Egypt is collapsing!

[vector7]

Lara Logan Raped and Beaten in Cairo as New York Journalist Nir Rosen Makes Fun‏

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 10:04 AM Suzanna Bowling



An American reporter has been beaten and raped in Cairo Egypt. CBS’s 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan was beaten and sexually assaulted at the hands of a mob of over 200 people, while covering the Tahrir Square celebrations the day Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

Logan, separated her from her crew and security, was attacked and the result was "brutal and sustained."

Ironically, it was a group of women and approximately 20 or so Egyptian soldiers who came to her rescue. Reunited with her colleagues, she returned to her hotel and was on the first flight back to the United States the next morning.

Logan was not the only one injured. Previous attacks occurred on CNN’s Anderson Cooper when he was punched in the head multiple times. Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot and cameraman Olaf Wiig, were also severely beaten. Wiig was kidnapped in 2006 with another Fox correspondent, Steve Centanni, by armed men in the Gaza Strip.

A correspondent for the Swedish public broadcaster SVT was stabbed, as was a correspondent from the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. Others were detained. Equipment was taken and damaged.

What’s worse is that several reporters and bloggers have made fun and ridiculed Lara Logan’s rape. Simone Wilson’s LA Weekly post mocked Logan’s beauty, saying, “Egyptian protesters apparently consummated their new found independence by sexually assaulting the blonde reporter.” Why does this man still have a job? This was a woman who is a board member of CPJ, a 30-year-old independent nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the rights of journalists. It keeps tabs on abuses.

The Mofo Politics blog wrote; “OMG if I were her captors and there were no sanctions for doing so, I would totally rape her.” They have since revised it: “Super funny joke deleted in light of the sad news that Lara Logan actually was raped in Egypt.” Can I just say, however, that I sooo totally called this.” Why is this allowed?

The worst is journalist Nir Rosen, a fellow at NYU who continually bashed Logan on his Twitter page, saying "Lara Logan had to outdo Anderson.

Where was her buddy McCrystal? I’d be amused if Anderson Cooper had also been sexually assaulted." Since then, Nir Rosen has deleted some of his in-poor-taste comments. Here is his bio: Born in New York City in 1977, Nir Rosen is a freelance writer, photographer and film-maker who has worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and other popular tourist destinations. His book on Iraq "In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq," was published by Simon and Schuster early in 2006. He can be reached at NIRROSEN@YAHOO.COM Mr. Rosen writes for the New York Times, Harpers, The Washington Post as well as other publications.



Let’s hope, as this is published, that he loses his fellow with NYU and NO paper will have anything to do with him. This is reverse racism. Because Lara Logan was beautiful should a violation of such magnitude be her fate?

What kind of sick world do we live in? To wish rape on anybody, especially a fellow journalist should require some consequences. Perhaps if this were so, the sickness and hate would stop!

[Ryan Ruck]

That is absolutely disgusting. What happened to her and that pig, Nir.

He's already resigned (likely by request) from NYU.

That said, what all did she expect to occur wondering into the middle of active rioting? She probably should have used a little common sense before going over there. There's a reason my white ass stays out of Over-The-Rhine on a Friday night and doesn't take field trips to Detroit.

[American Patriot]

What's wrong with Detroit? I go there.

[Ryan Ruck]

Rick... Living life on the edge!

[American Patriot]

I grew up there. lol

And usually when I go there I'm armed.

hehe

This time I'll be flying in and I won't be carrying a weapon because I'm not checking bags. Carry ons arent allowed to carry on... you know? LOL

[Ryan Ruck]

Flyinig in, eh? I hope it is in this...

[American Patriot]

LOL

Naw. Going to go see the wife's brother for his 70th Birthday. Probably driving out to see my Dad (he's in Hillsdale Mich somewhere) and visit some friends from HS. Only going to be gone over a four day stint. Won't be in Detroit proper LONG. Long enough proly to pick up my Sis (if we can get there and arrange it) and take her with me to see Dad.

For the most part I'll be north of 8 mile.

[BRVoice]

http://www.debka.com/article/20688/


Military opens Tahrir Sq. for Islamic radical to preach jihad
DEBKAfile Special Report February 19, 2011, 9:52 PM (GMT+02:00)

In their first week in power, Egypt's new military rulers took two steps that had nothing to do with democratic reform. They allowed Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the radical Sunni preacher exiled by Hosni Mubarak, to return home and lead a victory assembly in Tahrir Square Friday night, Feb. 17 with a call to march on Al Aqsa in Jerusalem. From Qatar, al-Qaradawi repeatedly justified suicide bombings against Israelis. The second was permission for two Iranian war ships to transit the Suez Canal.

Voices from the Obama administration have commented since Mubarak was overthrown that a Muslim Brotherhood taking part in the political transition in Egypt might not be a bad thing. US intelligence officials briefing committees in Congress have not exactly exhibited depth of knowledge about the Brotherhood.

In contrast, Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned that a Muslim role in government would put the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty at risk.

Friday night, events in Cairo and other Egyptian towns - and the light they shed on the military rulers' intentions - made most observers sit up and take a second look at the outcome of the popular revolution.

Thursday, Feb. 17, the Muslim Brotherhood was allowed to take charge of opposition demonstrations in the emblematic Tahrir Square and given permission to build a platform, after the other opposition parties and movements had been refused.

Ahead of the big event Friday night, the soldiers withdrew from the square and the Brotherhood's strong-arm brigades move in. Opposition leaders who tried to mount the platform alongside Brotherhood speakers were thrown off and dragged out of the square without the army interfering.

By this means, the military rulers achieved two objectives: Letting Muslim Brotherhood adherents mass in the square diminished the role played by the other opposition factions in the eighteen-day uprising; and, secondly, it flashed a graphic warning to the Obama administration to stop pushing for a rapid transition to democracy because it would only lead to the Muslims taking power in government and parliament.

The sermon preached by Qaradawi, a respected figure in many Sunni circles, had nothing in common with the goals of freedom, rights, reforms, a better life, for which the people demonstrated in Tahriri Square for 18 days. Not only must the Egyptian people go out and conquer Al Aqsa, said Qaradawi, but Cairo must open the Egyptian-Gaza Strip border to "our brothers," the Palestinian Hamas. He hammered home demands that would have taken Egypt beyond even scrapping its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and all the way to jihad.

For this speech, Egypt's military rulers gave the radical preacher a national platform over state television.

debkafile's Middle East sources believe the generals' latitude toward a notorious radical might make sense in regional terms: For three decades, by living in Qatar, Qaradawi gave the ruling Al-Thanis legitimacy in the eyes of Islamist circles. The military regime in Cairo hopes his presence in Egypt will contribute to their acceptance by the Brotherhood.

Tahrir Square Friday was therefore the testing ground for future cooperation. If it continues to work smoothly, Yusuf al-Qaradawi will rise over the heads of the opposition as the most prominent civilian powerbroker in the country with the greatest influence on Supreme Military Council decision-making.

Another external Mubarak policy the generals made a point of reversing in their first week in power concerned Iran. For the first time in three decades, Iranian war ships received permission to transit the Suez Canal on their way to the Mediterranean and Syria, and return to the Red Sea and home base by the same route.

The military rulers must have realized they were giving Tehran a leg up for its expansionist aspirations and strengthening the Iran-led alliance Turkey, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas. Al those allies have ports on the Mediterranean.

Just as Saudi Arabia welcomed those same Iranian war ships at Jeddah to tell the Obama administration that Riyadh was turning its face toward Tehran and away from Washington, so too is the military regime in Cairo signaling Washington and Jerusalem that Mubarak's policy of boycotting Iran and keeping the Shiite revolutionaries of Tehran at a distance from of Egypt, Sinai and the Suez Canal is history.

[BRVoice]

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Arti...id=208978&R=R3


Analysis: Yusuf al-Qaradawi – a ‘man for all seasons’
By OREN KESSLER
02/20/2011 03:06

Addressing millions in Tahrir, cleric who has supported suicide bombings in Israel calls for pluralistic democracy in Egypt.

A disparate mix of Egyptians packed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square for Friday’s prayer service-cum-political rally: young and old, secular and devout, Muslims and Christians.

At least a million people filled the now-emblematic square, but the event was most remarkable for the presence of one man – Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, arguably the most influential Sunni Muslim cleric in the world, making his first public appearance in Egypt in 50 years.

“Don’t fight history,” he urged the assembled crowd, and the millions more watching the televised address live. “You can’t delay the day when it starts. The Arab world has changed.”

As often in the past, Qaradawi spoke of democracy and pluralism. He urged the army officers temporarily ruling Egypt to deliver on their promises of handing power to a civil government founded on principles of pluralism and freedom, and cleanse the cabinet of former Mubarak cronies.

“Don’t let anyone steal this revolution from you – those hypocrites who will put on a new face that suits them,” he said. “The revolution isn’t over. It has just started to build Egypt… guard your revolution.”

Born in 1926 to a devout peasant family in the Nile Delta, Qaradawi had memorized the Koran by age nine and later enrolled at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the foremost theological institution in the Sunni world.

By the 1940s and ‘50s, he had fallen afoul of Egypt’s secular rulers, and was imprisoned three times in the country before fleeing for Qatar in 1961.

His professed embrace of progressive values has earned the cleric a reputation as a moderate.

“Qaradawi is very much in the mainstream of Egyptian society. He’s in the religious mainstream, he’s not offering something that’s particularly distinctive or radical in the context of Egypt,” Shadi Hamid, research director at the Brookings Institute’s Doha Center in Qatar, told the Christian Science Monitor on Friday.

“He’s an Islamist and he’s part of the Brotherhood school of thought, but his appeal goes beyond the Islamist spectrum, and in that sense he’s not just an Islamist figure, he’s an Egyptian figure with a national profile.”

Qaradawi is widely seen as a source of intellectual inspiration for the banned Muslim Brotherhood. As a young religious scholar, he was a follower of the movement’s founder, Hassan al- Banna, and has long been a member of the organization.

Twice – in 1976 and 2004 – he turned down offers to lead it.

In 2006 he told the Brotherhood website IkhwanWeb that the Islamist group “asked me to be a chairman, but I preferred to be a spiritual guide for the entire nation.”

Today he is best known in the Arab world for his program Shari’a and Life, broadcast on Al-Jazeera to an estimated audience of 40 million. A 2008 Foreign Policy magazine poll put Qaradawi third on its worldwide list of public intellectuals.

In his 2001 article for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “Al- Qaradawi: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Reuven Paz noted the contradictory nature of the cleric’s statements.

He was one of the first Islamic scholars to have condemned the September 11 attacks – but has supported attacks on US forces in Iraq and suicide bombings against Israelis.

“There is no enmity between Muslims and Jews,” he told rabbis from the radical anti-Zionist sect Neturei Karta visiting Qatar in 2008. “Jews who believe the authentic Torah are very close to Muslims,” he said, adding that “Muslims are against the expansive, oppressive Zionist movement, not the Jews.”

On several other occasions, however, the cleric has made comments critics denounced as anti-Semitic incitement.

“Oh Allah, take this oppressive, Jewish Zionist band of people. Oh Allah, do not spare a single one of them,” he said during the Gaza War in January 2009, in remarks translated by the press monitoring organization MEMRI. “Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one.”

Later that month, he said on his Al-Jazeera program, “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the Jews people who would punish them for their corruption.

The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them.

“Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.”

In a 2005 BBC interview, Qaradawi said of suicide bombings: “Allah Almighty is just; through his infinite wisdom he has given the weak a weapon the strong do not have, and that is their ability to turn their bodies into bombs, as Palestinians do.” In the same interview, he said, “I consider this type of martyrdom operation as an evidence of God’s justice.”

Qaradawi’s stance on Jewish claims to holy sites in Jerusalem is unambiguous.

In a 2004 statement about the Western Wall on Islam- Online, the website he founded, he wrote: “The Jews’ claim to Al-Buraq Wall [dates back] only to recent times. The longest reign of the Jews lasted for 434 years. Their reign in Palestine dates back to the times of Kings Saul, David and Solomon.

“Solomon’s sons split after his decease: Jude [sic] headed for Jerusalem while the state of Israel was established in Shakim, that is Nablus. The Jewish state in Nablus lasted for 298 years and the former for 434.

This is the longest period that the Jews reigned. So those who claim that they have a long history in Israel are liars.”

Close observers say that, more than anything, the cleric is shrewd.

“Qaradawi’s ability to be ‘the man for all seasons,’” Paz wrote, “should not mislead the West in its efforts to attract Arab states into positive support for the coalition against global jihad.”

[BRVoice]

Guys. I believe that this islamic cleric, Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi is the one who was calling the shots in the uprising in Egypt.

I think most on this forum, by seeing this man, will remember another islamic cleric...

Take your own conclusions


http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/18/yu...urns-to-cairo/

[Ryan Ruck]

Egypt Is No Longer Committed To An Alliance With Israel Against Iran

There is growing concern in Israel that Egypt will become a hostile front, adding to the feeling of international isolation which has only intensified since Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister.

February 20, 2011

A year and a half ago, an Israel Navy submarine crossed the Suez Canal on its way from Haifa to the Red Sea, where it conducted an exercise, and back. The unusual voyage reflected the growing strategic cooperation between Israel and Egypt, which aimed a menacing message at Iran. The submarine's crossing of the waterway demonstrated how quickly Israel could deploy its deterrent near Iran's shores, with the tacit support of Egypt.

Once more, the canal is being used to deliver a message of deterrence - but this time the direction is reversed. Egypt is allowing Iranian warships to cross the canal, on their way to Syrian ports. Israel was publicly critical of the passage - arguing that it is a provocative move - but Egypt ignored the pressures and granted the Iranian navy permission to pass, symbolizing the change to the regional balance of power following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt is signaling that it is no longer committed to its strategic alliance with Israel against Iran, and that Cairo is now willing to do business with Tehran. This is precisely what Turkey has done in recent years under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since the uprising against Mubarak, the cold peace between Egypt and Israel has cooled even further. The delivery of natural gas to Israel, which was cut off after a terrorist attack on a station in northern Sinai, has still not been resumed.

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi returned to Cairo after decades in exile and addressed a million strong crowd in Tahrir Square on Friday, calling for the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the upcoming victory against Israel. In the past, the sheikh had expressed support for suicide attacks against Israelis and two years ago described the Holocaust as "God's punishment of the Jews."

The appearance of the Islamist firebrand in the square has returned hatred for Israel to the center of the public debate over Egypt's future. Until now, the argument was that the revolution concerned domestic matters, not Egypt's relations with the United States or Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood has also been trying to send messages of moderation to the West, but this is hardly comforting.

There is growing concern in Israel that Egypt will become a hostile front, adding to the feeling of international isolation which has only intensified since Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister. The recent vote at the UN Security Council over the Palestinian resolution to label the settlements as illegal only increased this sense of isolation. With 14 states supporting this measure, Israel needed an American veto to foil it.

The Palestinians may have lost that vote, but the issue demonstrated which side in the conflict enjoys widespread international recognition.

Bolstered with Congressional support, Netanyahu forced U.S. President Barack Obama into the veto - which he had avoided using to date. The Americans argued that internationalization of the conflict cannot replace direct negotiations, and that forced decisions will only result in parties taking up more extreme positions.

It is not yet clear what Obama will try to get from Netanyahu in return: a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories, or acceptance of an American peace plan. The U.S. president will argue that Washington needs to bolster its credibility in the Arab world and that Israel must contribute its lot to ensure that the new regimes in the area are friendly.

Now that Labor has been kicked out of the coalition, the government is breaking to the right. In the coming weeks, Netanyahu will have to maneuver between the threats issued by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and international pressure. Having lost his friend Mubarak, this will be even more difficult than in the past.

[Malsua]

Watching that Morning Joe segment a page back...

It's absolutely hilarious the tone and smarmy snottiness of the female host.

It was dripping with shock and disbelief that someone could actually suggest that Obama blew it when there was such a peaceful democratic transition of power...and then Niall pointed out to the stupid bitch that when the Army takes over, it isn't exactly a normal transition. He then goes on to really lay it all bare. Obama gives speeches, that's his foreign policy.

[Ryan Ruck]

What's funny is that is Mika Brzezinski, Zbigniew's daughter.

[vector7]

Egypt's Interior Ministry Set Ablaze Amid Protest

Egypt's Interior Ministry building set on fire as police protesters demand better wages

The Associated Press
1 comment
By DIAA HADID Associated Press

CAIRO March 22, 2011 (AP)


AP
Egyptian police members protest in front of the Interior Ministry, calling for a raise in their...

Egyptian police members protest in front of the Interior Ministry, calling for a raise in their wages as army soldiers stand guard atop their armored vehicle in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The Arabic on building reads:" Interior Ministry." (AP Photo/Amhed Ali)

An Egyptian security official says police protesting in front of Egypt's Interior Ministry have set fire to part of the downtown complex.

TV footage shows flames licking up the building's top floors and a huge plume of black smoke filling the sky.

The official says protesters lit Tuesday's fire in the building housing in the ministry's personnel department. It then spread to an adjacent building.
The fire followed a protest by thousands of low-ranking police officers calling for better wages and working conditions.

Mass demonstrations that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11 have set off frequent protests by laborers seeking to improve their lot.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[wallis]

This is the second time they have demonstrated and set the building ablaze. That sets a precedent: the fact that the building is on fire at this time does not mean that Egypt is collapsing. I feel that certain structures have collapsed, as will happen in any kind of revolution (peaceful or otherwise, organized or not well organized), but the inference that the nation as a whole is collapsing is more akin to yelling fire in a crowded theatre (or, my first definition, blatant yellow journalism).

This is not to say that the situation is not critical or does not warrant attention. But since stupid Dan Rather proclaimed in Tianamen Square that democracy had come to the PRC and there was no turning back, we have had too many wanna-be Dan Rathers (Where is Cronchite when we need him) who are also trying to be the next Nostradamous.

[BRVoice]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...446186609.html


Scores held in Egypt after sectarian clashes
At least 230 people injured in violence between Muslims and Christians that left 12 people dead in Cairo.
Last Modified: 08 May 2011 11:19

Egypt's military rulers have detained 190 people in connection with the clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo in which at least 12 people were killed and more than 230 wounded.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ordered "the transfer of all those arrested in connection with (Saturday's) events, and they number 190, to the Supreme Military Court, as a deterrent to all those who think of toying with the potential of this nation."

The council, which has ruled Egypt since a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak, also said it would "set up a committee to assess the damage from the clashes" and restore property.

In a statement on Sunday, it also called on "all communities in Egypt, the youth of the revolution, the national forces and Islamic and Christian scholars to stand like a wall against any attempt by the forces of evil and darkness to tear the national fabric."

Egypt's cabinet also said on Sunday in an emergency meeting that it will use an "iron hand" to protect national security.

The government has said it will step up security at religious sites and activate laws dealing with terrorism, to give police more power to prevent interfaith clashes. The rules also enable stricter punishments for vandalising houses of worship.

Egypt's prime minister had called Sunday's meeting to discuss the sectarian violence, a day after witnesses said a mob of conservative Muslims marched on a Coptic church in the northwestern neighbourhood of Imbaba.

The march began over an apparent relationship between a Coptic Christian woman and a Muslim man, amid reports that the woman was being held inside against her will and prevented from converting to Islam.

The verbal clash on Saturday soon developed into a full-fledged confrontation where the two sides exchanged gunfire, firebombs and stones, and another church nearby was set on fire.


Tension

Interfaith relationships often cause tension in Egypt, where Christians make up about 10 per cent of its 80 million people.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh said the Cairo neighbourhood where the clashes first began remained tense on Sunday, as gunfire rang out briefly outside a church.

"We understand several Christians are huddled inside churches to protect their churches," she said.

"It's very intense, the military is blocking the entire area. Residents have asked us to leave, the military has asked us to leave.

"We understand the military was firing shots into the air to disperse who they are describing as hardline Muslim groups who are at the scene to take revenge for the Muslims who lost their lives in the confrontation last night. At least six of the 10 people who died are believed to be Muslims."

The strife represents another challenge to Egypt's military rulers who are trying to restore law and order after following the 18-day long popular uprising earlier this year.

The grand mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, a senior Islamic religious figure, called for calm following the clashes. "All Egyptians must stand shoulder to shoulder and prevent strife," he told the state MENA news agency.

He also urged the military council to stop anyone from meddling with the security of Egypt.


'Unfair treatment'

The religious feuds are a severe blow to the unity Egyptians professed during their popular uprising, when
Christians and Muslims often protected each other during prayer.

Our correspondent said the latest clashes have raised questions over the capability of the country's military leaders to deal with the sectarian crisis.

"The question is being asked ... 'Why is the country's new military leadership not doing enough to deter these attacks that have been repeating since the revolution?' And 'why is the military not doing enough to address the root causes of this tension?'"

Christians in Egypt complain about unfair treatment, including rules they say make it easier to build a mosque than a church.

Claims that Christian women who converted to Islam were kidnapped and held in churches or monasteries have soured relations between the two communities for months.


Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

[BRVoice]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74H1AY20110518


Egypt's army says has no plans to pardon Mubarak
CAIRO | Wed May 18, 2011 3:20am EDT

(Reuters) - Egypt's ruling military council on Wednesday dismissed speculation it would pardon former President Hosni Mubarak, who is under investigation for graft and abuse of power, and said it does not interfere in judicial affairs. Mubarak, 83, is detained in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after officials said he had heart problems. His wife, Suzanne, who also fell ill when ordered detained, was freed on Tuesday after giving up assets but faces a graft probe.

The timing of their respective illnesses, which meant neither joined other top officials in jail, has fueled talk that they were getting special treatment by the military.

"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces affirms that there is absolutely no truth in what was published by the media about the council moving to pardon the former president Hosni Mubarak and his family," it said in a communique on its Facebook page.

The council "does not intervene in any way in legal matters and particularly in holding to account symbols of the previous regime," it said, adding that legal steps were for the judiciary to handle and such "rumors" were aimed at dividing the nation.

As well as being the commander of the armed forces in his capacity as president, Mubarak was a decorated officer who led the air force during the 1973 war with Israel.

Some analysts say the military council, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi who served as Mubarak's defense minister for two decades, has been reluctant to humiliate their former leader by putting him behind bars.

But the council has been under public pressure to hold Mubarak and others to account, following a series of mass demonstrations after his ouster on February 11.

Mubarak is being probed for abuse of power, embezzlement and for his role in the deaths of protesters during the 18 days of unrest that led to his overthrow. His wife is accused of using her husband's influence for unlawful personal gain.

Both deny the charges.

Due to sudden illnesses, neither spent time in prison for questioning despite being ordered detained. Their two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were moved to jail with other top officials and are being probed over corruption and other charges.

(Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Mark Heinrich)

[BRVoice]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...der-2011-05-23


'Shariah in Egypt is enough for us,' Muslim Brotherhood leader says
Monday, May 23, 2011
İPEK YEZDANİ
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Fears that the Muslim Brotherhood might bring an Islamic regime to Egypt are unfounded, one of the leaders of the recently legalized group said Monday, explaining that shariah is already in the Egyptian constitution.

“If you go to any court in Egypt, they implement shariah [Islamic law] first. This is more than enough for us,” Dr. Ashraf Abdel Ghaffar, one of the leaders of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview.

If the Muslim Brotherhood came to power, however, it would only support tourism that does not come “at the cost of the beliefs of the Egyptian people,” he said.

“Egyptian people are religious people, whether Muslim or Christian; we cannot let things happen like people hanging around without clothes in a village or gambling in casinos,” Abdel Ghaffar said. “But anyone who would like to come to Egypt in order to visit the pyramids or Alexandria is more than welcome.”

There will be a complete separation between the political branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and the organization itself, Abdel Ghaffar said, noting that the Freedom and Justice Party also has Christian deputy candidates and party Vice President Dr. Rafik Habib is a Christian.

“The Freedom and Justice Party will work without any interference from the movement,” he said.

Egypt will sell gas to Israel ‘if the price is right’

If the political branch of the Muslim Brotherhood comes to power in Egypt, it will sell the country’s natural gas at a much higher price than did the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, Abdel Ghaffar signaled in his comments.

“Egypt is a rich and big country, but Mubarak made it small. We have lots of resources, including natural gas and oil. If we sell the natural gas at the normal international rate we will get an extra $3 billion every year,” he said.

Asked if they would continue to sell natural gas to Israel, he replied: “It depends on the price they will offer. You have to sell it to the one who pays the most.”

Abdel Ghaffar also said the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has had good relations for a long time with people from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, ever since they were members of the former Welfare Party led by the late Necmettin Erbakan.

“Turkey is a good model for us, but with some changes. The community here is different from the Egyptian community. For example you don’t have shariah in your Constitution, and no one can put it there, but in Egypt we have shariah and it will remain in our constitution,” he said.

Asked whether his group would try to engage any European institutions, such as the Council of Europe, he said: “Egypt will try to attend everything that will improve the country’s condition. Some people think if the Islamic people come to power, they will cut the relations of Egypt with the whole world, [but] this is not true at all.”

Abdel Ghaffar was arrested by the Mubarak regime in 2009 and spent one year in prison before being released in 2010. He has been living in London since that time.

[BRVoice]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...MBH_story.html


Egypt to reopen Gaza border crossing over Israeli objections
By Ernesto Londoño and Joel Greenberg, Wednesday, May 25, 3:15 PM

CAIRO — Egypt will open its border crossing with the Gaza Strip permanently this weekend, the government announced Wednesday, suggesting the country’s military rulers are being swayed by growing anti-Israeli sentiment here.

Opening the Rafah crossing, the only official entry point outside Israel into the Palestinian territory, would ease the blockade imposed after the militant group Hamas took control of the strip in 2007.

A report by Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency said the move was being adopted to “end the status of the Palestinian division and achieve national reconciliation.”

The report said the border would reopen Saturday but provided no other details.

Israel warned that reopening the crossing could allow Hamas to build up its arsenal and create a dangerous situation. A government spokesman urged Egypt to continue blocking arms shipments to Hamas.

Bowing to Israeli concerns, the Egyptian government has kept the crossing closed or partially closed for much of the past five years. Egypt has opened the crossing periodically for a few days at a time in the past year or so, mostly for medical cases and students.

Egypt’s interim military leaders have been under pressure to open the border to ease the movement of people, food and humanitarian aid to the strip.

Israel opposes an open border, fearing that Hamas fighters could use it to smuggle in rockets and other weapons for attacks against Israel. Up to now, Hamas has used smuggling tunnels, rather than the border crossing, to bring weapons into Gaza.

Egypt is one of the few Arab states that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Israel, a relationship Mubarak wrestled with during his three decades in power.

The two countries fought a brutal war in 1973 that many Egyptians still remember bitterly.

In recent weeks, Egyptian protesters have demonstrated outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo to protest attacks on the Gaza Strip and Israeli policies.

Hundreds of demonstrators were wounded earlier this month when Egyptian riot police fired tear gas and bullets to disperse demonstrators during a rally to decry the 1948 founding of Israel, a date Palestinians refer to as “nakba,” or catastrophe.

More than 185 demonstrators were detained for alleged vandalism and attacks on police, Egyptian authorities said.

In Israel, a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Israel has no problem with civilian goods getting into the Gaza Strip. Our focus is on preventing Hamas from building up its very deadly terrorist military machine. In the past they have succeeded in building a formidable capability despite Egyptian efforts to prevent that from happening.”

The official warned that if Egypt ceased those efforts, “the situation would be so much more dangerous.” Israel hopes that “Egypt will continue to be steadfast in trying to prevent arms shipments to Hamas,” the official said, adding: “We’ve got direct dialogue with the Egyptians on these issues, and we hope that we’ve got a common interest in preventing deadly weapons reaching extremists.”

Greenberg reported from Jerusalem.

[vector7]

More of Obama Administrations 'Arab Spring'...

Egyptian Group Plans to Form “Nazi Party”…



There’s certainly no shortage of Jew-haters in Egypt.

(JPost) — A group of Egyptian political activists have announced plans to set up a local version “of the Nazi party,” an Egyptian newspaper reported on Thursday.

Citing a leftist Egyptian news portal, the Al-Masry Al-Youm daily said that “the party’s founding deputy is a former military official,” and that the party would be aimed at bringing “together prominent figures from the Egyptian society.”

The report cited founding member Emad Abdel Sattar as saying that party “believes in vesting all powers in the president after selecting him or her carefully,” and that “preparations are underway to choose the most competent person to represent the party.”

Al-Masry Al-Youm added that an Egyptian Nazi party “operated secretly under former President Hosni Mubarak, whose regime prevented party leaders from carrying out their activities freely.”

Arab Spring… Egypt Now Has a Nazi Party

Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, May 26, 2011, 4:08 PM




Egyptian protesters carried Mubarak Hitler signs a couple of months ago.

Now there’s a Nazi party.

Wasn’t Barack Obama just comparing himself to Reagan or Thatcher, or something?

He’s more like the anti-Reagan.

Where once was a pro-American ally, now there’s a Nazi party.

Good grief.

The Jerusalem Post reported, via Lucianne:

A group of Egyptian political activists have announced plans to set up a local version “of the Nazi party,” an Egyptian newspaper reported on Thursday.

Citing a leftist Egyptian news portal, the Al-Masry Al-Youm daily said that “the party’s founding deputy is a former military official,” and that the party would be aimed at bringing “together prominent figures from the Egyptian society.”

The report cited founding member Emad Abdel Sattar as saying that party “believes in vesting all powers in the president after selecting him or her carefully,” and that “preparations are underway to choose the most competent person to represent the party.”

Al-Masry Al-Youm added that an Egyptian Nazi party “operated secretly under former President Hosni Mubarak, whose regime prevented party leaders from carrying out their activities freely.”

Al-Masry Al-Youm said it could not verify the report, but said it found “two Facebook pages” that “appeared recently under the title of “the Egyptian Nazi Party,” which have so far attracted 70 followers.

Members are “increasing at an unexpected rate, and several people came to ask about the nature of the party and its plans,” the report said.

The party has a one-year plan to develop Egypt, unlike the “marginalized liberal parties, which are like dead bodies,” a source was quoted as saying.