Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Brothers won't Take this Lying Down



by Dr. Reuven Berko


The Muslim Brotherhood's counterrevolution is picking up pace and energy in Egypt's squares. The shock that the movement's leadership was thrown into after the military coup fell on them out of the blue, has dissipated and coalesced as anger and pride into the hearts of throngs of its supporters. Mohammed Badie, the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, has set the tone for the next chapter: Large numbers of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi will not leave the squares until he is reinstalled in his seat. In his fiery speech from the podium at Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo, Badie said that Morsi's ouster, the dissolution of his government and other moves were null and void." 

Badie remains free for now, but many other senior leaders in the movement such as his deputy Khairat el-Shater and hundreds more are under arrest. The movement's broadcasting stations have been blocked. Intelligence services raided the Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera -- which has been perceived as pro-Muslim Brotherhood -- confiscating equipment and arresting, then releasing, management and journalists. In his speech, Badie said the Brotherhood would not accept any other regime except Morsi's, which was democratically elected. He demanded Morsi's unconditional release from prison and his reinstatement. "Our president is Mohammed Morsi and we will not accept any alternative. We will carry him on our shoulders and sacrifice our lives for him," Badie said. 

In his speech, Badie put the blame on three sources for the current crisis: Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, Coptic Pope Tawadros, and the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Badie first pointed his finger at el-Tayeb, who in his speech during the coup aside SCAF leader Col. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, gave his backing to Morsi's ouster by saying the move was "the lesser evil."

Badie, who represents an extreme interpretation of Islam, slammed el-Tayeb, who represents the country's religious institutions (and moderate Islam in general), saying that although he was a religious symbol, he did not have a monopoly on the people's will. "You are no longer entitled to speak in the name of Muslims," Badie said, referring to the grand imam. For his part, el-Tayeb has issued an order for calm, and for the preservation of life and property and against violence. Badie's statements represents a direct challenge to el-Tayeb and the religious order in Egypt in general. 

The Coptic pope, probably because he had no real choice, openly supported the coup during his short speech at Sissi's side. Badie said Tawadros was a religious symbol but does not represent the majority of Egypt's Copts. "Pope Tawadros, you also are a symbol but you can no longer speak in the name of Copts. They have right to speak for themselves through voting," Badie said. Even at this early stage it is clear that no good will come to the Copts from this second revolution. The Copts are in a trap: had they stood aside the new secular regime would have hated them. But due to their support for the overthrow of the Brotherhood's Morsi, the Islamists hate them. In general, the Copts have played the part of regular scapegoat for the Muslim Brotherhood's and other Islamists' frustrations, and now they have been marked anew by Badie, with some sophistication.

In his reference to the military, Badie urged the SCAF not to intervene in politics. Badie demanded that Sissi release all of the Brotherhood's prisoners and reinstate Morsi to his position, which was "stolen" from him. If these demands are not fulfilled, the masses will remain in the squares. Badie added that once all the demands are carried out and the situation returns to what it was before, there will be room for dialogue. But in the meantime, the masses of Islamists are crying out "remove Sissi the traitor," dozens of people have been killed and injured in violent clashes with the army, whose commanders say they are not taking sides and not using live ammunition. 

Egypt's economy is declining rapidly. There is no foreign investment and tourism has ground to a halt. The Suez Canal management says shipping traffic continues as usual, but in Sinai a state of emergency has been declared due to ongoing Islamist violence, most recently against army positions near the Rafah border [which has been closed]. Rockets have also been fired at El Arish International Airport. 

The events in Egypt are reverberating in other Muslim countries. Iran condemned the coup, and Turkey's leaders are preparing a pro-Morsi rally. In the U.S., they don't like the means but they do like the result. It seems as if the show in Egypt is just beginning.


Dr. Reuven Berko

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4899

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

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