Mike L.
We make a terrible mistake if we underestimate the significance of this historical moment.
The Muslim Brotherhood is an anti-Semitic organization with historical ties to Nazi Germany and it should never have been supported by this dangerously naive, and presumably ignorant, American president to begin with. The fact that it has been overthrown by the less ideological Egyptian military is a good thing not only for the Jews of the Middle East, but for pretty much everyone in the Middle East.
For the Jews, of course, it means a reprieve from the encroachment throughout the region of a racist political-religious ideology that demonizes Jews and calls for the Arab re-conquest of the Jewish city of Jerusalem. For the Christians, particularly the Egyptian Copts, it means (potentially, at least) a reprieve from state sponsored oppression and harassment. For the Muslims, it means putting the breaks onto a slide into religious fanaticism and darkness.
No one suffers more under political Islam than do Muslims, particularly Muslim women and Muslim Gay people. Political Islam (or "radical Islam" or "Islamism") is a fascistic and backward-looking movement that the west must oppose. That the US government under president Barack Obama would actually support this movement tells us something not just about Obama, himself, but about prevailing trends within his political movement and within the Democratic party.
So, while I am exceedingly happy to see the downfall of Muhammed Morsi, it does raise the question of the fate of Egyptian democracy. Whether Obama wants to use the word, or not, what we just witnessed was a military coup against a semi-democratically elected fascist organization. What we are seeing is something akin to if Operation Valkyrie had been successful in taking out Hitler during World War II.
Operation Valkyrie, of course, was not successful, but Operation Get-Rid-Of-The-Brotherhood was and we should all be entirely grateful for that fact.
We can't know the fate of Egypt going forward, but what we can know is that the ideological underpinnings of oppression and hatred, grounded in Islam, have taken a serious blow in the Middle East.
As liberals we need to oppose the union of Mosque and State wherever it is to be found. If we honestly believe in universal human rights then we must support universal human rights across the globe, not just in the west. This also means opposing Sharia courts in Europe and no-go zones throughout that continent. Obama's support for the Brotherhood was the betrayal of the central tenet of his own alleged political ideology.
And for that history will not look kindly upon him.
Of that I can assure you because the general trend within the history of nations and states is toward greater freedom, not less.
The Day of the Dhimmi is Done - Michael Lumish, PhD, proprietor. (mike.lumish@gmail.com)
Let's point out the anti-Muslim Brotherhood opposition hates the Jews, Israel and the West.
ReplyDeleteThey're not a bunch of genuine liberals, they're unreconstructed Arab nationalists, Salafists and Communists. The Copts are also profoundly illiberal as well. The kind of people who might someday run the Arab World are a tiny minority.
While we should be grateful for the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt has decades to go before it becomes anything like a normal society.
In the meantime, it increasingly looks to become a failed state like Pakistan or Somalia. In the short term, things in the Middle East are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
"Interim president of Egypt accused of being Jewish
ReplyDeleteA number of Arabic media are saying that the new interim president of Egypt, Adli Mansour, is actually a Jew!
They get this little factoid from a Facebook post by Ahmed Mansour (presumably no relation,) an Al Jazeera reporter who is clearly a fan of Mosri.
According to the post, Adli Mansour is really a Seventh-Day Adventist. This means, according to this well-informed journalist, that Adli is really Jewish.
If that isn't evidence enough of Adli's guilt, Ahmed says that Adli approached the Coptic pope for baptism and was turned down. I'm sure that's relevant.
Ahmed Mansour ends off his post by saying "Congratulations, [Egypt], you are now ruled by Jews and Christians."
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.ca/2013/07/interim-president-of-egypt-accused-of.html
Maybe yes maybe no. It's also plausible that what we charitably call an insurgency develops - something akin to years of violent anarchy of Iraq or possibly sliding into a scenario like Algeria in the 90's where the Islamists also 'duly elected' were thrown out by the Army and who then proceed to murder 150,000 people until they were finally crushed. Proportionally that would be about 315,000 Egyptian dead. Admittedly not a huge number in the scope of Arab barbarities but coupled with the complete failure of the fabric and infrastructure of Egypt the dead could easily reach a million.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying this will happen, only that it has and it's possible. Islamists don't generally walk away from power and control without a fight. Even if they are ultimately unsuccessful the surviving government in Egypt is highly unlikely NOT to be anti West, anti US, anti Israel. If any outside superpower is going to step in it will be Saudi Arabia and even less predictable Qatar. In the meantime Russia may wish to resurrect their Nasser era ties to Egypt - seeing how Obama's policy is to give up and walk away unless the Islamists are in charge. It could devolve into a proxy war of US and Saudi backed Islamists vs Russian and Iranian backed Islamists with Qatar's al Qaeda factions acting the spoiler.
Or, the Army could install someone like El Baradei - watch him fail for a year, step in again and do the whole thing over, again.
Totalitarianism or Anarchy, pick one. As Saddam Hussein quipped "The revolution chooses its enemies."
"Congratulations, [Egypt], you are now ruled by Jews and Christians."
ReplyDeleteThey should be so lucky.
I'm still trying to get my head this.
ReplyDeleteMy prediction?
Much trouble and bloodshed.
Also the sun will rise from the usual direction.
DeleteSuch skepticism!
ReplyDeleteWe should welcome our victories where we earn them and where they find us.
Anything that weakens political Islam is a good thing and I do not need to tell you guys that the Muslim Brotherhood is the Big Daddy of political Islam since the 1920s.
Egypt is not going to turn around and love Israel, but at least Sharia (which hard codes anti-Semitism) will not be the central ruling ideology.
And that matters... a lot.
One thing is absolutely certain.
ReplyDeleteObama's policy has had its cover torn off in dramatic style.
He threw his weight behind the Bros so frank and free they must have thought he was the Third Mahdi.
Now the Egyptians have a stew and for certain they have nothing to thank Obama for. Obama backed what he thought was the strong horse and his policy was to get so close to it maybe it won't buck too much. You can't stop the tide of history which is "Islamist" so you may as well temper it as best you can through appeasement. Identical policy of the West to Nazism and Fascism. Identical.
And now look. "Disappointed" noises about the "failure" of democracy.
If anybody has a right to be "disappointed" it's the Americans, Egyptians and the rest of us in that order who have a right to expect better of American leadership that putting the US where it now has to jump from the side of deposed Islamist extremists in the interests of democracy but against the will of the Egyptian people who understand the importance of things like constitutions.
Best case scenario. A gallant first attempt at democracy given the meddling of a dangerously incompetent US Admin that could not have pressed for what was in the worst interests of the Egyptians and everyone else especially Israel. Good practice. Now they know the ropes and also know enough to ignore Obama they will elect a rational government that represents all people including women and secularists and what passes for liberals. They get the hang of democracy and Egypt surges and renews all ties with Israel and the West.
Worst case. Bros go on the rampage deciding that democracy is not for Muslims. They go underground which they know well and start a conflagration like Syria. All factions use Israel and the Jews as the one absolute unifying object of hate.
http://www.israellycool.com/2013/07/04/pictures-from-egypt-tahrir-square-you-wont-see-on-msnbc/
DeleteCertain factions can also tragically use US-and-Western hate now, as well, which is often almost as 'useful' as Jew-hatred in some quarters.
DeleteI really don't know what to make of this besides sharing Mike's view that anything which takes down the Muslim Brotherhood is good for everyone. The majority of Egyptian Muslims, certainly included.
As for what will ultimately come next, well, I wish I was more hopeful...