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Raymond Ibrahim: The Significance of Sisi’s Speech

Jan 10, 2015 9:21 am By Raymond Ibrahim

EGYPT-POLITICS-VOTE-SISI[Via FrontPage Mag]

On New Year’s Day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi—the hero of Egypt’s 2013 anti-Muslim Brotherhood revolution—made some remarkable comments concerning the need for a “religious revolution.”

Click here to watch the video with English subtitles or click here to read.

Sisi made his remarks during a speech celebrating the birth of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad—which was ironically held on January 1, 2015 (a day not acknowledged or celebrated in the Muslim world as it is based on a Christian calendar)—and he was addressing the nation’s top Islamic authorities from among the Awqaf Ministry (religious endowments) and Al Azhar University.

Although Sisi’s words were directed to Islam’s guardians and articulators, they indirectly lead to several important lessons for Western observers.

First, in just a few words, Sisi delivered a dose of truth and hard-hitting reality concerning the Islamic world’s relationship to the rest of the world—a dose of reality very few Western leaders dare think let alone proclaim.

“It’s inconceivable,” he said, “that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire umma [Islamic world] to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world.  Impossible!”

What a refreshingly honest statement to come from not only a political leader but a Muslim political leader who has much to lose, not least his life!  Contrast his very true words with the habitual reassurances of the Western establishment that Islamic world violence and intolerance is a product of anything and everything but Islam.

Even after the appearance of the head-chopping, infidel-crucifying Islamic State, politicians like U.S. President Obama and U.K. Prime Minister Cameron insisted that the “caliphate” is not Islamic, despite all the evidence otherwise. Yet here is Sisi, the pious Muslim, saying that the majority of the terrorism plaguing the world today is related to the holy texts of Islam themselves:

That thinking [that is responsible for producing “anxiety, danger, killing and destruction” around the world]—I am not saying “religion” but “thinking”—that corpus of texts and ideas that we have sacralized over the centuries, to the point that departing from them has become almost impossible, is antagonizing the entire world.  It’s antagonizing the entire world!

As a Muslim, Sisi will not say that Islam, the “religion,” is responsible for “antagonizing the entire world,” but he certainly goes much further than his Western counterparts when he says that this “thinking” is rooted in an Islamic “corpus of texts and ideas” which have become so “sacralized.”

Recall that here in the West, Islamic terrorists are seen as mere “criminals” and their terrorism as “crimes” without mention of any Islamic text or ideology driving them.

The Egyptian president further invoked the classical Islamic teaching—the “thinking”—that divides the world into two warring halves: the Muslim world (or in Islamic/Arabic parlance, Dar al-Islam) which must forever be in a struggle with the rest of the world (or Dar al-Harb, the “abode of war”) till, in the Koran’s words, “all religion belongs to Allah” (Koran 8:39).

“Is it possible,” asked Sisi, “that 1.6 billion people should want to kill the rest of the world’s inhabitants—that is 7 billion—so that they themselves may live?”

Sisi made another important point that Western leaders and media habitually lie about: after affirming that Islamic “thinking” is “antagonizing the entire world,” he said that “this umma is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost—and it is being lost by our own hands.”

In other words, Islamic terrorism and chaos is not a product of grievance, territorial disputes, colonialism, Israel, offensive cartoons, or anything else the West points to.  It’s a product of their “own hands.”

Again, one must appreciate how refreshing it is for a top political leader in the heart of the Islamic world to make such candid admissions that his Western counterparts dare not even think let alone speak. And bear in mind, Sisi has much to lose as opposed to Western politicians.  Calls by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists that he is an apostate are sure to grow more aggressive now.

The critic may ask, “All well and good, but words aside, what has Sisi actually done to help bring about this “religious revolution”?  In fact, one popular journalist, Ibrahim Eissa, recently said just this on live television in Egypt:

Five months have passed since he [Sisi] became president, after his amazing showing at elections.  Okay: the president has, more than once, indicated the need for a renewal of religious discourse….  But he has not done a single thing, President Sisi, to renew religious discourse.  Nothing at all.

Yet it seems that Sisi has an answer for this, too: it is not his job as president of Egypt to reform the thinking of the Islamic world; rather, that role belongs to the ulema—which is precisely why he addressed them with such candid words.  Indeed, he repeatedly stressed that it is the ulema’s job to lead this “religious revolution.”

Thus, “I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible before Allah. The entire world, I say it again, the entire world is waiting for your next move…. I am saying these words here at Al Azhar, before this assembly of scholars and ulema—Allah Almighty be witness to your truth on Judgment Day concerning that which I’m talking about now.”

Meanwhile, while Sisi was making these groundbreaking if not historic statements, the Western mainstream media, true to form, ignored them and instead offered puerile and redundant headlines, most critical of Sisi, like:

  • “Egypt President Sisi urged to free al-Jazeera reporter” (BBC, Jan 1; to which I respond, “Why, so Al Jazeera can continue lying and misleading the West about Sisi and Egypt’s anti-Muslim Brotherhood revolution?”)
  •  “Egyptian gays living in fear under Sisi regime” (USA Today, Jan. 2; to which I respond, “Homosexuals live in fear in all Islamic nations, regardless of Sisi.”)
  •  “George Clooney’s wife Amal risks arrest in Egypt” (Fox News, Jan. 3; to which I respond, “Who cares?  Only her innocence or guilt matter, not her husband’s fame”—which is the only reason Fox News chose the story in the first place.)

Whether concerning the true nature of Islam or the true nature of Sisi, here is the latest example of how unfathomably ignorant all those millions of people who exclusively follow the so-called “mainstream media” must surely be.

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Filed Under: Egypt, Islamic reform, Uncategorized Tagged With: Abdel Fatah el-Sisi


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Comments

  1. Jackbo Godfrey says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 9:46 am

    Very enlightening. So it seems both Murdoch AND Sissi agree there is responsibility and accountability towards Islam and Muslims worldwide.

    Well that is progress I suppose but will see where any of this might go . . .

    Again, excellent posting and analysis.

  2. Don McKellar says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 9:54 am

    “Recall that here in the West, Islamic terrorists are seen as mere “criminals” and their terrorism as “crimes” without mention of any Islamic text or ideology driving them.”

    It’s actually only the tiny minority of extremeist leftists who have taken over the media in the past few decades, and cowardly politicians (desperate for post-office wealth and position to be paid for by oil rich Middle East patrons) who see it this way. The majority of people in the world have a better picture of reality. Endless mass murders and Islamic killers quoting the Koran and Islamic texts in their manifestos on the internet, and during their trials if they are caught, and screaming Allah Akbar as they attack innocent, helpless people with machettes, guns, bombs, et al, has really begun to sink in.

  3. Zoltar says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:04 am

    I agree, this is the most positive statement to come out of the Arab world for a long time. Yet the MSM, for example the BBC, has ignored it. Maybe the MSM unlike SIS don’t want to admit there may be a problem because it challenges their ideology of Multikulti.

  4. RonaldB says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:20 am

    I have endless admiration for Sisi’s courage. With all due respect to him, things work somewhat differently in a representative republic, as you find in the United States. An elected official here who gets too far ahead of his constituency will not be an elected leader long, certainly under the bastardization of the original constitution as mandated by the Supreme Court.

    The appropriate actions in the United States are to form educational groups and political action committees. They should NOT be tax-exempt, as this puts their content under scrutiny by the IRS and several other politicized government agencies. The purpose of the committees should be to

    1) break the suffocating bonds of political correctness that has stopped a frank discussion of Islam;

    2) hold politicians accountable for their positions concerning immigration and the admission of Muslims;

    3)provide information of a high-quality to the electorate concerning the infiltration of Muslims and Islamists into US agencies…this information should be truthful and should not shade or slant the facts for additional impact.

    4) last and perhaps most important, provide independent advertisements and campaign resources during elections. US election laws should be amended to allow unlimited individual (not corporate) contributions to politicians. Such contributions should be publicly recorded, and any conditions or promises made on the basis of contributions should be first-class felonies….Oh, and any direct or indirect foreign contributions to US election activity should also be a first-class felony, both to the contributor and to the beneficiary.

    • Oliver says

      Jan 10, 2015 at 4:03 pm

      Ronald B

      foreign contributions (at least to FEDERAL ELECTIONS) are illegal.

      before and after recent recent Supreme Court decisions. ( Citizens United). (Only dealt with US firms)

  5. Michael Copeland says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:24 am

    Excellent article: thank you.
    It is merciful of Sisi to consider what the 1.6 billion people should WANT to do. This, after all, is the basis of democracy, though not of Islam.
    “Is it possible,” asked Sisi, “that 1.6 billion people should want to kill the rest of the world’s inhabitants?”
    Alas, what the Slaves of Allah WANT is not part of Islam. The Koran commands that they fight (the unbelievers) even if they dislike it, at 2:216:
    “Fighting is enjoined on you, though it is disliked by you.”
    Sisi is up against centuries of inflexibility. He deserves all the support he can be given. Islam is bringing warfare upon itself. Only two outcomes are possible.

  6. jewdog says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:25 am

    Great speech by al Sisi. I’ve often wondered how long it would take before people’s self-interest and common sense would start appearing in the face of the religious insanity that’s wrecking the region. It’s finally happening.
    Egypt has terrible economic problems. The last thing they need is anarchy from a bunch of 7th century, head-hacking lunatics that not only distract them at home, but alienate potential allies abroad.

  7. Transmaster says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:49 am

    Nobody should be surprised by the MSM and their reporting of Jihad. This type of reporting has been going on for more then 100 years. Change the terminology from Islam, and Jihad to Communism and the Worker’s revolution. Stalin before WW2 was the darling of Western news papers. The mass starvation of some 20 million my German ancestors by Uncle Joe was not reported, The assassination of people like Trotsky who opposed Stalin received scant notice. The brutality of the Communist system on Russia was glossed over. People from the west traveled to the Soviet Union to help out with the socialist revolution. Today is Islamist’s who travel to the middle east to join the Jihad. You all know how that is being reported. Before WW2 the news of brutal rule of Stalin was dismissed by news papers like the New York Times and having nothing to do with Communism and Stalin. Nothing changes. Go back into the 1870’s and in was the “Indian problem”. With the Eastern newspapers it was the “Noble Savage” while in the West is was “The only good Indian is a dead Indian”. The parallels are so much like the present, substitute Indian War Party, with Jihad Terrorist. Both Native American’s and Jihadist felt they where justified in their actions. Native Americans where treated as subhumans, and Jihadist think everyone outside Islam, and their particular branch of Islam are subhuman. Nothing changes.

  8. Salah says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:56 am

    Thank you, Raymond. Great analysis.
    I knew from day one that this man is special. I knew it even before he was elected as president. Long time Jihad Watchers know very well what I’m talking about.

    There’s something missing in this great analysis, though. Something greater than al-Sisi: in every move he makes, in every decision he takes, this president has the full backing of more than 85 million egyptians, most of them Muslims.
    Sisi is trying to change the “thinking” of Islam BECAUSE that’s what most egyptian Muslims want.

    After only ONE year in power, the Muslim Brotherhood thugs have done what no one has ever done: uniting the egyptian people, Christians and Muslims, against them, against violence, against this islamic “thinking.”
    In other words, against True Islam (though subtly.)

    Thanks again.
    N.B. It would be nice if you have the time to translate the Christmas Day video of al-Sisi at the Coptic Cathedral.

    Father Botros (Islam’s enemy #1) on al-Sisi:
    http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/10/zakaria-botros-on-al-sisi.html

    • Januk36 says

      Jan 10, 2015 at 12:21 pm

      Salah, there is something in Egypt I envy them for despite all the problems the society may have. It’s like seeing the light of enlightenment seeing sparked in place where nobody would suspect while “discurse” in Europe seems slow be dominated by superstition and magical thinking again. I’m not referring to islam but to dogmas and intolerance.

      Isis speech has been completely underreported and I find it extremely annoying. He would offer the general public in Europe a different perspective on the islamic world. Ironically it’s alway the extremists and the spineless western appeaser action as information filter.

      All the best to you Salah.

      • Salah says

        Jan 10, 2015 at 2:45 pm

        Thank you, Januk36.

        Al-Sisi’s speech has been completely underreported because the Muslim Brotherhood thugs have infiltrated all levels of Western governments, including the US. They are in control of most of the MSM, campuses, academics, universities, etc.
        They have lost Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, etc. So, they have to flourish somewhere else…the West.

      • Clare says

        Jan 10, 2015 at 10:08 pm

        NGO’s and blogs like this one may have more clout than is realized. It would be stunning if Egyptian President General Al-Sisi were to be invited America to speak through one of the top-notch conferences that Frontpage, et al., put together. These conferences have been an A+ opposition to the radical liberal governance in America. To invite this statesman would be…well, significant. A sea change. Just like his speech.

    • Januk36 says

      Jan 10, 2015 at 12:22 pm

      Sorry for the typos. I mean SISI, not Isis.

  9. mortimer says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    Raymond Ibrahim wrote: “here is the latest example of how unfathomably ignorant all those millions of people who exclusively follow the so-called “mainstream media” must surely be”

    The “mainstream media” is unfathomably ignorant about Islam and the editors are criminally negligent in this because they do not hire journalists with a profound knowledge of Islam. In the matter of Islamic knowledge, most journalists don’t know where to start.

  10. CogitoErgoSum says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 1:47 pm

    I note that Sissi is calling for a religious “revolution’ as opposed to a religious “reformation.” It may be hard to believe that 1.5 billion Muslims should want to kill or subjugate the other 5.5 billion people in the world but this is exactly what the Quran demands. The numbers do not make any difference. The commands of the Quran are the same whether the world’s population is 7 million, 7 billion or just 7. Muslims believe the Quran is the perfect and eternal word of Allah and it can be changed only by Allah or Allah’s messenger. Since Muhammad was Allah’s LAST messenger and Muhammad is DEAD, the Quran cannot be changed. Thus, it would take a revolution against Allah to change any goals as stated in the Quran. No, Islam cannot be reformed today but I believe Islam WAS reformed once and it was done according to Allah’s wishes by Muhammad following the Hegira from Mecca to Medina. This reformation has been obscured by the manner in which the Quran is organized. If the verses were rearranged into chronological order instead of being arranged in order of surah length it would be more apparent that Islam WAS reformed into the murderous ideology it is today. Sissi and other more “peaceful” Muslims seem to want to return to the more passive type of Islam preached by Muhammad before the Hejira. This more passive pre-Hegira Islam was reformed and replaced by the more aggressive post-Hegira Islam being practiced by the jihadists.and other devout Muslims I call extremists today. According to Muhammad’s reformed Islam these jihadists and extremists are truly the best of the “best of people.” (I nearly gag as I type these words.)

    I think the clearest way to make more widely known the fact that Islam has been reformed before (by Muhammad) is to rearrange the order of the verses in the Quran. The current order of the verses in the Quran came at the decree of a Caliph so why couldn’t the order be changed by the decree of another Caliph? It just so happens we do have a Caliph right now at the head of the Islamic State and he could order this rearrangement of verses in the Quran. Even Sissi, if he were Caliph, could re-organize the Quran. However, I do not think this would help promote a more peaceful Islam and probably would lead to a revolt against Islam by those who prefer the illusion of a “religion of peace.” The fact is that no one, not even the Caliph, may add or subtract one word from the Quran or change the meaning of Islam (which is submission). So …….. reform Islam: NO, revolt against and overthrow Islam: YES. But, in my opinion, changing Islam from what it is now will come at a tremendous cost in suffering and in lives lost. I hope that I am wrong.

  11. Salah says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    The Washington Times:

    Will Egypt show America how to win the war on radical Islamic jihadism?

    President el-Sisi plays for his life against determined internal and external opposition while President Obama merely preens before friendly partisan crowds.

    Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/8/charles-ortel-will-egypt-show-america-how-win-war-/#ixzz3OS87iERO
    Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

  12. Ramon says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    How about the Egyptian government proclaim protection for those who would want to leave Islam now, en masse, without the fear of being killed…?

    I bet over half would leave in a minute…the women half, for starters…

  13. Dracula says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 1:50 am

    I concur with Spencer’s lauding of Sisi, but reporters should not be imprisoned. Let error of opinion be corrected by other press agents and sites like jihadwatch, but I do not agree with imprisoning a journalist even if he is a an Al-Jazeera propagandist.

  14. Glorious says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 9:29 am

    I agree with you, as usual, but am concerned about the continued persecution of Christians and abduction and forced marriages of Copt girls. Why has he not stopped that?

  15. Sam says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 10:49 am

    Sisi and Nathenyahu are the hope for freedom with help from Putin against Islam. We have no leaders with balls in the West. Allen West would be my choice to lead the west against Islam but he can not win against the REAL ENEMY, LIBERALS for now. When will we start defending ourselves?

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