Egypt: signs of trouble ahead!
Egypt: signs of trouble ahead!
Remember president Carter, his lack of foreign policy knowledge, experience and naivete which bestowed the gift of brutal Islamic dictatorship on Iran? Well, after 30 plus years, the history has repeated itself. This time under the leadership of another naive president: Barak Hossein Obama involving Egypt and Syria after 17 months of violence is an unanswered dilemma.
Many people were instrumental in helping president Carter and his foreign policy toward Iran then and many have been instrumental this time around giving wrong advice to president Obama when it comes to the Middle East. One such character is professor John Esposito.
John Esposito is an American Iranian Council (IRI Lobby Organization) board member and the director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. Esposito is perhaps best known as an apologist for radical Islamism; his Center is the recipient of a $20 million grant from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. According to Esposito, it was actually the 1979 Iranian Revolution that catapulted his academic career into national prominence, as his books and articles about the Iranian clergy suddenly took on new relevance. “I owe my Lexus and my career to the Ayatollah Khomeini,” he tells his students at Georgetown University. Illustrative of Esposito’s thinking about Iran is the following comment from his introduction to Modernizing Islam: Religion in the Public Sphere in Europe and the Middle East, the book he co-edited with Francois Burgat: “…Iran, long regarded as a terrorist threat, has in fact provided a major example of the mobilizing power of an appeal to democratization and civil society.” Esposito’s rose-colored formulations about Iran’s terrorist regime continues today and extends to Egypt. Esposito manages to garner plaudits from both sides of the Sunni-Shia split. Sayyid Syeed, ISNA’s secretary general has gone so far as to compare Esposito to Abu Taleb, the uncle of the Prophet Mohammad, who never converted to Islam, but defended the new faith nevertheless.
Much like CAIR, Esposito is one of the many Muslim Brotherhood apologist operatives who try to sell it as a pragmatic, reformed and democratic entity. He organizes many conferences on MB’s behalf depicting it a democratic entity and sugarcoating its bloody past.
Despite attempts to put a friendly face on the Muslim Brotherhood by Esposito type characters and with the election of Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, as Egypt’s presidents, all promises of respect for human rights and democracy are fast forgotten and much like the Islamic Republic in Iran, signs of brutality, censorship and violations of basic human rights are beginning to surface in and around Egypt. Several newspapers have been shut down, reporters have been jailed for having insulted Mr. Morsi. Recently a Muslim Egyptian cleric gave OK to kill anyone who plans to protest the new Muslim Brotherhood government in nationwide rallies on Friday. Questions remain whether American politicians have learned any lessons?
Iranians were fooled by Islamists and opposed the Shah despite his reforms after 200 years of Qajar ineptitude and corruption and are now regretful of their support of the mullahs who promised everything under the moon to gain power. Likewise, Egyptians are soon to learn that despite Mubarak’s shortcomings, they were much better off under the dictatorship of Mubarak than the Muslim Brotherhood. Tell tale signs are beginning to surface and the future does not look very bright for Egyptians!
PDMI, Arash Irandoost
Additional reading:
http://www.radicalislam.org/news/murder-plunder-egypts-christians-begin-after-islamists-call-genocide
http://www.radicalislam.org/analysis/egypts-brotherhood-launches-violent-attacks-against-secular-media-crucifies-opponents
http://www.radicalislam.org/news/egypt-jihadis-call-slaughter-christians
