The Specter of Jizya Returns to Egypt

And this is the way it will go in one country after another as the Arab Winter descends over the Middle East.

FROM FRONTPAGEMAG.COM:

The Specter of Jizya Returns to Egypt

Posted By Raymond Ibrahim On December 16, 2011 @ 12:17 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 6 Comments

In Egypt, calls for jizya—the tribute doctrinally demanded and historically collected from conquered infidels—are increasing day by day, by those who wish to be true to the words of Koran 9:29:

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor forbid that which Allah and his Messenger have forbidden, nor follow the religion of truth [Islam], from the People of the Book [Christians and Jews], until they pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves utterly subdued."

Accordingly, days ago, Ahmed Imran—a candidate of Egypt’s Salafi party, the “Party of Light,” which won some 20% of votes in recent elections—called for the return of jizya (which was abolished under colonial pressure in the mid 19th century). Sounding like a Western apologist of Islamic supremacism, he distorted history and spoke of jizya in glowing terms:

"I say to those who fear that we might govern, that it was the Muslims who liberated the Copts from Roman slaughter and that Copts are obligated to pay the jizya, and it will only be half a dinar, taken from the rich and given to their poor."

Earlier, Abu Shadi, another Salafi leader—though not one running for office, and so extra candid—announced that Egypt’s Christians must either convert to Islam, pay jizya and assume inferior status, or die.

Nor is the return of jizya limited to Salafi discourse. Running for Egypt’s presidency, Hazem Abu Ismael, a former Muslim Brotherhood member still affiliated with the group, said he would impose jizya on the Copts.

And Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni—the secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party which won 40% of the votes—reportedly said that Copts would not pay jizya now, implying that the idea of collecting tribute from subdued “dhimmi” Copts is very much alive among the Brotherhood, only dormant till a more opportune moment (naturally, the Brotherhood later denied he said such a thing).

Moreover, increasing numbers of attacks on Christians in Egypt revolve around extorting jizya. For instance, last summer a priest was almost

"killed at the hands of the Salafis because of his refusal to pay them jizya money…. [T]he church’s priest had declared that the Copts would not pay jizya, in any way, shape, or form. This is what caused the Salafis to want to banish him from the region, so they could collect jizya from the Copts."

Here, then, is another truism: Wherever and whenever there are calls to return to “true Islam”—whether by 9th century Ibn Hanbal, 14th century Ibn Taymiyya, 18th century Abdul Wahhab, or 21st century Salafis, and the countless no-names in between—it is the surrounding non-Muslims who will always be first to suffer; first, in the words of Koran 9:29, to “pay the jizya [tribute] with willing submission, and feel themselves utterly subdued.”

12 Year Old Christian Girl Gang Raped & Converted by Muslims

Truth and justice not lies and superficiality on massacre of Copts

A stunning look at the results of the violent Egyptian suppression of the recent Coptic demonstrations. There is a link at the end of the article to photos of Copts literally torn apart by Egyptian military vehicles.

FROM ASIANEWS.IT:

Truth and justice not lies and superficiality on massacre of Copts

by Bernardo Cervellera
10/14/2011 16:32

The results of the autopsies will be released Oct. 27. But Egyptian army trying to silence the issue by manipulating the truth and accusing the Copts of provoking the violence despite the eyewitness accounts and videos. Shenouda III is opposed to the military’s version. Obama also assumes that the Copts were violent. Not to forget AsiaNews publishes some pictures of the massacre, sent by Coptic organizations.

Rome (AsiaNews) - The tortured bodies of Coptic Christians killed on 9 October demand truth and justice. The 26 still bloody corpses, heads smashed by the violence of military tanks and armored vehicles are piled up in of Cairo's Coptic Hospital and other hospitals in the city waiting for autopsy. Ihsan Kamel, head of forensic medicine, said it will take time and that the results will be published only on October 27. He also claimed that declarations made by forensic doctors in the past week may be inaccurate.

Perhaps this warning is due to scrupulousness and scientific accuracy. We hope it is not an attempt to discredit the eye-witness accounts of demonstrators or the evidence of doctors who stressed that the deaths of several victims was caused by bullets from firearms and from the crushing weight of heavy vehicles.

Yesterday, Magda Adly, chief of El Nadeem, a Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture, said he witnessed the autopsy on the bodies of eight killed in Maspero (the area close to Tahrir Square, where the massacre took place) . According to Adly it is evident that the six bodies had been crushed by "heavy vehicles" and two had an "excessive" number of bullet wounds.

Article continues HERE.

Destruction of Copts is Islamically correct

Here's another revealing look into the Islamic mindset and theological justification for the global Jihad being waged against the non-Muslim world.

FROM WND.COM:

Destruction of Copts is Islamically correct

By Diana West
Posted: October 13, 2011
6:05 pm Eastern

© 2011

I am looking at a reproduction of an old engraving of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is in Bat Ye'or's book "The Dhimmi," which collects primary documents from history to chronicle the impact of Islamic law on non-Muslims through the centuries.

What is notable about the image, which is based on an 1856 photograph, is that the church, said to be at the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and burial, has no cross and no belfry. Stripped of its Christian symbols, the church stood in compliance with the Islamic law and traditions of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, which ruled Jerusalem at the time.

I went back to the book to find this image for a reason. It had to do with last weekend's massacre of two dozen Coptic Christians in Cairo by Egyptian military and street mobs, which also left hundreds wounded. The unarmed Copts were protesting the destruction of yet another church in Egypt, St. George's, which on Sept. 30 was set upon by thousands of Muslim men following Friday prayers. Why? The trigger was repair work on the building – work that the local council and governor had approved.

Does that explanation make any sense? Not to anyone ignorant of Islamic law. Unfortunately, that criterion includes virtually all media reporting the story.

Raymond Ibrahim, an Islam specialist, Arabic speaker and author of "The Al Qaeda Reader" (Broadway, 2007), catalogs the key sequence of events that turned a church renovation project into terror and flames. With repair work in progress, he writes online at Hudson New York (www.hudson-ny.org), "It was not long before local Muslims began complaining, making various demands, including that the church be devoid of crosses and bells – even though the permit approved them – citing that 'the cross irritates Muslims and their children.'"

Those details drove me to re-examine the de-Christianized 19th-century image of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – no cross, no bells. It becomes a revealing illustration of Islamic history repeating itself in this "Shariah Autumn," the deadly but natural harvest of the grotesquely branded "Arab Spring."

Given our see-no-Shariah media (and government), we have no context in which to place such events. That context is Shariah society, advanced (but by no means initiated) by "Arab Spring," where non-Muslims – "dhimmi" – occupy a place defined for them by Islamic law and tradition. Theologian, author and Anglican pastor Mark Durie elaborates at markdurie.com: "Dhimmi are permitted to live in an Islamic state under terms of surrender as laid out in the 'dhimma' pact." Such terms, Durie writes, "are a well-established part of Islamic law and can be found laid out in countless legal text books." When non-Muslims violate these terms, they become subject to attack.

To place the dhimmi pact in comparable Western terms is to say the West has its Magna Carta, Islam has its Pact of Umar. Among other things, this seminal pact governing Muslim and non-Muslims relations stipulates, Durie notes, the condition that Christians "will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church or sanctuary for a monk, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration."

Thus, this anti-Coptic violence, which for the moment has caught world attention, is Islamically correct. This is the piece of the puzzle Westerners fail to grasp. But Durie takes us through the theological steps: "For some pious Muslims in Egypt today, the act of repairing a church is a flagrant provocation, a breach of the peace, which amounts to a deliberate revocation of one's right to exist in the land." As such, it "becomes a legitimate topic for sermons in the mosque (where) the faithful are urged ... to uphold the honor of Islam." In Islamic terms, then, the destruction of the church is no injustice, as Durie writes. It is "even a duty to destroy the church and even the lives of Christians who have the temerity to repair their churches." That's because dhimmi who take to the streets to protest the Islamically just destruction of the church "are also rebels who have forfeited their rights (under the pact) to 'safety and protection.'" As violators of the "dhimmi" pact, they become fair game.

It's quite simple, but the theology eludes us. Why? I think the answer is that to expose the facts about Shariah in the Western milieu is to invite their criticism. Such criticism is forbidden under Shariah. So, we remain silent – which is what good "dhimmi" do.

Egypt Destroying Churches, One at a Time

Well, it's pretty obvious by now, even to the knowingly naive that Egypt is fast on the road to a radical Muslim Brotherhood dominated government. That is to say, a Sharia "government".

The Brotherhood is using the built in Islamic hatred of Christianity to ramp up votes in the coming elections.

FROM HUDSON-NY.ORG:

Egypt Destroying Churches, One at a Time
Muslim Brotherhood: "No More Churches"

by Raymond Ibrahim
October 10, 2011 at 5:00 am

What clearer sign that Egypt is turning rabidly Islamist than the fact that hardly a week goes by without a church being destroyed, or without protesting Christians being attacked and slaughtered by the military?

The latest chaos in Egypt—where the military opened fire on unarmed protesters, and ran armored vehicles over them— killing 35 and injuring over 300, with the count still rising --originated in Edfu, a onetime tourist destination renowned for its pharaonic antiquities, but now known as the latest region to see a church destroyed by a Muslim mob.

This destruction, which spurred the unrest in Egypt, is itself eye-opening as to the situation in Egypt. To sum it up, St. George Coptic church, built nearly a century ago, was so dilapidated that the local council and governor of Aswan approved renovating it, and signed off on the design.

It was not long before local Muslims began complaining and making various demands, including that the church be devoid of crosses and bells—even though the permit had approved them—citing that "the Cross irritates Muslims and their children."

Coptic leaders had no choice but to acquiesce, "pointing to the fact that the church was rebuilt legally, and any concessions on the part of the church was done for the love for the country, which is passing through a difficult phase."

Acquiescence breeds more demands: Muslim leaders next insisted that the very dome of the church be removed—so that the building might not even resemble a church—and that it be referred to as a "hospitality home." Stating that removing the dome would. Most likely collapse the church, the bishop refused.

Article continues HERE.

NGO report: 93,000 Copts left Egypt since March

This is what will happen to all Christians in the Middle East as the Muslim Brotherhood takes over. Not that Egyptians in or Muslims in general need the Brotherhood to persecute Copts or any other minority. Note that the persecution of religious minorities only happens when Muslims are in power, never when there is a chance the persecuted might fight back.

The Western nations should prioritize the immigration of Christians and all other minorities at the expense of Muslim immigrants until such time as Islamic countries treat other religions with the respect they demand for themselves. Do not bed decieved by the Brotherhood's taqyya saying Christians will be accepted into their political party.

FROM ALMASRYALYOUM.COM:

NGO report: 93,000 Copts left Egypt since March
Emad Khalil
Sun, 25/09/2011 - 15:15

Nearly 93,000 Coptic Christians have left Egypt since 19 March, a report by an Egypt-based Coptic NGO has said.

The number may increase to 250,000 by the end of 2011, according to Naguib Gabriel, the head of the Egyptian Federation of Human Rights, which released the report.

The current trend of Coptic immigration endangers the structure of Egypt's population, Gabriel told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Sunday. He urged the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Egyptian cabinet to work on curbing the phenomenon.

Gabriel based the data stated in the report on information from Coptic churches and communities abroad.

"Nearly 16,000 migrated to California, while 10,000 moved to New Jersey, 8000 to New York, and 8000 to other American states," according to Gabriel. "Around 14,000 left to Australia, 17,000 to Canada, and 20,000 settled in the Netherlands, Italy, England, Austria, Germany and France."

Gabriel attributed the Coptic emigration to hardline Salafi groups seeking to apply Islamic law, deny Copts senior government posts, and reduce incoming tourism. He also blamed attacks on Coptic churches and the government's failure to bring attackers to justice.

Coptic author Kamal Zakher said the numbers in the report were exaggerated, but that concern over Coptic immigration is justifiable.

Migration procedures take up to a year to complete, so it is illogical to say the January revolution caused the Copts to leave the country, Zakher said.

The head of the Evangelical denomination in Egypt, Safwat al-Bayadi, also voiced his anxiety about Coptic immigration, noting that the continuation of the trend depends on the political forces ruling the country in the future.

Christians form nearly 10 percent of Egypt’s population. Following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak in February, concerns have been growing among Christians over the mounting political influence of Islamist groups, some of which view Copts as infidels and deny them the right to assume top government posts.

However, Egypt’s biggest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, had stressed Christians' right to the presidency and accepted them as members in its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

Muslims Blockade Christian Village in Egypt, Demand Demolition of Church

Life under Islam in Egypt. Things can only get worse for the Copts of Egypt as the ultra conservative Muslim Brotherhood establishes itself in government.

FROM PERESECUTION.ORG:


Muslims Blockade Christian Village in Egypt, Demand Demolition of Church

ICC Note:

“Christians in the Upper Egyptian village of Elmarinab in Edfu, Aswan province, have been forbidden to leave their homes or buy food until they remove the dome of St. George's Church, which was rebuilt in its previous location. Village Muslims, backed by Muslim Salafists from neighboring villages, have threatened to demolish the church on Friday September 9 after prayers and use it as a mosque,” Assyrian International News Agency reports.

By Mary Abdelmassih

9/9/2011 Egypt (AINA) – Christians in the Upper Egyptian village of Elmarinab in Edfu, Aswan province, have been forbidden to leave their homes or buy food until they remove the dome of St. George's Church, which was rebuilt in its previous location. Village Muslims, backed by Muslim Salafists from neighboring villages, have threatened to demolish the church on Friday September 9 after prayers and use it as a mosque.

Despite the presence of security forces, Muslims have blocked the roads to the village, refusing passage of any Christians under any circumstance.

Yesterday the military governor in Aswan was contacted as Christians were starving in their homes. Security officers were sent and accompanied two Christian youths to buy food for the villagers. Muslims at the entrance of the village tried to stop the two security cars. "Failing that they threatened that this would be the last time," said one villager. "It was heart-breaking to see the elderly running with the children to get a loaf of bread."

On Friday September 2, a "reconciliation" meeting was held under the auspices of security between Muslims and Christians in which the Christians were forced to give in to the Muslim demands of the new church being stripped of crosses, bells and outside microphones (which churches never have).

"For the sake of peace we agreed to their demands," said Father Makarios Boulos, "although the approved permit included crosses, bells and domes."

On Tuesday evening, the same Muslims who attended the reconciliation meeting started to congregate near the church demanding the removal of the six small domes, which would, according to the church's priest, make the whole church collapse if removed.

Muslims also demanded removal of any signs of it being a church. "It has to be called a 'hospitality home,'" Father Makarios said.

Article continues HERE.

Egyptian Islamic Jihad calls for global Sharia

More Salafists in Egypt move for control of the country and promise an even more radical regime than al Qaeda would impose. Hopefully, the various jihadist groups will attack each other in a power struggle, weakening all of them.

FROM MEMRI.ORG:

Senior Official in Egyptian Islamic Jihad: If We Come to Power, We will Launch a Campaign of Islamic Conquests to Instate Shari'a Worldwide: 'The Christian is Free to Worship His God in His Church, but if the Christians Make Problems for the Muslims, I Will Exterminate Them'

On August 13, 2011, the Egyptian daily Roz Al-Yousef published an interview[1] with Sheikh 'Adel Shehato, a senior official in Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), who, on March 23, 2011, was freed from prison in the wake of the Egyptian revolution. He was imprisoned in 1991 upon returning from a three-year sojourn in Afghanistan.

In the interview, Shehato expressed complete opposition to democracy "because it is not the faith of the Muslims, but the faith of the Jews and Christians." He said that although the youth of the Arab revolutions have not declared the implementation of shari'a as one of their goals, the mujahideen nonetheless identify with their aspiration to overthrow the Arab rulers, whom they had always considered "infidels who must be killed because they do not rule according to the shari'a." He added, however, that "once Allah's law is applied, the role of the people will end and Allah will reign supreme." He went on to say that although he supports Al-Qaeda's ideology, shari'a law would not be enforced by violence but by da'wa (preaching), whereas violence would be used only against the infidel Arab rulers.

Shehato said that if the mujahideen came to power in Egypt, they would launch a campaign of Islamic conquests aimed at subjecting the entire world to Islamic rule. Muslim ambassadors would be appointed to each country, charged with calling upon them to join Islam willingly, but if the countries refused, war would be waged against them. He also described the nature of the Islamic state to be established in Egypt: there would be no trade or cultural ties with non-Muslims; tourist sites at the pyramids, the Sphinx, and Sharm Al-Sheikh would be shut down "because the tourists come [there] to drink alcohol and fornicate," and all tourists wishing to visit Egypt would be required to comply with the conditions and laws of Islam; all art, painting, singing, dancing, and sculpture would be forbidden, and all culture would be purely Islamic.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

Article continues HERE:

Egypt ‘unity’ rally turns into Islamist show of strength

Egypt will surely come under control of Salafists, the question is which group, or coalition of Salafists. The Muslim Brotherhood seems to have the lead and will surely dominate, if not completely control the next government.

When, not if Egypt falls to Salifists, it will be the spark to ignite Salifists throughout the Arab world. It will also inspire radical Muslims of all flavors throughout the rest of the world to challenge their governments and inspire Muslims in the West to redouble their efforts to overthrow those governments.

FROM JEWISHWORLDREVIEW.COM:


Egypt ‘unity’ rally turns into Islamist show of strength

By Mohannad Sabry

World media becoming increasingly less interested these days in reporting goings-on at Tahrir Square

CAIRO — (MCT) A demonstration Friday intended to show unity among Egypt's many opposition political movements instead turned into a show of strength for the country's Islamists, underscoring jitters here that elections in the fall will lead to rising influence for conservative Muslim adherents.

Tens of thousands of bearded men and women with their faces fully covered, followers of Islam's Salafi tradition, poured into Cairo's Tahrir Square, where their chants of "The people demand the laws of Allah" drowned out any competing ideology.

Hard-line Muslim clerics called for an Islamic state from several stages that had been erected by the Muslim Brotherhood and other conservative Islamist movements, while thousands of followers marched around Tahrir Square repeating the clerics' call: "Islamic, Islamic, not socialist, and not communist."

Others displayed banners with Islamic slogans "Allah is Great," and "No god but Allah."

By Friday afternoon, many of the secular political followers who also had gathered for the demonstration had abandoned the square.

"We agreed with the Brotherhood and the Salafis over the past week to come to Tahrir Square today, unite, and pressure the government to work on reform. They lied to us and came down to promote themselves and show off their power," said Youssef Adel, a 23-year-old member of the liberal Youth for Justice and Freedom group.

Earlier in the day, a crowd of Salafi men hurled rocks and bottles at the stage Youth for Justice and Freedom had set up.

Article continues HERE.

In Egypt, stealthy campaign underway for big Islamist wins in parliamentary elections later this year

And the beat goes on. The Muslim Brotherhood continues to gain strength alongside several other Salafi groups. I foresee a coalition of the most radical groups taking control of Egypt after the September elections. The Salafis and Brotherhood are the most organized and well financed political entities in Egypt. While well meaning, the freedom and democracy groups are unorganized and inexperienced politically. Additionally, their idea of democracy still includes whatever form of government to be subject to Sharia law, similarly to the way Iran operates, and the rest of the "secular" Islamic world is moving.

As bad as Mubarick and company were, at least they were rational enough to play ball with the West and not make Jihadi waves. The new boys in town are another story and are driven by the Islamic need to dominate the world.

FROM JEWISHWORLDREVIEW.COM:


Jewish World Review June 27, 2011 / 25 Sivan, 5771

In Egypt, stealthy campaign underway for big Islamist wins in parliamentary elections later this year

By Hannah Allam

Strategy of how the West's worst fears will materialize

cAIRO— (MCT) Baheyya Ali, 65, nudged her way through a crowd that had gathered one recent evening to watch men with bushy beards heave cooking-gas canisters off a truck in a densely packed, trash-strewn Cairo neighborhood.

Her eyes widened when she learned that the men, Islamists from Egypt's conservative Salafi movement, were selling the cans for less than a dollar each, a deep discount from the usual price. She cursed the middlemen at state distribution centers who jack up the prices fivefold, and complained that the inflated price of cooking gas and other goods means she can't afford her medicines.

"Where's the revolution?" Ali muttered. "Where's the youth revolution?"

"Here it is," one of the Salafis told her gently, gesturing to the truckload of cheap fuel. She joined her neighbors in praising the men for easing their burden.

That scene from the hardscrabble Talbiya district is playing out in dozens, probably hundreds, of other teeming Egyptian neighborhoods where conservative Islamists are in charge of "popular committees," the ad hoc groups that have formed to guard citizens' interests in the bumpy transition since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

Islamist leaders say the work is simply charity, a formalization of their long-standing service projects.

But moderate and liberal political rivals consider the Salfis' charity to be part of a stealthy campaign for big Islamist wins in parliamentary elections later this year, and the Islamists themselves acknowledge inspiration from the electoral successes of other regional Islamist factions with charity wings: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, for example.

"We live among the people," boasted Ashraf Naguib, a database programmer who's part of the Talbiya committee. "The liberals and secularists just talk on TV and in the media, in their air-conditioning. They don't feel the people," he added, echoing the Islamist complaint that their "Westernized," moderate political opponents spend more time on Facebook than in the streets.

An Islamist-dominated Egyptian government is a nightmare scenario for the U.S., which plied Mubarak with billions of dollars to keep regional stability and uphold the peace treaty with Israel.

Article continues HERE.

Muslim Brotherhood: Riding the Crest of Arab Spring

It's looking more and more like the Muslim Brotherhood is on a full court press in the Middle East. Not only are they on the verge of taking over Egypt, they're active in Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Yemen.

The Arab Spring is turning out to be the Muslim Brotherhood's foot in the door. Where this is going is hard to tell, but the Saudis and Iranians will both be watching and preparing to deal with a stronger than ever MB. There will be a three way tug of war destabilizing the Middle East and so the world.

FROM POLITICALMAVENS.COM:

Muslim Brotherhood: Riding the Crest of Arab Spring
By Walid Phares

In my most recent book, The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East (completed July 4, 2010), I argued that civil societies in the Greater Middle East (GME) and Arab World had reached a “critical stage” in their repudiation of all authoritarian forms of government: regime, theocracy, military and ultra-nationalist. The projections therein were based on a thorough study of antecedent Cedars and Green Revolutions in Lebanon (2005) and Iran (2009) respectively, both with limpid narratives, particularly online, and both auguring a continuation of bottom-up, regime-crumbling uprisings in the region.

Even before the region’s revolutionary meltdowns began, our findings were accompanied by a sober warning—a grueling contest would ensue between the dispersed and disorganized proponents of liberal democratic reform and the Islamists, led by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Indeed, as soon as the uprisings erupted on the streets of Tunis and Cairo, the Islamist political machine went into high gear. With Al Jazeera’s influential backing and the support of Qatar’s “diplomatic duo” and Turkey’s Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) (English: Justice and Development Party), the region’s mostly-Sunni Islamist movements gradually rose from the bottom and seized the initiative.

Article continues HERE.

Egypt, after 60 years Muslim Brotherhood party admitted to elections

Out of the chaos of the Arab Spring, the Muslim Brotherhood is rising like the Phoenix.  Only a few weeks ago, the Brotherhood denied any political ambitions can now garner perhaps half the vote in Egypt. Now sporting a new front, the ironically named Justice and Freedom Party, they are on course for a landslide in the September elections.  Once in power in Egypt, they will become the center of Islamic radicalism in the Arab world.

With al Qaeda in the wings in Libya and Yemen, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah becoming more belligerent by the day the Middle East is a tinderbox of instability and uncertainty.  The Saudis and UAE must be looking over their shoulders at their unhappy populations and wondering when their worlds will fall apart.

All in all, 2011 looks like the year of the Islamic Radical in the Middle East.  One can only guess what effects all the turmoil will have on the rest of the world, but whatever happens, it cannot bode well for peace and prosperity.


FROM ASIANEWS.IT:
Egypt, after 60 years Muslim Brotherhood party admitted to elections

Born after the jasmine revolution, Justice and Freedom aims to achieve 50% of the votes in September elections, despite the unfavourable polls. AsiaNews sources emphasize the clever campaign of the Muslim Brotherhood, to date the only ones on television, radio and in newspapers. Concern over Islamist drift of Egypt.

Cairo (AsiaNews) - The Electoral Commission has recognised the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood party, Justice and Freedom. For the first time in 60 years a political party linked to the Islamic movement is allowed take part in political life. Thanks to this acknowledgment, the Muslim Brotherhood will participate in the September elections, with a target of achieving over 50% of the vote, despite criticism and a poor performance in polls.

Founded on April 30, Justice and Freedom is one of four political parties founded by the Islamic movement after the jasmine revolution. AsiaNews sources point out that "the party is still the only political formation that is carrying out a real election campaign, with TV ads, posters, articles, ads on radio and in mosques." "The party – says the source -  is gaining ground and a landslide victory is not to be excluded, even though polls show only 20% of the population in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood."

The source believes that the moderate position taken by the Muslim Brotherhood is just an election ploy. They are using the party in order to present a "clean face" as evidenced by the election of a Coptic Christian as vice president, the absence in the statute or theocratic elements or radical Islamic positions and continual praising references to the Justice and Development, the moderate Islamic party of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. However, despite claims to liberty and secularism, the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood are still the same. "Their ideology - the source confirms - is inspired by radical Sharia law, which could emerge once parliament has been conquered. And all of this with the backing of the army, which has secretly been aligned to the Islamic movement all along.

Protesters demand Sharia Law implementation, tourism that respects Islam

And so it begins.  The Arab Spring in Egypt is stampeding toward Sharia rather than democracy.  This is no surprise however as a Muslim majority country given the opportunity will always move toward Sharia.  The Muslim Brotherhood is of course behind these calls for "Sharia, Sharia" and will become the dominate force in Egypt within a year.  All treaties with Israel will be abrogated and Egypt, under the control of the Brotherhood will conspire with Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and even directly with Iran to destroy Israel.  the destruction of Israel and the common religion of Islam will tie all the actors together in the assault on Israel that must surely come.


FROM ALMASRYALYOUM.COM:

Protesters demand Sharia Law implementation, tourism that respects Islam

Around 300 individuals gathered in Tahrir Square on Friday, chanting “Islamist, Islamist,” and calling for the implementation of Sharia Law in Egypt. Protesters also raised objections regarding tourists who “violate the people’s traditions,” and demanded closer scrutiny of those who receive permission to enter the country for tourism purposes.

The protesters, who held the banner of the “Development and Renaissance Party”, refused a civil state and attacked secularism, arguing that it does not suit the Egyptian people. They stressed that Egypt is a strictly Islamic country. A number of protesters had set up a stage at the same spot that Tahrir revolutionaries used to spread their message. A number of passers-by and street vendors gathered around the group.

The protesters called for tourism that respects cultural norms, saying Gulf tourists visit to violate Egyptian women. Foreign tourists who do not respect the Islamic traditions should also be more strictly regulated, they said.

The real Egyptian revolution

Here is Caroline B. Glick's brilliant analysis of the developing takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood.  As sure as the sun rises in the East, the Muslim Brotherhood will rule Egypt within a year.  With that rule will come a total imposition of Sharia law and the end expulsion and genocide of all non-Muslims.  The core of her argument is thus:

This situation will only get worse when the Muslim Brotherhood takes over Egypt in September.

And make no mistake. They intend to take over. As they did in the lead up to March's constitutional referendum, the Brotherhood is using its mosques as campaign offices. The message is clear: If you are a good Muslim you will vote for the Muslim Brotherhood.

When Mubarak was first overthrown in January, the Brotherhood announced it would only contest thirty percent of the parliamentary seats. Last month the percent rose to fifty. In all likelihood, in September the Brotherhood will contest and win the majority of the seats in the Egyptian parliament.

When Mubarak was overthrown, the Brotherhood announced it would not run a candidate for president. And when Brotherhood Shura governing council member and Physician's Union leader Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh announced last month that he is running for president, the Brotherhood quickly denied that he is the movement's candidate. But there is no reason to believe them.

Please read the entire article.

FROM JEWISHWORLDREVIEW.COM:

The real Egyptian revolution

By Caroline B. Glick

What the West's intoxication with the myth of the Arab spring has already sprung

Read the entire article HERE:

No Going Back for Egypt's Converted Copts

This item is but a thumbnail of the persecution of Egypt's Copts.  While life was onerous under Hosni Mubarek, life is about to become tenous in the extreme under the next regime.  Already the persecution of Copts has increased under the interim government.  It is certain that the Muslim Brotherhood will weild enormous influence over the next government, if not actually become the next government.  The Brotherhoods ultimate goal is the Islamic domination of all of humanity. 

FROM AINA.ORG:

No Going Back for Egypt's Converted Copts

Amid the upheavals in Egypt since January, reports have begun to emerge of a surge in disappearances of Coptic girls.

One priest in Cairo estimates that at least 21 young girls, many as young as 14, have disappeared from his parish alone.

In most cases, when a Christian girl who disappears is found by her family, she has been converted to Islam and married. The Coptic authorities, have even set up a series of refuges in monasteries to handle the growing numbers of girls who wish to return to their families, many of whom are not accepted by their family of origin.

But a worse problem for these women is that their conversion to Islam is irreversible.

Religion is stated on Egyptian ID documents and even though secular law provides for reversions, under the growth of sharia they are very difficult, except for those affording legal advocacy.

This situation is not unique to Egypt. There have been consistent reports of girls being coerced into Islamic conversion and marriage in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

That many of these girls are initially runaways is not in doubt. However, there is also evidence that a huge number are converted and married against their will.

The situation was documented in a controversial report published in 2009 on conversion and forced marriage of Coptic women by Washington DC-based Christian Solidarity International. The authors are Washington academic Michele Clark and Egyptian Coptic broadcast journalist Nadia Ghaly, based in Melbourne.

Between 2005 and 2008 they interviewed and documented 50 Egyptian women, mostly aged between 14 and 25, who had decided to return to their families. All claim to have been tricked, coerced or raped, converted to Islam and married. Most of the interviewees were trying to reconvert to their Christian identity, with limited or no success. The report's conclusions were printed in several major publications, including Forbes magazine.

Since the so-called Arab Spring, and the ensuing riots at Christian churches, the authors are trying to bring the subject of forced conversion and marriage to greater prominence.

Both groups live extremely closed, highly traditional separate lives and the norms surrounding marriage and sex are almost medieval, says Ghaly.

So, for example, it is not unheard of for a young Christian girl from a poor family to run away from an arranged marriage. Yet a high proportion of these women claim coercion, even rape, despite the shame that such a claim will cause if the girl wishes to return.

Many claim they were kept as virtual slaves. Others who were able to leave could not bring their children. Ghaly claims this is more than overt religious oppression, and amounts to "a form of cultural genocide".

She cites a document published by Human Rights Watch in November 2007, which says that even if Coptic women can obtain a divorce from their Muslim husband, those who wish to return to Christianity "meet with refusal and harassment from the Civil Status Department of the Ministry of Interior".

Under sharia law, reconversion is considered apostasy punishable by death.

By Angela Shanahan

Muslim Brotherhood Announces Creation Of Ikhwan Television Network

Well, this didn't take long.  According to the Obama administration the Muslim Brotherhood is just a minor group of moderates with no intentions of taking power in Egypt.

"With the establishment of the MB television network and its jump into electoral politics there seem few impediments to it gaining ultimate control of the nation."

Read on.

FROM PIPELINENEWS.ORG:

Muslim Brotherhood Announces Creation Of Ikhwan Television Network

April 19, 2011 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - According the group's website [source] Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is on the verge of launching a television channel/network which will provide a 24x7 opportunity to propagandize and spread the Ikhwan's creed [now curiously missing from the group's English language website], "Allah is our objective, the prophet is our leader, the Koran is our law, Jihad is our way, dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."

Mohsen Radhi, a leader of the MB and alleged journalist, refused to disclose the nature of the ownership or funding of the new venture, but stated, "that it would better express the moderate views of the Brotherhood [and] display a message that would achieve renaissance, development, and culture in the Egyptian society, as well as displaying different issues in an exciting informative, and unbiased manner, that will suit all sincere Egyptian citizens and better contribute to the liberation of Egyptian media."

Item continues HERE.

Three Churches Attacked, Egyptian Military Sides With Radical Muslims

Well, the Egyptian revolution for "democracy" certainly hasn’t slowed Egyptian Muslim attacks on the Copts.  It's business as usual and it will only get worse when the Muslim Brotherhood assumes a part of or control of, whatever type of government replaces Mubaracks' dictatorship.  Whatever evolves will certainly use the Koran and Sahria law as its basis.  

Three Churches Attacked, Egyptian Military Sides With Radical Muslims

FROM AINA.ORG:
Posted GMT 4-9-2011 4:5:57
(AINA) -- In the last two weeks three attacks on churches were undertaken by Salafis or Islamic Fundamentalists in Egypt. The Salafis demanded churches move to locations outside communities and be forbidden from making repairs, "even if they are so dilapidated that the roofs will collapse over the heads of the congregation," says Father Estephanos Shehata of Samalut Coptic Diocese.

The latest of these incidents took place in the village of Kamadeer, in Samalout, Minya province on April 5, which escalated to the point where it was feared the church would be torched and demolished, as was done in the case of St. George and St. Mina Church in village of Soul, Atfif, on March 5 (AINA 3-5-2011). For three days Muslims occupied the entrance to St. John the Beloved Church in the village of Kamadeer with their mats, praying and sleeping there while thousands of village Copts staged a sit-in for three continuous days in front of the Minya governorate building, vowing not to leave until they got their church back. "Even if it takes one year, we will still be here," said Fr. Youssab in the rally. The Coptic demonstrators demanded the reopening of their church and prosecution of the squatters (video of Coptic sit-in).

When the priest arrived at St. John the Beloved church on April 5 he found hundreds of Salafis, who told him and the parishioners that arrived for mass they are "not allowed" to pray at this church any longer.

Story continues HERE:

Salafi group in Alexandria pledges to implement Islamic Sharia

Well, it hasn’t taken long for the rats to come out of the sewers.  What we're seeing here is the first chapter of what will become a bloody power struggle amongst the various factions in Egypt to take control of the government.  But no matter which group comes out on top, the world will be poorer for it as it will make Egypt another Salafist stronghold. The people most immediately in danger will be the Copts who make up about 10% of the population.  They have suffered murder, discrimination and repression under the so called secular regime of Mubaric.  Once the country comes under the control of true, pious Muslims, the Copts will be crushed, exterminated and driven from their homeland.

FROM ALMASRYALYOUM.COM:

Salafi group in Alexandria pledges to implement Islamic Sharia

The Salafi group in Alexandria said it is seeking to implement Islamic Sharia law no matter how difficult the task.

During a conference held at Amr Ibn al-Aas mosque in Giza on Friday, several of the group's leaders called on non-Muslims to accept the rule of Islam which it argues provides sufficient protection for them.

Salafi leaders also said they are holding their conference to respond to “media attacks” and “the lies of liberalism” and general “anti-Islamic” sentiment.

Saeed Abdel Azeem, a Salafi leader, said that some people are waging a fierce campaign against the Salafi movement even though the group shuns violence. This began shortly after the results of the recent referendum on constitutional amendments were announced, he said, adding that the media, Mohamed ElBaradei, Amr Moussa and liberal parties consider themselves allied together against Islamists.

"But no matter how strongly it is attacked, Salafism is continuously advancing, and this attack won’t affect it," he said.

Ahmed Farid, another Salafi leader, said liberal and secular attacks have become increasingly ferocious, even though Salafism represents the correct understanding of Islam, and the attackers are actually harming themselves.

He said some claim that Salafis are more dangerous than Jews.

"We want Islamic law to be implemented, and will not accept anything short of that, so as to avoid a reversion to the pre-Islamic age," he concluded.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

The face of hatred, the face of evil.

When CAIR and MAS, the American fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood whimper and winge about "Islamophobia" remember the scenes from this video of Egyptian Muslims destroying a Coptic church.

When Muslims speak of Western intolerance toward Islam, remember this video.

When useful idiots in the West claim that Islam is the religion of peace, show them this video.

The face of hatred, the face of evil.

Muslims destroy a Coptic church.

Note: Google seems to have instituted new uploading policies for imbedding videos.  Unti I can work out the path through the smoke and mirrors, all I can do is post the link.  Sorry 'bout that.

Here's the link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwDCHOfuNpg&feature=player_embedded

Christian Copts Living As Slaves to Muslims in Egyptian Village

Yeah, another progressive Muslim majority country showing true Islamic tolerance to it's minorities.  What is it with Muslims and slavery?  If they can't have out and out slaves, they'll have economic slaves or use coercion and intimidation to have virtual slaves.

This is what Islam will bring to the West if we allow them to. 

To those who still believe that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, consider living conditions of minorities in Muslim majority countries.  Consider the thousands of honor killings of women and girls every year.  Consider 9-11.

FROM AINA.ORG:

Christian Copts Living As Slaves to Muslims in Egyptian Village

By Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) -- Since the Christmas Eve Massacre on January 6,2010, when six Copts were killed and nine seriously injured by Muslims in a drive-by shooting outside a church in Nag Hammadi (AINA 1-7-2010), the Coptic Patriarchate in Cairo has become a Mecca for oppressed Copts from all over Egypt.

Nearly every Wednesday, when Coptic Pope Shenouda III gives his weekly sermon, Copts go to complain to the Pope and make known their grievances to other Copts who never come to hear about those cases due to media blackout. They hope to meet with human rights activists attending the sermon without fear of getting arrested by State Security for congregating under the prevailing emergency laws.

Coptic human rights activist Dr. Fawzy Hermina has called the large courtyard of the Patriarchate the "Coptic Hyde Park."

Last week a group of nearly 50 Coptic men from the village of Azeem in Samalout, Minya province, came to expose "slavery-related" practices against Copts by certain radical Muslim families in their village. They called on human rights organizations for support. They met with activists from Coptic NGOs and appeared on US-based Coptic human rights channel Hope-Sat, which promised support through their lawyers in Egypt.

Bassem Shehata, 25, an IT graduate who attended the rally at the Patriarchate, said in an aired interview with Coptic activist Wagih Yacoub "We live in utter slavery. If Copts, some of whom are landowners, disobey orders of the big Muslim families, they are flogged." Bassem said that last year his 14-year-old brother Shenouda was tied by members of a Muslim family to a pole, beaten and tortured in front of his father just because the father did not lend them his tractor. "Each time my father begged for mercy for his child, he was also beaten." He said despite the family feeling "broken inside" his father refused to report the incident, fearing reprisals from the Muslim family.

Bassem said that young Christians work without pay on Muslim land. "I had to go because I was afraid they would harm my father."
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