Recently in Egypt Category

This is a staggering number in a country in which the electorate numbers fifty million. It is a manifestation of the widespread Egyptian discontent with the Muslim Brotherhood and Sharia rule. But it is unlikely -- in fact, inconceivable -- that Obama will support these pro-democracy protesters. He only supports such people when they are working to establish an Islamic supremacist regime, not when they're working against one.

"Egypt's 'rebels' gather millions of signatures to protest Morsi," by Charlene Gubash for NBC News, May 21 (thanks to Robert):

CAIRO – Once again, a handful of activists has managed to galvanize and inspire Egypt’s grumbling masses in a way no opposition political parties have been able to.

Their concept is simple. They are inviting the Egyptian electorate to sign a petition expressing “no confidence” in President Mohamed Morsi, a move they hope will trigger early presidential elections.

The response has been eye-opening. So far, 6,000 volunteers for the grassroots campaign dubbed “Tamarod” or “Rebel” have collected over 2 million signatures, according to the group’s spokesman Mahmoud Badr. Egypt’s electorate numbers about 50 million, with half of those voting in the last presidential election.

The movement has grown quickly, with opposition parties announcing support, widespread press coverage and black and white leaflets plastered across nearly every Cairo neighborhood. The “Rebel” Facebook page has attracted 150,000 “likes” in one month.

At a busy intersection in Mohandiseen, an upper-middle class Cairo neighborhood, at least 20 people stopped last Thursday to sign the leaflets and jot down national ID numbers to verify their identity.

Egyptian volunteer Basma Sherif, 24, hands out 'Rebel' petitions calling for no confidence in President Morsi and calling for early elections.

“Yesterday was even more crowded,” said Basma Sherif, as she handed out forms.

“There were accidents because people were leaving their cars in traffic to come and sign,” said Sherif, a 24-year-old insurance company employee.

People from all walks of life and throughout Egypt are signing the petition – from upper class educated elites to truck drivers and housekeepers – even people who voted for Morsi in the last election are now taking part in the campaign.

"People come from the cars to sign – poor, rich, middle class, everybody has one opinion,” said Sherif.

Those signing the petition were anxious for change. “I don’t want Morsi,” said Khaled Mostafa, a 27-year-old lab technician. “There is no security, no stability and their economic program failed… If we get several million signatures, we will have early elections.”

Amal Ragab, a middle-aged human resources manager, said that the revolution that toppled Mubarak made her believe people have the power to bring down a president. “For us, the Muslim Brotherhood is much worse and weaker than Mubarak with all of his power and security apparatus,” she added.

The group’s goal is to collect 15 million signatures, almost 3 million more than the number of votes Morsi received when he was elected by a narrow margin in June last year. They plan to deliver the petition for early elections to the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt’s highest court, on June 30, the one-year anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration, and to hold a massive demonstration in front of the presidential palace that day.

A symbolic move

But even diehard supporters admit there are no legal grounds to call for early elections based on a “no confidence” petition. They say the campaign is really meant to prove that Morsi has lost his majority and, with it, his legitimacy.

Hamza Abdullah, a 37-year-old lawyer who has been coordinating the campaign in three Cairo districts was carrying an armload of signed petitions on Thursday.

“This is a peaceful way to apply pressure and prove that people are against Morsi,” he said. “It is not legally binding, but it is like a poll to prove that he is not popular and not approved as president of Egypt.”

Protesters call for the removal of the Egyptian government in Tahrir Square in Cairo on May 17.

Not so fast, say Muslim Brotherhood

Members of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, however, pooh-pooh the challenge.

Dr. Mohamed Beltagy, a senior leader of the Brotherhood’s political arm, issued a statement calling the petition “no more than a public survey,” saying it was useless unless organizers “transform the millions of participants they’re talking about into a political party.”

Others gave veiled warnings. “If some want to toss out the constitution, then they should admit their aim and bear the consequences because it is a complete and utter crime,” Essam Arian, deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood, told the Al Fajr newspaper.

A lawyer for the Brotherhood, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud, said that, “Hijacking a political democratic legitimacy constitutes a violation of the law.” And one Brotherhood-linked group launched a rhyming pro-Morsi petition called Tagarod, or “Impartiality.”...

We need a few politicians like this in the U.S. "Australian MP Calls For Egypt’s Ambassador To Be Called In Over Coptic Persecution," from the Australian Coptic Movement, May 11 (thanks to Jonah):

Mr Laurie Ferguson MP, Federal Member for Werriwa has written to the Australian Coptic Movement Association (ACM) confirming that he requested Senator the Hon. Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs to call in the Egyptian Ambassador following ongoing attacks on Copts in Egypt.

Below is an excerpt from Mr Ferguson’s letter to Senator Bob Carr:

“I appreciate the seriousness of calling in an Ambassador to indicate Australia’s concerns about particular issues. However, events in Egypt appear to demand such action.

On April 14th I attended a sizeable rally in Sydney’s Martin Place with a significant number of NSW and Commonwealth parliamentarians in the aftermath of violent attacks on mourners at Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral”.

The ACM welcomes Mr Ferguson’s stance and we look forward to a prompt response from the Senator Hon. Bob Carr. We also demand that the Australian Government immediately makes strong representations on this serious issue at the United Nations.

It is quite clear that The Egyptian government has not only failed to take appropriate action to afford protection to Egypt’s vulnerable Coptic community but also directly participated in the persecution.

We are also deeply concerned over the welfare of 24 year Demiana Nour. She has been held by Egyptian police in Luxor since 8 May 2013 under ‘defamation of religion’ charges. Demiana is a young teacher who was merely undertaking her teaching duties.

We demand that the Egyptian authorities immediately release Demiana and all Copts who have been have been charged under flimsy ‘defamation of religion’ charges.

More fruit of the glorious Obama-endorsed "Arab Spring." And look at how the Associated Press covered this atrocity.

"Two Christian Churches in Egypt Attacked By Muslims This Week," by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, May 18:

(AINA) -- The escalation of Muslim attacks on Christian churches in Egypt continues unabated. This week two attacks were carried out, one in Alexandria and one in Menbal in Upper Egypt -- both allegedly prompted by harassment of Muslim women. Yesterday the church of St. Mary, in the Dakhela district, west of Alexandria, was attacked by Molotov cocktails and bricks, causing the gate to burn and the breaking of most of the stained glass windows. One Copt was killed and several injured.

According to the official police explanation, the Copt Basem Ramzy Michael was seen by the Muslim Hamada Alloshy, a registered criminal, allegedly extending his body from his balcony to gaze at the flat of Alloshy's sister, who lives on the ground floor. A quarrel broke out and when the church was attacked, hundreds of Copts hurried to the area to defend the church, among whom was 36-year-old Sedky Sherif, a father of three children. According to his nephew Rabah, who was with him at the time of his death, 1000 Copts were present and were attacked by over 20,000 Muslims, who were firing bird shots at them and throwing bricks. While the church was being attacked the Muslims were shouting "Allahu Akbar." Security forces were sent out to diffuse the situation and disperse the crowd. They made several arrests on both sides.

According to the Security report, the Copt "died of fright," suffering a heart attack after hearing the sound of gun fire. According to his family and those who saw him, his body was full of bruises and marks from bird shots.

The family and relatives of Sedky Sherif waited this morning at Kom el Dekka morgue to receive his body and the results of the autopsy. A death certificate was issued quoting cause of death as "under investigation." Weesa Fawzy from Al-Kalema Human Rights Center said that this was the first time that a death certificate is issued and the cause of death is still under investigation. "Has he been seen by the forensics team or not, so how are they still investigating when the body is already buried?"

Coptic Mina Milad Saber, 19 years, was severely injured in yesterday's attack and underwent brain surgery, but this morning he was found shackled to his bed by the police for fear he might escape, although he is still in a coma.

Most Christians who were injured during the attack either went privately for treatment or quietly left hospital, "as it will end by them being arrested too," said Weesa Fawzy.

On May 13, in the village of Menbal, district of Matay, north of Minya province, a Muslim mob stormed the village church of Prince Tadros el-Mashreki and assaulted a person inside. They hurled stones and broke everything inside the church, including doors and windows. The mob then went along the streets looting and destroying all Coptic-owned businesses and pharmacies and torching cars. The Copts were also threatened to be expelled from the village. According to witnesses, any Copt who was met by the mob in the street was beaten up.

Attorney Dr. Ehab Ramzy, former MP, said that Menbal has a Muslim majority while Manshiet Menbal, 10 kilometers away, has a Coptc majority. In the afternoon of that day three Muslim youths went to Manshiet Menbal and harassed Coptic girls as they came out of church. "As they drove by, the Muslims threw plastic bags filled with urine at the girls," Ramzy said. "The Coptic youth defended the girls and, being outnumbered, the Muslims left." A couple of hours later Muslims congregated and attacked the church and the Coptic minority in village of Menbal.

"The two villages have nothing to do with each other, and Copts in Menbal have nothing at all to do with the quarrel that took place in Manshiet Menbal. They were attacked just because they are Christians," said Ramzy. Two Muslims were arrested from Menbal, and there is talk of a "reconciliation" meeting to be held. "Now security are looking for Christians to arrest them as a bargaining chip for this forthcoming "reconciliation" meeting," said Dr Ramzy.

This AP story suggests that both sides threw birdshot and Molotov cocktails and that the Christians began the conflict, but this is wildly unlikely. Muslim mobs brutalize Christians in Egypt on an increasingly frequent basis. The Christian community is small and embattled and doesn't go around picking fights. "Egypt Muslim-Christian Clashes Leave 1 Dead," from the Associated Press, May 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

CAIRO — Egyptian security officials say clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria left one man dead of a heart attack.

Officials say the clashes in the city's el-Dekheila suburb erupted when a Coptic man allegedly sexually harassed a Muslim woman.

Sounds like exactly the sort of charge that Islamic supremacists would trump up: their mythology is full of licentious, sexually predatory non-Muslims looking for their chance to prey upon good, modest Muslimas.

Residents of the area fired birdshot and threw Molotov cocktails at one another during the Friday night fighting.

Police say Christian resident Sherif Sedky died of a heart attack during the clashes. Police forces were beefed up around the local church Saturday in case of further violence....

They are the worst enemies of the Muslims (cf. Qur'an 5:82). So this is not unexpected. What is worst about it is that the international media and "human rights community" will not even bat an eye. But imagine if a Christian cleric said something even a tenth this hateful and evil -- it would be the top story all over the world for days, maybe even weeks. But when it comes to Muslims, the multiculturalists display their unconscious ethnocentrism, and give their genocidal bloodlust a pass.

"Egyptian Cleric Sami Abu Al-'Ala Calls on God to Annihilate Jews, Make Them Widows and Orphans," from MEMRI, May 3 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Egyptian cleric Sami Abu Al-'Ala, which aired on Al-Hafez TV on May 3, 2013:

Sami Abu Al-'Ala: Oh Allah, make the conspiracies of the Jews their own ruin. Oh Allah, crush their soldiers and their weapons, destroy their homes, freeze the blood in their veins, disperse them, make their children orphans and their women widows, and shake the earth under their feet. Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews as you annihilated the peoples of 'Aad and Thamud. Oh Allah, make the Jews annihilate themselves.

The Copts have to know their place: as dhimmis, subservient to the Muslims. That is their place in the new, Obama-endorsed Muslim Brotherhood Egypt. If they don't accept it, the mobs will come. "Mob Attack Copts and their Businesses in Northern Egypt," from the Christian Post, May 15 (thanks to AINA):

Coptic-owned businesses and pharmacies in Menbal village, Minya in northern Egypt were attacked by a mob, resulting in extensive damage and several injuries.

"The thugs attacked my shop, assaulting it with stones. Some of the contents were damaged … they destroyed a number of Coptic-owned shops and pharmacies," Michael Sobhi, a witness from the village, told Mideast Christian News.

"The Copts of the village couldn't confront the thugs, as their numbers increased. They had firearms and blades, so Copts tried to avoid fighting with them," he added.

"The thugs began the attack by insulting Copts from the village entrance and car park," Sobhi continued. "They threatened to expel them from the village."

Sobhi said the mob attacked Coptic citizen Ibrahim Abdou, 48, and his wife as they were returning home. Abdou suffered a cut to the forehead from a blade and his wife sustained bruises.

The Copts of the village submitted a complaint to the Matai Police Station and security forces were sent out to difuse [sic] the situation and disperse the crowd....

As Egypt continues its rapid descent to Sharia and Pakistan-like conditions. "Jail Time Extended for Teacher Accused of Blasphemy in Egypt," from Morning Star News, May 13:

CAIRO, Egypt (Morning Star News) – A judge in Egypt on Saturday (May 11) ordered 15 days of additional incarceration for a Coptic Christian teacher jailed last week on accusations of blasphemy and evangelism.

Three elementary schoolchildren and some teachers in the village of Al-Edisat, Luxor Province had complained on April 10 about social studies teacher Dimyana Obeid Abd Al-Nour, who rotates among three schools in the area. They accused her of making allegedly blasphemous comments while she was teaching on April 8 about Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten, a pharaoh who introduced a form of monotheistic theology to ancient Egypt.

Accounts differ, but in some versions of the alleged incident, Al-Nour also made comparisons between the former head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the late Pope Shenouda III, and Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.

The three students from Sheikh Sultan Primary School, along with their parents and a handful of teachers, complained to the school administrator, and school officials contacted legal authorities. Al-Nour has not been charged, but on Thursday (May 9) the judge ordered her to be held in prison for four days pending the outcome of an investigation by the general prosecutor’s office....

The blasphemy and evangelizing accusations against Al-Nour reflect two growing trends in Egypt – disproportionate use of the nation’s blasphemy statutes against members of Egypt’s Christian minority, and blasphemy charges against people working in education, human rights officials said.

“The education system in Egypt is not based on thinking and freedom of expression, but on copying without knowing, and the absence of a forgiving culture, and refusing the other – not accepting the other,” said Ishak Ibrahim, freedom of religion and belief officer for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

Ibrahim said people are targeting Christians using the nation’s blasphemy statutes as a weapon. An EIPR study to be released at the end of this month found that 41 percent of blasphemy cases taken to court from Jan. 25, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2012, were filed against Christians, who make up only about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 83 million people.

The total of 36 blasphemy cases involved 63 people. The country’s Sunni Muslim majority, which makes up almost 90 percent of the Egypt’s population, were charged in 59 percent of the cases.

Of the 36 blasphemy cases brought to court, only one case was filed against someone for blaspheming Christianity – in spite of a near-constant din of insults by the nation’s religious leaders against Christians and Christianity on Egypt’s television and radio airwaves. That single case, a blasphemy charge against Sheik Abu Islam for publically burning a Bible in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, was dismissed. A private Coptic attorney is trying to re-file the case....

More glorious fruit of the Arab Spring. "3 Arrested in Plot to Bomb Egyptian Cities and Embassy," by Ben Hubbard in the New York Times, May 11 (thanks to Kenneth):

CAIRO — Egyptian security forces have arrested three militants with ties to Al Qaeda who were planning terrorist attacks in Egyptian cities and against a foreign embassy, the interior minister said Saturday.

A Western official said the Egyptians had privately identified the embassy as the United States Embassy in Cairo.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said at a news conference that the suspects had been arrested with 22 pounds of explosive materials and instructions on how to make bombs and build rockets and model airplanes to use in the attacks.

He said the suspects were “on the verge” of attacking an embassy when they were arrested.

He did not identify the embassy, but Egyptian officials have told their American counterparts that the United States Embassy was a target, a Western diplomat said....

Clueless and/or complicit Western writers such as Eric Posner, Sarah Chayes, and bottom feeder and stalker Nathan Lean (aka "Garibaldi") must be so pleased.

"As more people are arrested for blasphemy in Egypt, a young Christian teacher is jailed," from Asia News, May 11 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Luxor (AsiaNews) - Under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, more and more people are being arrested in Egypt on allegations of insulting Islam. The latest case involves a Coptic teacher who was detained on the order of the Prosecutor's Office in the Governorate of Luxor, and is set to remain behind bars until the end of the investigations.

Until her arrest, Demyana Emad was a 23-year-old social studies teacher at the Sheik Sultan primary school in south Luxor. She became a case in April, when the head of the parents' association filed a complaint against the teacher for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in front of her pupils, a charge Ms Emad has rejected, calling for more evidence to be brought to the fore.

What is known is that recently, several Islamic "extremists" pushed their way into the school to press the pupils to testify against her.

Edam's case is not unique. With the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood, more and more people, especially minority Copts, have been detained on allegations of blasphemy and insulting Islam.

The most serious case occurred back in October in Bani Suef (Upper Egypt) when two Coptic children Nabil Nagy Rzik, 10, and Mina Nady Farag, 9, were arrested after local Islamic authorities accused them of urinating on some pages of the Koran.

Despite the resistance of their parents and the local priest, who pointed out that the two kids were illiterate, the imam of their village put pressure for their detention.

In another case in September 2012 in Sohag, Bishoy Kamel, a Coptic religion teacher, was sentenced to six years for posting blasphemous cartoons and insults against President Mohammed Morsi on Facebook. He has always maintained his innocence and said that he is the victim of a plot.

On 13 September 2012, police arrested Saber Albert, a 25-year-old Coptic man for posting an anti-Islam film that caused demonstrations all over the world.

Saber is still in custody awaiting trial.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is staging an anti-Israel rally in Cairo to protest Israeli airstrikes in Syria and the detention of a Muslim cleric.

Chants of “the people want destruction of Israel” rang out Friday inside Al-Azhar mosque, the centuries-old seat of Sunni Muslim learning.

The rally is the first such protest by the Brotherhood, from which Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi hails, since it gained prominence after 2011 uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

Group officials say they are protesting the Israeli detention of top Palestinian Muslim cleric in the Holy Land in a rare crackdown on a leading religious figure that drew fierce condemnation from Palestinians. The demonstrators also were denouncing Israeli airstrikes in Syria that targeted alleged shipments of advanced Iranian missiles thought to be bound for Hezbollah.

Selling alcohol: haram. Murdering someone who sells alcohol: pleasing to Allah.

Sharia Alert from the Sinai: "‘Islamist’ gunmen kill alcohol seller in Egypt’s Sinai," from Reuters, May 6:

Gunmen shot a man dead who was selling alcohol in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Sunday in an attack security officials said was likely carried out by Islamist militants.

The four gunmen killed Rami Ahmed, 28, at a bar on a main road near El-Arish, a town in the northern Sinai Peninsula. It is an area where Islamist militant influence has expanded since the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak more than two years ago.

"We are still in the early stages of the investigation but it is likely that Islamic hardliners were behind the incident," one of the security officials said. He said the victim came from the Nile Delta, north of Cairo, suggesting the shooting was unlikely to be related to local tribal rivalries.

Egypt’s government has been trying re-establish state authority that collapsed in Sinai following the 2011 uprising against Mubarak. Hardline Islamist groups based mostly in North Sinai have exploited the vacuum to launch attacks both across the border into Israel and on Egyptian targets....

Today is Orthodox Easter, and for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood regime, that meant is was the occasion for a bit more Islamic supremacism. "No 'Happy Easter': The Muslim Brotherhood's Bizarre Religious Intolerance," by Eric Trager in the Atlantic, May 3:

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's decision not to attend this coming Sunday's Coptic Easter mass was entirely predictable. Morsi, after all, declined to attend Pope Tawadros II's November investiture and, during his previous stint as chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, Morsi visited a church on Christmas but made a point of emphasizing that he exited before services started. Yet because Morsi's decision comes on the heels of a Brotherhood fatwa prohibiting Muslims from wishing Christians a "Happy Easter," Morsi's coldness towards Christians reflects a central paradox of the Brotherhood's Islamism: despite its longtime promise to "implement the sharia" upon achieving power, the Brotherhood only offers specific interpretations of Islamic legal principles when it needs to justify its most intolerant impulses.

The fatwa, authored by Brotherhood leader Abdel Rahman al-Barr, is noteworthy for its degree of analytical detail. In it, Barr quotes extensively from the Qur'an to argue that Muslims should only greet Christians on their holidays "so long as this greeting does not come at the expense of our [Islamic] religion." In other words, Barr writes, Muslims cannot wish Christians a "Happy Easter," because "our belief as Muslims, which makes ambiguity impossible, is that [Jesus] wasn't killed or crucified," though Muslims can greet Christians on Easter with the non-sectarian Arabic salutation " kulu sana wa-entum tayyibun," which roughly means "hope you are well this year" and is used for all sorts of occasions, including birthdays. By contrast, he adds, wishing Christians a "Merry Christmas" is permissible, because Muslims view Jesus as a human prophet and thus acknowledge his birth.

What he means is that the Christians are properly dhimmis -- that is, the subjugated people under the rule of the Muslims. But the Copts have come out with weapons, and are thus in rebellion against their Muslim masters. In that case, their "contract of protection" (dhimma) that allows them to live in the Islamic state as long as they accept the denial of basic rights is forfeit, and according to Islamic law they can lawfully be killed.

"You Can 'Kill Some Christians Today,' Says Egypt's Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad Party," from MidEast Christian News, May 2 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Mohamed Abu Samra, secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad Party, made the claim that "it is permissible to kill some Christians today," then gave his argument defending such a position.

He justified this announcement by saying: "Those who came out with weapons, their blood is allowed for us [to spill], as a fighter is not considered dhimmi."

Dhimma is the Islamic law that specifies non-Muslims are to be protected residents within the Islamic state in exchange for taxes.

"In the recent funeral, the Christians brought the Qur'an and urinated on it.

Oh yeah, I'm sure that happened.

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar did not deny it. They also came out in demonstrations to destroy Muslim places, chanting 'We'll bring Islam down by any means possible,'" Samra said during an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al-Watan on Wednesday.

"Jihad gagged the new pope, as we told him in a statement 'your seclusion will not terrorize us.' If you want civil war, we will welcome it as you were the ones who started it," Samra said.

"I believe that Pope Tawadros is more dangerous than Shenouda, because the former considers using force as he is trying to establish a Coptic state. He considers the arrival of the Islamists an opportunity to declare civil war," Samra continued. "I believe that offering concessions to this person will make him continue on the path, which he charted, but the end will not be as he expects. Egypt is not like Lebanon or Southeast Asia, and national unity is a fact [here]."

"What Tawadros is doing is a far cry from what the Coptic people want," he added.

Samra stated to the newspaper that the Church stands behind the organization "Black Bloc," and that the "Tayyiban Battalion," which he claimed was formed under the late Pope Shenouda III under the cover of scouting, was trained in Lebanon and participated in the Lebanese civil war.

H.H Pope Tawadros II has not responded to such accusations. As for the claims of the Church supporting Black Bloc or its origins, there is no evidence for such and the scouting groups of the Church are responsible for church organization during prayers and did not receive any training in Lebanon.

The Salafists are even more strongly committed to imposing Sharia than is the Muslim Brotherhood. And now Salafist leaders have been invited to the U.S. by two mosques led by Salafists in the U.S. And there is talk in Egypt that Obama may back these hardline Islamic supremacists. "Finally, Salafists to visit the US: On their first visit to Washington, how will Egypt's Salafists present themselves, especially on issues like democracy, women and Copts?," by Mohamed El-Menshawy for Ahram Online, April 27 (thanks to David):

In a few days, several Salafist leaders will go to the US on their first trip to Washington, led by preacher Yasser Borhami of the Salafist Call. It was only a matter of time before they would visit the US capital after the creation of several Salafist political parties that declared their respect for the rules of the democratic political process and rejected violence as a means to achieve political goals. Also, after Salafists won nearly 25 per cent of People's Assembly seats before that body was dissolved by the courts.

Although the visit is an ordinary one, many are compelled to blow it out of proportion. Borhami denied his itinerary in the US would include meeting a number of US politicians and officials, saying that once the trip takes place it will be a missionary not political trip.

He added in statements to Al-Shurouq, however, that it is very likely the trip will be cancelled because entry visas are taking nearly an entire month to acquire. He explained the trip is based on an invitation by two Islamic centres in the US, Al-Manhal and Al-Tawheed, who are led by Salafists.

Borhami added that El-Nour Party will visit the US in the coming phase as well, as part of its campaign to connect with Egyptian expatriates there, and that there wasn’t too much coordination between the two trips since they have different itineraries.

I spoke to an Egyptian official, who believes Washington played a major role in everything taking place in Egypt, who said the trip will pave the way for Washington to switch its alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood for one with Salafist groups, especially because the Brotherhood has performed so poorly since President Mohamed Morsi came to power in the middle of last year.

I then spoke with a leader in the liberal current in Egypt who frequently visits Washington, who said US President Barack Obama and US Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson “are die-hard defenders of the Brotherhood-Salafist Islamist project.”

I then spoke to a former US official about the trip, who was not surprised at all. “It is normal for Salafists to visit the US,” he said. “Just like the Muslim Brotherhood and liberals do.”

Many in Washington believe a successful link with representatives of Egypt’s Salafist current is likely, although only a few months ago it was unimaginable that there would be direct dialogue between the two sides. An indicator of this was the fact that no talks or meetings were held between senior US officials who visited Egypt over the past few months and any Salafist leaders, unlike with senior Brotherhood and liberal leaders.

Meanwhile, Salafists will face a serious problem during their visit to Washington. They have already been preceded by the Muslim Brotherhood that presented itself as the legitimate representative of moderate Islam, and was generally accepted in US and Western circles. As for the Salafists, no one knows how they will present themselves in the West. Will they pose as an alternative to violent political groups? Will they promote themselves as an alternative to Al-Qaeda? Or will they present themselves as representatives of conservative fundamentalist Islam?

Salafists can easily remind US officials and citizens of what Obama said at Cairo University, in terms of his respect for the desires and choices of the people. He had declared: “The US welcomes all governments that are elected democratically and peacefully.” Salafists in Egypt are on the far right of religious politics, and the political right for the rest of the world. They are a key component of Egypt’s reality that cannot be ignored.

If they do end up travelling to Washington, Salafists will be assailed by an onslaught on their positions — positions are difficult to understand from an American perspective or to justify as part of “Egypt’s cultural individuality.” It is no longer a secret that some Salafist leaders have altogether rejected the entire “democratic process” and some of their senior sheikhs discourage political participation, such as balloting or nominating themselves in elections, or even participating in protests. Some of them believe democracy is merely a vessel and tool to be used to apply Sharia law.

Washington will also ask Salafists about their position on women’s issues and how some sheikhs said women’s attention should focus on the home and family, rejecting the notion of women going out to work. They will also be asked how some Salafists demanded the imposition of Islamic dress on all Egyptian women.

As for the issue of the Coptic minority, I do not believe Salafists have any convincing answers for the people of Egypt or the rest of the world that could justify their extreme and sectarian positions against a Christian becoming president, or even taking a senior position in the state.

The biggest hurdle will be Salafist rejection of political pluralism in its broader sense. Salafists have not yet found a clear, let alone convincing, answer to the issue of the “Other”, which includes definitions of citizenship, and the political and non-political rights and duties of citizens irrespective of faith, devoutness or gender. Continuous Salafist demands for the release of the blind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman will fall on deaf ears in Washington. Abdel-Rahman is convicted of crimes related to terrorism, being implicated in the bombing of the World Trade Centre in 1993 that killed American citizens. It is impossible for Salafists to expect him to be released as part of any kind of political arrangement or deal.

Direct contact between Washington and Salafsts serves US interests and will be a great asset for Washington. The US will be able to boldly declare it is open to all political forces in Egypt, especially those who do not share its ideology or outlook. Such a declaration would also support the leverage of US negotiators when they sit with Egyptians to discuss pending bilateral issues that are sometimes fraught.

Over the years at Jihad Watch we have seen innumerable times how police in countries like Pakistan or Indonesia stand idly by and do nothing as Muslim mobs brutalize Christians or other non-Muslims. This is because they share the attackers' Islamic supremacist belief system. And now, with the advent of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, we see it there as well. "New video shows Egyptian police allowing deadly attack on Coptic cathedral," from FoxNews.com, April 25 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

Newly-emerged video appears to show Egyptian police standing idly by - and even helping attackers during a deadly assault earlier this month on a Coptic cathedral where Christians were mourning five men killed in an earlier clash with Muslims.

The video shot April 7 and first obtained by MidEast Christian News, shows a men shooting guns, wielding machetes and hurling stones and possibly Molotov cocktails as mourners carry caskets out of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District of Cairo as uniformed police watch, unmoving. At one point, a police officer appears to help a gunman take aim at a courtyard full of mourners who had spilled out of the church. The attack left two Copts dead and another 84 people injured, including 11 police officers.

When it was over, the only arrests made were of four Copts. Christians, who were already outraged over a three-day attack that began April 4 attack in Khosous which saw the four men killed and homes, a nursery and a church burned, said the events show how elusive justice is for Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the nation's population.

"Two Copts were killed during the attack on the Cathedral; four more died in Khosous, yet not one of their attackers has been arrested," said Andrew Johnston, advocacy director for Christian Solidarity Worldwide. “These arrests come at a time when the Coptic community in Egypt is still coming to terms with an unprecedented attack on the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the violence in Khosous. Such discrepancies in the discharge of justice contribute to impunity, and can only foster more sectarianism.”

Tensions between Egypt's Christians and the majority Sunni Muslims have grown dramatically since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and replaced by the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of Mohammed Morsi....

How's that interfaith dialogue working out for you, Bishop?

"Egyptian Muslims murdering Christians with impunity," from Catholic Online, April 25 (thanks to Rene):

CAIRO, EGYPT (Catholic Online) - Clashes between Muslims and Christians have claimed 10 live in Egypt where sectarian violence between the groups has been renewed in the face of Mohammed Morsi's administration.

The most recent spate of violence started after children drew crosses on the walls of an Islamic institute in Khosoos, just north of Cairo. That acts of children's vandalism sparked a bloody retaliation from Muslims in which four Christians and a Muslim were killed.

At the Christian funeral, Muslims struck again, this time carrying on until they reached the Coptic cathedral and damaged the structure. More Christians were murdered.

Note that it's Muslims who are attacking Christian funeral processions, not the other way around.

Vandalism committed by children, particularly of a religious nature is unacceptable, however the punishment should not include murder. Nor should Muslims carry on the violence to the funerals of the people they murdered.

Pope Tawadros II, leader of Egypt's Coptic Christians, has openly criticized President Morsi for his failure to stem the violence despite pledges to do so. The Muslim attackers are yet to face any repercussions for their violence.

Copts make up 10 percent of Egypt's population and have resided there since ancient times, even in the centuries before Mohammed.

Unfortunately, the Copts have faced religious intolerance and discrimination, even after the Arab Spring revolution that promised democracy and freedom. Copts have been denied both, having been systematically cut out of the government and with greater restrictions placed on the constructions of churches.

Following this, Christians have done by far, the most bleeding and dying in street battles that are sparked by Muslims at any time they feel a Christian has wronged them. The slightest provocations are used.

This is a common thread through the Islamic world. Conservative, militant Muslims take offense at Christian behavior, often that of children, and convert that into a cause to rally violence against Christians.

Where most of the world lives in tolerance, these militant Muslims still follow the laws of Mohammed, laid down nearly 14 centuries ago - at least as far as violence towards others goes.

These people and their radical beliefs are the problem. They also seek to export these beliefs around the globe. Such extremism cannot be tolerated in any civil society and if Egypt wishes to someday claim to have a civil society, It will first have to deal with these violent extremists and protect all minorities, including Christians.

He sees it as a ball that has already started rolling. "Egyptian Cleric Abu Islam: Egypt's Authority Should Be Divided among Islamist Groups; Flag of Islam Will Soon Fly over White House," from MEMRI, March 18 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Abu Islam, which aired on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV on March 18, 2013:

Abu Islam: We have four large Islamic groups: The Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafis, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and Al-Gama’a Islamiyya. These are the four significant powers.

Is there anyone more qualified to lead the country than the Muslim Brotherhood? Then let the Muslim Brotherhood assume this responsibility.

Who should be in charge of religious affairs in Egypt? The Salafis. Is any group more qualified than the Salafis to regulate ideology? I choose the Salafis to run Al-Azhar and the Ministry of Religious Endowments.

We are left with the army and the police. Which is the best to run the police? The Muslim Brotherhood? No. The Salafis? No. Al-Gama’a Islamiyya is the best for the job. This leaves the army for the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

This is how disagreements can turn into pluralism, and I pray to Allah that this will be accepted by all, and the various powers of the Islamic nation will come together.

[…]

Interviewer: What about all the other people?

Abu Islam: What people?

Interviewer: All those people who do not belong to these four groups.

Abu Islam: Tell me exactly who you mean. The Communists?

Interviewer: For example…

Abu Islam: They have ruled for a long time. They have had enough. The liberals? They have ruled for a long time and have had enough too. Let’s give Islam a chance for once.

[…]

Trust me, very soon we will see the flag of “There is no god but Allah” flying over the White House. They are already holding [Muslim] prayers in the White House.

But don't be concerned. Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, said: "There is constant and in-depth dialogue with the Egyptians."

"Militants in Egyptian Sinai Fire Rockets Into Israel but Do No Damage," by Isabel Kershner for the New York Times, April 17:

JERUSALEM — Two rockets fired from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula struck the southern Israeli resort of Eilat on Wednesday, causing no damage or injuries, according to the Israeli military. The first such attack on that city in a year, it underscored the continuing threat from militants operating across the desert border.

But rather than serving as a new source of tension between Israel and Egypt under President Mohamed Morsi, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the attack prompted Israeli officials to speak of close cooperation between the countries over what they view as a joint interest.

“There is constant and in-depth dialogue with the Egyptians,” Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, told Israel Radio after the attack. “Egypt considers any kind of terror to be a threat to Egypt, and it is very committed to the peace agreement with us. This commitment has improved and is more intensive.”

Mr. Gilad added: “The rocket fire is meant to kill and to cause panic and to complicate our relationship with Egypt. We will make every effort to prevent this.”...

And I am sure that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood regime will make every effort as well.

And that message, he says, is "We are alive." And, apparently, "You are dead."

From MEMRI TV (thanks to Dave).

If Hamas-linked CAIR were really serious about countering the "extremists" with their #MyJihad campaign, they'd be running their ads in Cairo and directly challenging people like Jihad Movement Mufti Sayed Imam. "Jihad Movement leader calls for applying Sharia," from the Egypt Independent, April 14 (thanks to Bill):

Circumstances in Egypt will not improve unless Sharia is applied, Jihad Movement Mufti Sayed Imam said.

Imam said the Afghanistan’s Taliban model and Somali Islamic rule are the best systems and most able to protect society from “thuggery” and rape.

In an interview on privately owned satellite channel CBC Saturday, Imam called the Egyptian state an “infidel,” since the Muslim Brotherhood, after President Mohamed Morsy’s took office, introduced — like previous regimes in Egyptian history — manmade laws that he described as “imported from abroad.”

The mufti, whom show host Emad Adib described as the “real leader of the movement,” said the “infidel state does not mean that its people are infidels, but they should perform jihad as long as they have the ability.”

He defined “jihad” as “fighting infidels, not to seek livelihood and or education.”

“The Muslim Brotherhood does not have a basis in Sharia,” Imam said, saying the group has since its foundation been too flexible toward Sharia. “Hassan al-Banna believed the Egyptian state was a home for Islam, and its ruler was Muslim, which is incompatible with the idea of founding the group.”

Banna, an Islamic scholar, founded the Brotherhood in 1928.

“The Brotherhood spent 80 years between infidelity and negligence until we ended up with it as infidel ruler, and those who want the permanence of infidelity are infidels,” Imam said.

The mufti also discussed Al-Qaeda, saying the group is just training camps. He said most Al-Qaeda members were Saudis and Yemenis as well as followers of Osama bin Laden who “refused to comply with any approach and to give him the freedom to act with this followers, and he expulsed those who demanded that he adopt a doctrine.”

Bin Laden required his followers to have absolute obedience, Imam said. A person would not follow bin Laden unless he or she was “ignorant of religion or a mercenary.”

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s relationship with Al-Qaeda came late, only three months before the September 11 attacks, Imam said, adding that Zawahiri, an Egyptian, was not aware of bin Laden masterminding the attacks.

Imam said he has cut relations with others.

“I see, however, that armed jihad is the duty of everyone, whatever their sins, depending on their abilities,” he said.