks to J.:

Following are excerpts from a statement by Egyptian Salafi leader Yassir Al-Burhami, which was posted on the Internet, which aired on December 3, 2012 [sic]:

Yassir Al-Burhami: Appointing infidels to positions of authority over Muslims is prohibited. Allah said: "Never will Allah grant the infidels a way [to triumph] over the Believers."

We are not afraid of losing the elections or of not getting votes. We are not trying to ingratiate ourselves before the people.

Can the Christians of Egypt be compared to the Jews of Al-Medina? The case of the Jews of Al-Medina is one example of the relations between the Muslims and the infidels. The Muslims can implement any form of conduct used by the Prophet Muhammad. When the Prophet Muhammad was still in Mecca, he dealt with the infidels in a certain way, and when the Muslims are weak, they should deal with the infidels this way. "Refrain from action, pray, and pay the zakkat."

In many infidel countries, such as occupied Palestine, we instruct Muslims to do just that. We are not telling the Muslims in Gaza to launch rockets every day, which would lead to the destruction of the entire country. We tell them to adhere to the truce.

When the Prophet Muhammad first arrived in Al-Medina, he signed a treaty with the Jews without forcing them to pay the jizya poll tax. This was necessary at the time, but when they breached the treaty, he fought them, and eventually, he imposed the jizya upon the People of the Book.

[…]

The Christians [of Egypt] can be dealt with like the Jews of Al-Medina. This is possible.

According to Article 2 of the existing constitution, which is not likely to budge from the next one, Islam is the religion of state, Arabic the official language, and Sharia the basis for legislation, so the improvised addition to the oath is somewhat redundant. Still, some form of Islamic supremacist touchdown dance was probably inevitable. "Egypt Islamist MP scolded for religious reference," from Agence France-Presse, January 23:

A newly elected Islamist deputy was scolded on Monday for adding a religious reference to the swearing-in oath at the opening session of Egypt's first post-revolution parliament.

The deputies started to be sworn in one by one, pledging to "preserve the safety of the nation and the interests of people and to respect the constitution and the law."

But when ultra conservative lawyer Mamduh Ismail took the microphone vowing to also "abide by the law of God", he was sharply told off by the chair Mahmud al-Saqqa -- the most senior member of parliament.

"Please stick to the text," an angry Saqqa urged Ismail, asking him to repeat the oath several times.

"Mr Ismail, my friend, please stand up and read the oath, and stick to the text," Saqqa pleaded.

Ismail finally agreed, read the oath and then insisted on adding, "and to abide by the law of God."

Egypt's lower house of parliament was holding its first session since a popular uprising ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak and propelled Islamists to the centre stage of politics.

The first incident described below was blamed on Salafists, who also just won 25% of parliament. The second was attributed both to members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists, who together will control 75% of parliament, and stand to control the drafting of the next constitution.

As one can see, they're already working together. More on this story. "Egyptian extremists against Copts, two wounded, houses burned and churches attacked," from Asia News, January 21:

Cairo (AsiaNews) - Anti-Christian violence continues in Egypt, according to local sources, the episodes are linked to the attempt of fundamentalist Islamic fringe - Salafis - to block the vote of the religious minority in the next election. On 19 January, a mob attacked the Coptic Christian community of the village of Kebly-Rahmaniya, near the town of Nag Hammadi, Qena governorate, Upper Egypt. The assailants, chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) attacked and burned down houses, huts, shops and businesses (click here to see the video). The raid was also caused two injuries: a 16 year old boy, struck by a bullet and a 40 year old man with facial injuries.

Witnesses quoted by Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) report that Egyptian security forces did not intervene promptly to repel the onslaught and defend the Christians. Even the teams of firefighters delayed their intervention, arriving only 90 minutes after the assault, and when most of the buildings were already in flames. A source adds that a hut belonging to a Coptic Christian was burned to make room for the construction of a mosque. Moreover in the area there are now 300 Muslim places of worship, compared to only one Christian church even though Christians are 50% of the local population.

According to the Copts, the anti-Christian violence is related to the upcoming parliamentary elections: the Salafis, in fact, want to prevent the religious minority from voting which, with its 20 thousand members, can shift the balance of power in the area. The Copts are close to the Muslim moderate wing, which opposes the Islamist front. A witness confirmed that "no Copt from Rahmaniya-Kebly could vote" and that "the Salafis will win the elections."

In a second incident, which also occurred January 19, the Salafists and Muslim Brotherhood - together - broke into the church of Abu Makka in Bahteem, Qaliubia, informing members of the congregation that the place of Christian worship is illegal. An extremist also said that the 1,300 square meter building "is perfect for building a mosque and a hospital." The local bishop was to inaugurate the church and celebrate the first Mass, has suspended all ceremonies for security reasons, sparking the anger and disappointment of the whole congregation.

Sharia forbids the construction of new churches or the repair of existing ones.

These are the people who will be drafting the next constitution. A democracy is only as good as the values that inform its participants. "Islamists secure top spot in new Egypt parliament," by Marwa Awad and Lin Noueihed for Reuters, January 21:

CAIRO (AP) - Final results on Saturday showed that Islamist parties won nearly three-quarters of the seats in parliament in Egypt's first elections since the ouster of authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak, according to election officials and political groups.

The Islamist domination of Egypt's parliament has worried liberals and even some conservatives about the religious tone of the new legislature, which will be tasked with forming a committee to write a new constitution. It remains unclear whether the constitution will be written while the generals who took power after Mubarak's fall are still in charge, or rather after presidential elections this summer.

In the vote for the lower house of parliament, a coalition led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood won 47 percent, or 235 seats in the 498-seat parliament. The ultraconservative Al-Nour Party was second with 25 percent, or 125 seats.

The Salafi Al-Nour, which was initially the biggest surprise of the vote, wants to impose strict Islamic law in Egypt, while the more moderate Brotherhood, the country's best-known and organized party, has said publicly that it does not seek to force its views about an appropriate Islamic lifestyle on Egyptians.

They have voted it in on themselves.

The two parties are unlikely to join forces because of ideological differences, but both have a long history of charity work in Egypt's vast poverty-stricken neighborhoods and villages, giving them a degree of legitimacy and popularity across the country in areas where newer liberal parties have yet to get a foothold.

Muslim Brotherhood lawmaker Mohammed el-Beltagi said the new parliament represents "the wish of the Egyptian people."

Egypt's elections commission acknowledged that there were voting irregularities, but the vote has been hailed as the country's freest and fairest in living memory.

The liberals who spearheaded the revolt that toppled Mubarak struggled to organize and connect with a broader public in the vote, and did not fair as well as the Islamists.

The Egyptian bloc, which is headed by a party founded by Christian telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris, said it won 9 percent of the seats in parliament. Egypt's oldest secular party, the Wafd, also won around 9 percent.

The results leave the liberal groups with little ability to maneuver in parliament, unless they choose to mobilize the street in protests or work on key issues with the dominant Islamist groups, said Mohamed Abu-Hamed, the deputy leader of the liberal Free Egyptians Party.

The Brotherhood has refused to join recent street protests, saying that elections and the new parliament are the best ways to respond to demands that the military transfer power immediately to a civilian authority....

Translation: Hey, we've got a good thing going here.

Surprise! It's a self-serving, dysfunctional organization. "In memoir, ex-Muslim Sister paints an unflattering picture," by Noha El Hennawy for Al Masry Al Youm, January 16 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

As the Muslim Brotherhood strives to project the image of a moderate and democratic political organization, a book featuring the angry account of a former member has hit the market.

"The Memoirs of a Former Sister: My Story with the Muslim Brotherhood" is the testimony of Intissar Abdel Moneim, an Alexandria-based novelist and author. With a compelling style and sharp language, the book takes the reader on a journey exploring the internal politics of the 83-year-old organization, placing special emphasis on discrimination against female members.

Throughout her work, Abdel Moneim decries the sisters’ internalization of oppression as women are socialized in a way that compels them to accept male dominance within the organization — and the household.

Early in the book, Abdel Moneim condemns what could be interpreted as the Brotherhood’s exploitation of the permissibility of polygamy in Islam.

“One of the areas where the Brothers have exploited the idea of blind obedience and submission is polygamy,” she writes, adding that a brother would take second and third wives for no valid reason. “When the [first] wife complains, a session is held for her where other sisters would remind her of the importance of obedience, patience and submission to God’s will and to [the husband]’s will,” she writes.

To understand the roots of the subjugation of women, Abdel Moneim unpacks the writings of Hassan al-Banna, the group’s late founder. Here, the author summons her courage and puts forth a vehement critique of the group’s canonized leader, who is rarely questioned, even by the most vocal ex-brothers.

Banna's teachings sought to limit women to "catering to their husbands' desires and to reproduction," Abdel Moneim writes.

The book dismisses Banna's dictum that there is no need to invest heavily in girls' education and that women should be trained only to serve as housewives and mothers. Abdel Moneim feels that this sentiment is contradictory to true Islam.

“It is true that Islam says that a woman’s primary role is to raise children, but it does not say that this is her only role and that she should not do anything beyond it. Neither the Koran nor the Sunna [Prophet Mohamed’s sayings and deeds] nor the sayings of the prophet’s companions and successors barred her from learning any sciences. The matter has been left for her to decide, according to her needs and circumstances," writes Abdel Moneim.

Unfortunately, the situation does not need explicit statement in the Qur'an or Sunna for a critical mass of other parameters to make it the logical conclusion of certain attitudes and behaviors. For example, the obsession with control of women (Qur'an 4:34), and the paranoia in Muslim societies about purity and honor work against women's independence.

She goes on to criticize Banna's insistence that men and women should be separated. With a scathingly sarcastic tone, the author argues that Banna’s view portrays humans as if they are mere animals who have little control over their impulses.

“You cannot by any logic perceive all people as mere female and male sex organs that roam the streets looking for the moment of intercourse like cats," the book reads. Abdel Moneim attributes Banna’s rigid outlook to his rural background.

This outlook still shapes the group’s perception of women’s roles within the organization and in the society at large. It justifies why the Muslim Sisters' division cannot operate independently from the Brothers, why no woman is admitted into the group's highest bodies, namely the Shura Council and the Guidance Bureau, and why the group will not acknowledge a woman's right to rule, according to the book. [...]

... the author bashes the Brotherhood’s internal dynamics, arguing that it is based on nepotism rather than merit. To substantiate her claim, she refers to her personal experience recounting that she was not easily admitted into the group because she was not the daughter, the sister or the wife of one of the Muslim Brotherhood's heroic or wealthy figures. For both men and women, such family ties are required to facilitate one’s upward mobility within the organization, according to Abdel Moneim.

Meanwhile, the author coins the phrase “the Muslim Brotherhood’s classism” to describe the full submission of rank-and-file members to their leaders. She borrows the analogy put forward by a former Muslim Brotherhood leader who drew parallels between the organization and an electricity-providing company that needs lots of workers (rank-and-file members) and few engineers.

“It is illogical for a worker to bypass his master or demand that his position be improved even if he proves himself,” Abdel Moneim writes. “Otherwise, he will be violating the group’s charter and instilling divisions. This is probably the Muslim Brotherhood’s interpretation of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm.’” [...]

Yet the book has not failed to cause a stir. Earlier this month, the Muslim Brotherhood rushed to sue the privately owned Al-Fagr newspaper for running a sensational review of the book that accused the organization of abusing women sexually and politically....

In Eurabia, you see, they expect they can get a Sharia-compliant loan. Where, pray tell, are the wealthy Arab states? The West, of course, will give in to blackmail about the threat of instability without aid, while Egypt's brethren in the region could apparently care less. "IMF loans are usury, says Salafi party," by Hamdi Dabash for Al Masri Al Youm, January 19:

The Salafi Nour Party has criticized the government for plans to borrow from international financial institutions rather than implementing an austerity plan.

“We are against usurious deals,” said party spokesperson Mohamed Nour. “Before borrowing, we should know where we stand financially,” he added, pointing out that there are some LE1 trillion in the private funds of government institutions, in addition to the money that was siphoned abroad by the former regime.

Nour also said that if Egypt borrows the US$3.2 billion loan that it is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the interim government of Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri will have to stay on until the budget deficit recovers, which means it would burden the next government with the interest of the loan.

“Why borrow if we have money?” Nour wondered. “And if we don’t have it, where did it go?”

“European banks lend in accordance with the Islamic Sharia,” Nour claimed. “Why don’t we borrow from them?”

Will the Islamophobia never end?

"Muslims in Egypt Burn Christian Homes and Shops, Attack Church," by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, January 20 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

(AINA) -- A Muslim mob attacked Copts today in the Upper Egyptian village of Rahmaniya-Kebly, Nag Hammadi, Qena province, destroying and torching their homes, straw huts and shops, while chanting Allahu Akbar. No one was reported killed or injured (video). According to reports, security forces were present but did not intervene and the fire brigade arrived 90 minutes late.

An eye-witness said that a straw hut belonging to a Copt was torched to clear the area for a mosque. There are more than 300 mosques in the village and one church.

According to Coptic residents, the reason behind the violence was the parliamentary elections. The Salafists wanted to prevent Copts, who number more than 50% of the inhabitants (20,000), from voting because they intended to vote for two moderate Muslims and not the Salafi candidates. "No Copt from Rahmaniya-Kebly was able to vote today, so the Salafists will win the elections," said a witness. Copts were forcefully prevented from voting.

US-based WAY TV, which covered live today's Rahmaniya attacks, called commander Osama, head of security at Rahmaniya, who said "everything was OK" -- despite live pictures on TV of the burning homes. Joseph Nasralla of WAY TV spoke to security and made them aware that the videos of the fires were being broadcast in the U.S. and Middle East, which caused the immediate dispatch of security vehicles. By late evening the violence had stopped.

Joseph Nasralla is the courageous human rights activist who has spoken at our AFDI/SIOA Freedom Rallies at Ground Zero on September 11, 2010 and September 11, 2011.

In another incident today, a large number of Salafis and members of the Muslim Brotherhood entered the Abu Makka church, in Bahteem, Shubra-el-Khayma, Qaliubia province, and informed the congregation that the church has no licence and no one should pray in it. One Muslim said the 1300 square meter church would be suitable for a mosque and a hospital....

That's the handy thing about conspiracy paranoia: it doesn't have to make sense. Never mind multiple, corroborating sources of the images. The incident occurs around 30 seconds into the video. "Egypt’s Military Ruler Told Carter Video of Soldiers Stomping on Woman Was Fake," by Robert Mackey for the New York Times, January 19:

During a conversation with former President Jimmy Carter last week, Egypt’s current head of state, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, claimed that widely circulated video images of soldiers beating, stripping and kicking a female protester on the pavement of Tahrir Square last month were entirely fake.

The abuse of the woman, whose black cloak was pulled back to reveal her blue bra as soldiers used force to disperse protesters on Dec. 17, was captured in raw video that was broadcast by a private Egyptian television channel.

Within hours, more video of the attack on the woman was posted online by activists, who edited the images to highlight the abuse of the woman.

A Reuters photograph of one soldier stomping on the woman’s chest, which was printed on the front page on an Egyptian newspaper, has become an icon of the struggle for an end to military rule in Egypt. Outraged by the incident, thousands of Egyptian women took to the streets of Cairo three days later, waving images of the attack on the woman.

As the Moroccan-American journalist Issandr El Amrani points out on his blog, The Arabist, Mr. Carter described the general’s apparently unsubstantiated claim in a report on his recent trip to Egypt published online this week.

In a section of his report detailing “a thorough discussion” with Field Marshal Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Mr. Carter wrote:

Since the overthrow of King Farouk in 1953, Egypt has been governed by military leaders, who have accumulated and maintained full political and military power and substantial control over economic and commercial affairs. Despite the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, the military has retained an overwhelming portion of its historic authority. Only pressure from the revolutionary forces on the streets has resulted in grudging concessions.

I was received with a friendly welcome as I congratulated the military leaders for what seemed to be a successful election, and then asked a number of questions. It seemed that the SCAF had full confidence that there would be accommodation to their demands by the Muslim Brotherhood and their coalition partners as the new government is formed. Instead of the reported 12,000 mostly political prisoners being held for trials in military courts, the Field Marshal stated that there were no more than 3,000, all of whom were guilty of criminal acts and being tried in civilian courts. He stated that the widely promulgated videos showing military attacks on demonstrators and a woman “with the blue brassiere” were all falsified. He said the soldiers were actually helping the woman re-clothe herself with what was provocative attire.....

Hazem Shuman quotes the genocidal hadith about how Muslims can hasten the coming of Judgment Day by killing Jews. He invokes Muhammad's massacre of Jews at the Khaybar oasis in Arabia. These things indicate that his genocidal hatred of the Jews is based on the texts and teachings of Islam, and must be addressed as such. Addressing this genocidal Jew-hatred with charges of "Islamophobia" against those who point out Hazen Shuman's evil words won't do the trick.

"Egyptian Cleric Hazem Shuman: These Jews Are a Cancer in the Body of Planet Earth, Getting Rid of Them Is a Must," from MEMRI, September 9, 2011 (this is the date the clip ran on Egyptian TV; MEMRI just posted it), with thanks to Wimpy:

Following are excerpts from an address by Egyptian cleric Hazem Shuman, which aired on Al-Rahma TV on September 9, 2011.

Hazem Shuman: What was our response when six Egyptians were killed by Jews on the border? Was the Jewish ambassador summoned? No. Was he expelled from Egypt? No. Was the Egyptian ambassador recalled from Israel? No. So what was the response? Brothers, this is about the honor of the people. I am talking to the Jews in the name of 85 million Egyptians, who hate them from the bottom of their hearts.

[...]

I address them on behalf of 85 million Egyptians, whose hearts beat with hatred for the Jews, and with the knowledge of what the Jews did to us and of how Allah warned us about them...

I tell them that the battle is bound to come, Allah be praised. The Prophet Muhammad, whose words are divinely inspired, said: "Judgment Day will come when the Muslims fight the Jews." That means that the Muslims will be the ones who engage [in fighting]. It's not just any battle. He said: "The Muslims will fight the Jews, and the stones and the trees will say: Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." Even the stones and the trees hate them. The battle is bound to come.

[...]

Jews will be Jews, guys. The Jews of today are the Jews of Khaybar, who tried to poison the Prophet Muhammad. They are the Jews of Banu Nadhir, who tried to kill the Prophet Muhammad. They are the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa', who tried to lift up a Muslim woman's dress. Jews will be Jews. We know what you are like, you Jews, and we know your hatred toward the religion of Allah, toward the servants of Allah, and toward the Muslims worldwide.

Qur'an 5:82 tells him that the Jews are the Muslims' worst enemies.

You will be vanquished, Allah willing, but it will not be us who will vanquish you. It will be Allah. Just like He used wind to vanquish you in the War of the Ahzab, and like He used fear to vanquish you in the Battle of Khaybar, Allah will vanquish you again.

It wasn't a "battle," it was a massacre. The Jewish farmers were going out to tend their fields when Muhammad and the Muslims showed up and started killing them.

Today, 92% of the world's film industry is in your hands, 90% of the world's famous actors are Jews, and 90% of the giant news networks, like CNN, are in Jewish hands.

[...]

Oh nation of Muhammad, Allah says to you: If you fear war with the Jews, brace yourselves for war with Allah. It is either a war with the Jews or a war with Allah. Allah says that the entire nation could be replaced if it is not prepared to sacrifice its blood for the sake of Palestine.

[...]

My message to all the Jews is that the battle is bound to come and you will be vanquished. Allah has promised that you will be vanquished and that we will prevail. I tell you that our Prophet Muhammad, whose every word we believe and whose light we follow - the moment he signed the Hudaybiyya Treaty with Mecca, the first thing he did after the battle with the Quraysh tribe, only 20 days after signing the Hudaybiyya Treaty, he took his army and attacked Khaybar.

Why, oh Messenger of Allah? Because these Jews are a cancer. These Jews are a catastrophe. There is not a catastrophe in the world that is not the handiwork of the Jews. These Jews are a cancer in the body of planet Earth, and if permitted, it will spread and infect the entire body. Getting rid of these Jews is a must.

It will lead to democracy, freedom and stability in the region, he says.

Oh, really? And where exactly has the rule of Islamic law -- Sharia, not secular rule such as has prevailed in Turkey since the 1920s, or the Arab nationalist mixture of Western secular law and some Islamic law that has prevailed in many Muslim Arab countries for the last half-century or so, up until the "Arab Spring" -- ever led to democracy? Ever? Again, secular Turkey was established in the context of a rejection of political Islam, not an embrace of it.

And where has Sharia ever led to freedom for women or non-Muslims? Ever? And stability? Where have Sharia states ever been centers of regional stability?

Jimmy Carter continues to aid and abet the forces of oppression. "Carter asks U.S. to support Islamic rule in Egypt," from Aswat Masriya, January 19 (thanks to Twostellas):

Former American President, Jimmy Carter, has called out for the U.S. to support Islamic rule in Egypt, pointing out that it will lead to democracy, freedom and stability in the region.

Carter also told the CNN that Egypt is currently embracing freedom, explaining that it finally now has a real chance to elect a democratic government that protects human rights.

Asking for Americans’ support, the Former President hopes that the U.S. will not reject the Egyptian people’s choice like they did after the Palestinian elections - where Hamas was isolated after their winning.

“We must not repeat that grave mistake with Egypt. I think we could have established peace in the region if we had accepted and supported the people’s choice in Palestine. That is the lesson we have learnt... and Egypt’s choice should be given a chance,” Carter said.

Egypt: Islamic supremacist talk show host assaults liberal Muslim guest
by Mark Alexander

Islamic supremacists in Egypt have been tirelessly working for the last 15 years to change their image in the public square into that of a peaceful, God-fearing group that builds hospitals and feeds the poor. They are doing all they can to distance themselves from their terrorist activities of the past. However, the Bible warns us to “be careful of wolves in sheep’s clothing,” and that is what these modern day Islamic supremacists are: wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Perhaps you have heard of Sheikh Khalid el Gindi, a modern day Islamic supremacist televangelist who wears no beard, no long galabeya, or slippers. He wears nicely tailored Western suit, is clean-shaven, and is full of rhetoric of love for the Christian minority.

Khalid el Gindi has his own show on the Al Azhari Channel, a TV channel funded by Al Azhar University, which is itself funded by the Egyptian taxpayer. It is a channel dedicated to educating Muslims about Islam.

Doctor Sayid El Qimini, Doctor of Cultural Studies, received his degree from the University of Southern California after graduating with his Masters from Ain Shams University in Cairo. He has a list of published books attacking Islamic supremacist ideologies, asserting that which is detested by Islamic supremacists: the idea that the Quran is not right for all places and for all times. He also holds the country’s highest literary award.

Dr. Qimini was asked by the Al Azhari Channel and the producer of Khalid El Gindi’s show to come on regarding a dispute that had emerged between Dr. Qimini and Gindi. The show was to be moderated by Siliman Fudel, a true Islamic supremacist who travels around the world debating Western thinkers on Islam. When Dr. Qimini arrived at the station, he waited over three hours in the lobby, where he claims the heat was purposely turned off. This method was used by the station, according to Dr. Qimini, to get him fired up or worked up in time for the show. He was shamefully not introduced as a Doctor by the host, and he commented on that lack of respect shown by the channel.

What ensued after that was a demeaning attack on Dr. Qimini’s character. The host showed clips of interviews from other channels, manipulatively edited by Al Azhari in an attempt at character assassination of Dr. Qimini. At one point in the show, a debate began about whether the Quran was fit for all places and for all times, at which point the moderator, Siliman Fudel, became enraged and attacked Dr. Qimini, claiming falsely that he didn’t really have a doctorate and that there were cases filed against him on charges that he had faked getting a doctoral degree.

Then Khalid El Gindi attacked Dr. Qimini, using language and rhetoric that is unfit and disrespectful. Dr. Qimini rebuked Gindi, removed the microphone from his jacket, and stated that he had had enough and was leaving. After that, when Al Azhari was no longer broadcasting, Dr. Qimini was viciously assaulted by the moderator, Siliman Fudel, who grabbed a mug and slammed it on the back of Dr. Qimini's head while he was not looking. Dr. Qimini dropped to the floor. One of the production crew members turned on his mobile video camera and filmed the entire assault. Other members of the production crew, according to mobile footage, ran over to protect Dr. Qimini from the blind rage of Siliman Fudel.

Dr. Qimini was rushed to the hospital and later filed a lawsuit against Siliman Fudel. The investigation is now pending. No charges have yet been brought against Fudel by the prosecutor’s office.

Since the attack, Dr. Qimini has been invited onto several media channels to explain to viewers his positions on religion and politics, his respect for Islam, and his idea that certain suras of the Quran need to be modernized, because times have changed.

Will Siliman Fudel be prosecuted in the new Egypt? Or will attacks on liberals continue to be excused by prosecutors with Islamic supremacist tendencies?

Has there ever been a time when one group of people openly exposes its animosity for another group of people—even as this second group not only ignores the animosity, but speaks well, enables, and legitimizes the first group?

Welcome to the 21st century, where Western politicians empower those Muslims who are otherwise constantly and openly denouncing all non-Muslims as enemies to be fought and subjugated.

Consider this video of Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami, a top-ranked figure in Egypt’s Salafi movement which won some 25% of the votes in recent elections. He makes clear a point that, in a different era, would be thoroughly eye-opening—that all notions of peace with non-Muslims are based on circumstance: when Muslims are weak, they should be peaceful; when strong, they should go on the offensive.

Discussing “the analogy between Egypt’s Christians and the Jews of Medina,” Burhami pointed out that Muslims may make temporary peace with infidels, when circumstance calls for it:

The Jews of Medina represent a paradigm—laid by the prophet [Muhammad]—that shows how Muslims should deal with infidels. The prophet’s methods of dealing with infidels are available for Muslims to replicate depending on their situation and their capabilities. The Prophet in Mecca dealt with the infidels in a certain way, so whenever Muslims are vulnerable they should deal with the infidels in this same manner.

Burhami is referring to the famous Mecca/Medina division: when Muhammad was weak and outnumbered in his early Mecca period, he preached peace and made pacts with infidels; when he became strong in the Medina period, he preached war and went on the offensive. This dichotomy—preach peace when weak, wage war when strong—has been instructive to Muslim leaders for ages.

After quoting Koran 4:77, “Refrain from action, uphold prayers, and pay your zakat,” Burhami continues:

In many infidel countries, such as occupied Palestine, we instruct Muslims to do just that [follow Koran 4:77]. Today in Gaza, we do not tell Muslims to launch rockets everyday and so destroy the country, but we tell them “Refrain from action and respect the truce.” When the Prophet first arrived in Medina, he made conciliation with the Jews, conciliation without jizya [i.e., equal-term conciliation without forcing Jews to pay tribute and live as second-class dhimmis]—this is a pattern that can be followed whenever circumstances dictate. However, when they breached the covenant he fought them and ultimately imposed jizya on the People of the Book [Jews and Christians]. Nor is this Sura [Koran 9:29] abrogated; it is acknowledged and agreed upon.

Burhami exposes much here, beginning with the Koran verse he quotes: when weak, Muslims are to “refrain from action”—but “pay your zakat,” which, among other things, funds the jihad. Also, as Muhammad made peace with the Jews of Medina, without making them submit to jizya (tribute to be paid “while utterly subdued”), so too are Palestinians allowed to make temporary peace with Israel. In both cases, circumstance—namely, Muslim weakness—justify it. But, when capability allows, Koran 9:29—which calls for jizya and subjugation, and which Burhami quotes as having abrogated the other peaceful verses—takes over.

Burhami’s conclusion:

Yes we can deal with those Christians [Egypt’s Copts] as the Jews were dealt with in Medina; it is an option. The Prophet made the Hudaybiya Reconciliation with the infidels and held a truce for ten years, that is also an option…. So, it is legitimate to choose from examples set by the Prophet, depending on what suits the situation of Muslims now.

In short, Muslims may be tolerant of Egypt’s Copts now, and not collect jizya and place them in dhimmitude, until they are more capable—just like Palestinians may make peace with Israel now, till they are more capable of waging an offensive. Indeed, Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni—the secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which won 40% of the votes—reportedly said that Copts would not pay jizya now, implying that the idea of collecting tribute from subdued “dhimmi” Copts is very much alive among the Brotherhood, only dormant till a more opportune moment.

One may argue that Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami—“one man,” a “radical”—is not representative of “true Islam.” The problem, however, is that all his arguments have been made countless times by countless Muslims, including the most authoritative, throughout the ages. For instance, the late Yasser Arafat evoked Hudaybiya as representative of “peace” with Israel.

And yet, despite all this—despite the fact that this video is a drop in the bucket of evidence—here is the West, making the way clear for people like Burhami to power in the name of “democracy,” regardless that pacts, smiles, and handshakes over cups of coffee exist solely when circumstance, in this case, Muslim weakness, dictates.

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Quoting this hadith in the U.S. will swiftly get you charges of "Islamophobia" and "misunderstanding Islam," although I know of no Muslim attempt to explain away the obvious genocidal import of Muhammad's prophecy. Non-Muslims are just denounced if they notice. But in the Islamic world, this genocidal prophecy is taken very seriously: "Egyptian Child Preacher Muhammad Osama Recounts Antisemitic Hadith: Jews Hide Behind the Gharqad Tree When Muslims Come to Kill Them on Judgment Day," from MEMRI, January 14 (thanks to Wimpy):

Following are excerpts from a sermon delivered by Egyptian child preacher Muhammad Osama, which aired on Al-Rahma TV on January 14, 2012.

Muhammad Osama: Through the worship [of Allah], we shall gain victory over our enemies, strengthen our religion, and defeat the Jews. The Messenger of Allah said: "Judgment Day will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims will kill the Jews, and the Jews will hide behind the trees and the stones, and then the trees and the stones will say: Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the gharqad tree will not speak because it is one of the trees of the Jews."

Whatever their disagreements may be about how Sharia should be implemented, if the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis do succeed in imposing Sharia upon Egypt, we will see restrictions on the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and the rights of women and non-Muslims. Wherever and whenever Sharia has been implemented, this has been the case. Yet in the U.S., we are forced to believe on pain of "Islamophobia" charges that Sharia is so multiform as to have no particular content and is fully compatible with Constitutionally protected freedoms -- and on the basis of these false claims, anti-Sharia legislation is struck down.

"We won’t be another NDP, say Muslim Brothers," from Almasry Alyoum, January 15 (thanks to Wimpy):

Mohamed Gheith, MP for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, on Sunday said his party would not act like the disbanded National Democratic Party (NDP). “We do not intend to dominate parliament,” he said. “All committees will be headed according to a consensus.”

He added that his party would only form a coalition in parliament that is best for the country. “We know that we are watched by our voters, and we cannot let them down,” he said.

He said his party differs with the Salafi-oriented Nour Party over the way Islamic Sharia should be applied. “But we both agree in principle that it should be applied,” he noted, adding that the Salafis have no political expertise....

The masks, they are a-slippin'. We tried to tell you. "Leading female figure in Muslim Brotherhood slams December's women march," from Al Masry al Youm, January 14:

A leading female figure in the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has accused the women’s march to condemn military brutality against female protestors in December as being funded from abroad.

In December, Egypt witnessed its biggest women's march in history as 10,000 women marched through central Cairo to protest against soldiers who dragged women by the hair, stomped on them, and stripped one half-naked in the street during a fierce crackdown on activists.

"The [FJP women] refused to participate in the march because participants were funded and had a particular agenda,” said Manal Abul Hassan, the FJP women's secretary.

Speaking to the London based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper Saturday, Abul Hassan argued that "When a woman marches to defend her rights, this affronts her dignity."

She added that "Does she [female protestor] not have a husband, a brother or a son to defend her?"

"This march was a sectarian one, because all the groups of Egyptian society should defend women. She should not defend herself on her own. The man should stand beside the woman because on her own she will not be able to get her rights," said Abul Hassan.

That will only be a self-fulfilling prophecy if it is allowed to be.

In the interview, Abul Hassan said Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in February, is no longer the same square.

Conspiracy-driven denial of the Maspero massacre of Christians:

“Tahrir is no longer purely for revolutionaries. Other elements infiltrated them; the same elements which caused the [violence at the] Balloon Theatre and Maspero tarnish the image of Tahrir."

Abul Hassan continued that "They stay in dirty tents [in which one can find] acts against the ethics of the revolution. It became a fertile atmosphere for the spread of all irregularities, and the revolution is innocent of them."

On one hand, he's an ambassador in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper. Habits of decorum prevent him from saying "Well, frankly, I think it's all going to be a train wreck" if that were his opinion. That, and, saying the wrong thing could summon a potentially unstable gaggle of protesters to the British embassy.

On the other hand, there was a mostly missed opportunity (save for the mention of the EU's position on capital punishment) here to send a message that Britain's relationship with the new regime depends on its handling of human rights. The end of the report mentions that Britain and other EU countries plan to extend financial assistance to Egypt in the near future.

In extending aid, we in the West have leverage that we are not currently using. Any future aid to Egypt must be made contingent on substantive, verifiable, and continuous improvements in:

- The treatment and legal rights of non-Muslims, the right to build churches, and reciprocal rights of conversion and visibility in public life.
- Women's rights.
- The eradication of female genital mutilation.
- Transparency and good government, due process, and rights in custody for anyone detained by the police or army.

"Hope is not a method," as the military adage goes, and it is well worth insisting on these points now, rather than waiting for another thug regime to get entrenched and comfortable. "British ambassador: Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary majority not worrying," from Al Masry Al Youm, January 14:

The Muslim Brotherhood's majority in Egypt's next parliament is not a source of worry for Britian, said British Ambassador to Egypt James Watt.

In an interview with Akhbar al-Youm, Watt said the results of the parliamentary elections reflect the choice of Egyptians and Britain will have to deal with these results.

He added that he has met with several Brotherhood leaders and the meetings have left a good impression on him. He added that he is optimistic about the future of Egypt and the formulation of policies that will achieve freedom and development.

Asked about whether Britain will hand over former Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali to Egypt, he said that Egypt has submitted a request for Boutros-Ghali, but there is no extradition treaty between Egypt and Britain. Ghali's status is being examined by the Home Office, though, he said.

Asked about funds former President Hosni Mubarak holds in Britain and the possibility of returning them to Egypt, he said that Britain has received requests, but the lack of accurate account information has impeded progress in this regard.

Mubarak's trial is an internal Egyptian affair, he said, but as a member of the EU, Britain is against capital punishment because it is considered a violation of human rights. If Mubarak is sentenced to death, that may cause disagreement between the two countries, he said.

Watt also said that Britain intends to provide financial assistance to Egypt in the near future, through its membership in the EU, the G8 and other donor institutions.

Egypt needs investments rather than assistance in this stage, he said.

You can't buy good government by throwing money at it. You can buy plenty of the opposite that way.

Britain is the biggest foreign investor in Egypt, with US$30 billion investments over the past five years.

One form of bad government helping another, as the Ikhwan's mask slips a little bit more. "Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood wants military immunity for generals, activists cry foul," by Joseph Mayton for Bikya Masr, January 12:

CAIRO: In a move that has left many of the country’s activists angered, Egypt’s top political force the Muslim Brotherhood has said it was looking into a deal that would grant the ruling military junta immunity for alleged crimes committed against protesters since they took charge of the country in February last year.

The move would ensure the military relinquish power and enable the transition to a newly elected legislative body, but activists who have faced the end of the military’s guns, are not convinced and have called it a means for the Brotherhood to assert more power.

“What about the dozens of people who have been murdered by the military and the police under the military’s orders?” asked activist and protester Mahmoud Gama’a, who told Bikyamasr.com that the Brotherhood will face a backlash from protesters if they attempt to go forward with the idea.

“We will not stand by and not have justice for what the military has done to Egyptian people. It is unacceptable that any political force thinks they can let the blood of martyrs not get justice,” he added.

The goal of the Brotherhood is to create compromise within the country as their political arm, The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) leads all voting with nearly 40 percent, ahead of a final vote count for the third and final round of parliamentary elections, which ended on Wednesday.

Despite the idea being floated this week by top Brotherhood officials, activists say it will not stop their campaign to have the top generals tried for what they have regularly dubbed “crimes against humanity.”

First they came for the Christians, and then the military turned on the rest of the country:

The military has been directly responsible for the killing of scores of citizens, attacking a peaceful Coptic Christian march on October 9, which killed at least 27 people.

Then, in November, the military police attacked another peaceful sit-in in Tahrir Square, which led to 6 days of street battles in central Cairo, leaving at least 70 people dead, medical sources told Bikyamasr.com.

And more recently, in mid-December, military police again attacked a peaceful sit-in at the country’s Cabinet building, reportedly torturing and beating a protester and then burning the makeshift tents that had been erected. For three days, the military used live ammunition and rocks against protesters, leaving at least 17 people dead.

“This is not justice if they get immunity. It is a ploy by the Brotherhood to force people to forget what the military has done to us,” said female activist Mona Radwan, who told Bikyamasr.com that she would not rest until the military pays for their actions.

“Women were forced into virginity tests, were stripped in public and beaten and killed, so why is this happening. I feel we have returned to pre-Mubarak times,” she said.

That sense of moving backwards may be around for a while.

But the Brotherhood said it would only move forward on the proposed deal if the families of those killed since February agreed, at least giving those who paid the ultimate sacrifice some semblance of an option.

This story continues to evolve, and there seems to be no particular sense of urgency from within the government to try and stop it. No, authorities are going for easy targets like stripping and stomping on women in the street and subjecting them to "virginity tests."

Tasers, of course, are not without risks, especially if improperly used. They are all too likely to be deliberately misused here, and if this is allowed to go forward, people will be tortured, and people will die. "Islamist 'Morality Police' to train volunteers in using electric batons," from Al Ahram Online, January 12:

The self-proclaimed Islamist "Morality Police" announced on its new official Facebook page that it has acquired 1,000 tazers to be distributed to volunteers who will promote "virtue" and combat "vice" in the Egyptian street.

The "Morality Police", which models itself on a similar group in Saudi Arabia that monitors citizens social behaviour, added in its announcement that these electric shocks batons will help in self-defence against any possible attacks on volunteers, adding that volunteers would be instructed to use the tazers only in "extremely necessary" situations.

Baloney.

The Facebook page announced that the first field training session for volunteers will be on Thursday evening in El-Mandara neighbourhood in Alexandria.

Meanwhile, Suez Port authorities announced last week that they foiled an attempt to smuggle in 1,000 tazers while it was not clear who the shipment was intended to reach.

Islamist and organised Salafist forces such as the Nour Party have distanced themselves from the "Morality Police" group, which has so far only operated in cyberspace.

The Salafists do not need absolute power to be a threat to Egypt's antiquities and historical heritage. They already won between a quarter and a third of the vote, enough to be a major force in proposing, approving, and blocking legislation. That will help determine priorities in government, and also threatens a gravitational pull toward stricter enforcement of Sharia as the Muslim Brotherhood competes with them for legitimacy and popularity.

A democracy is only as good as the values that inform its participants. An update on this story. "Naked images of Pharoahs are heresy, says Salafist leader," from Al Ahram Online, January 12:

Images of naked Pharaohs on Egypt’s temples are tantamount to heresy, prominent Salafist Abdel Moneim El-Shahat said on Wednesday. El-Shahat, who failed to win an independent seat for the Nour Party in recent parliamentary elections, had previously called Egypt’s Pharaonic heritage “rotten.”

Speaking to Moataz El-Demerdash on El-Hayat 2 Channel on Wednesday evening, El-Shahat also reiterated his controversial comments about Egypt’s renowned novelist Naguib Mahfouz, stressing that his novel Awlad Harretna (Children of the Alley), one of the books that earned him a Nobel prize in 1988, violated the principles of Islam.

El-Shahat had previously said that Mahfouz’s novel had “symbols that promote atheism” and accused him of “inciting promiscuity, prostitution and atheism” in his books.

However, El-Shahat said he did not mean to personally attack the deceased writer and urged readers to read Mahfouz’s novels to know that he is correct. He also sharply criticised Egyptian novelist and activist Alaa El-Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building and Chicago.

“Those who attack me should read Naguib Mahfouz’s novels,” El-Shahat told El-Demerdash. “And I challenge Alaa El-Aswany to read his novel The Yacoubian Building on live TV.”

Speaking about women, El-Shahat spoke about his dream for all Egyptian women to wear the niqab (full veil) and claimed Salafists are not the enemies of women.

And why would that be? More on this story. "Egyptians: No pilgrimage to rabbi's tomb," from the Associated Press, January 11:

Egyptian Islamists and other activists say they have vowed to prevent Israelis from making an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of a 19th-century Jewish holy man in the Nile Delta.

Pilgrimage opponents have decided to stage protests on roads leading to the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira in the village of Daymouta, 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of Cairo, said Gamal Heshmat of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group which is the country's best organized political movement.

He said that the late December and early January pilgrimage would be a "suicide mission" for Israelis, because of popular opposition to their presence in Egypt.

"Normalization (of relations) with Israel is forced on the people, and the visits too come against the will of people and despite popular rejection," said Heshmat, who recently won a seat in parliament in the country's first elections following the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian activists have rallied against the pilgrimage every year for most of the last decade. Egypt's daily Al-Ahram newspaper reported Tuesday that 31 parties and groups had joined this year's campaign.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles, denounced the attempts to block the pilgrimage. In a Tuesday statement, the center's Abraham Cooper accused the Brotherhood of trying to "curb religious freedom of Jews."

"In their worldview, there is no respect for the traditions for Jews, dead or alive," he said. [...]

The tomb is a vestige of Egypt's once-prosperous Jewish community, which at the time of the first war with Israel in 1948 numbered about 80,000 people.

But the Arab-Israeli wars, and the resentment and expulsions that they engendered, have reduced the number of Egypt's Jews to about 60 individuals, according to the Israeli embassy.