While I am not sad to see Hosni Mubarak gone nor do I believe that the status quo ante was tenable, the idea that the Muslim Brotherhood has transformed itself into some sort of benevolent force is the type of nonsense that only Middle Eastern Studies academics can peddle. Academics and journalists who sat down with Muslim Brotherhood interlocutors and believed what the Brethren’s self-described moderates and technocrats told them were not path breaking; rather, they were useful idiots.
From a mass rally for the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Muhammad Mursi aired on Egyptian television on May 1, and transcribed by MEMRI:
Safwat Higazi : We can see how the dream of the Islamic Caliphate is being realized, Allah willing, by Dr. Muhammad Mursi and his brothers, his supporters, and his political party. We can see how the great dream, shared by us all – that of the United States of the Arabs… The United States of the Arabs will be restored, Allah willing. The United States of the Arabs will be restored by this man and his supporters.
The capital of the Caliphate – the capital of the United States of the Arabs – will be Jerusalem, Allah willing…
Ceremony leader : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Crowds : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Ceremony leader : I am an Egyptian and proud of it.
Crowds : I am an Egyptian and proud of it.
Ceremony leader : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Crowds : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Ceremony leader : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Crowds : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Ceremony leader : Say: “Allah Akbar.”
Crowds : Allah Akbar.
Ceremony leader : Say: “Allah Akbar.”
Crowds : Allah Akbar.
Ceremony leader : Say: “Allah Akbar.”
Allah Akbar.
Safwat Higazi : Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca, or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing. Our cry shall be: “Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.” Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Safwat Higazi : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Ceremony leader : Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
From the eyes of all Jews…
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
Forget about the whole world, forget about all the conferences.
Brandish your weapons… Say your prayers…
In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman, Thorbjoern Jagland, head of the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee, said they chose Karman, not simply because of her work, but because Karman belongs to a Muslim movement with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, “which in the West is perceived as a threat to democracy.” Jagland added, “I don’t believe that. There are many signals that, that kind of movement can be an important part of the solution.”
Alas, in Egypt at least, the only solution to which the Muslim Brotherhood’s populist rhetoric appears to aspire is a Final Solution.
Not good. n nOn the bright side, Sinai may end Israeli again, before long.
Well, I'm not ashamed to say it: I was sorry to see Mubarak go, and my neoconservative friends should do some real soul-searching about what they thought would replace him. The Muslim Brotherhood has always been the only alternative.
Considering the delusions shared by so many American Jews (e.g., 75% voting for Obama), a call to wake up is really sort of a kindness. So when Schmucko fails to liberate Gaza tomorrow, whatever that means, will they kill him?r nr nI mean this sincerely: why was Kahane so bad?
More western prideful scaremongering. n nWe take our politicians' vote-getting rhetoric with a grain of salt, but we take their politicians' vote-getting rhetoric so very seriously indeed. n nOur tell ourselves that guys are only puffing, but their guys are deadly serious. n nWhen our politicians say we're going to bomb every last terrorist to smithereens (and their families and lots of innocents with them) we all understand that we're just posturing to get votes and signaling our desire to be secure in our country (by bombing other countries.) n nWhen they try to stand up as a people, fully aware that they are lagging behind the west in political development, and they say they want Jerusalem to be the capital of a united Arab movement, we envision only bombs and disaster. n nAnd what we in the west are doing is exactly what arrogant, prideful, people do when they have forsaken Christ as their real defender – we are looking for motes in others' eyes and ignoring the beams in our own.
Did the Ceremony Leader start by having the crowd repeat "Mic check" the way they do at Occupy events? And is this where the Occupy crowd got the whole mic check idea?
I'm Shocked SHOCKED!
Liberate Gaza from who? Hamas? The UN? Turkey?
Liberate Gaza from Iran, presumably.r nr nMaybe they could liberate Lebanon too.