muslim brotherhood

Egyptian regime thinking of outlawing Muslim Brotherhood. Again.

Danged if I know whether this would be smart, or not:

The Egyptian government […] announced it had begun deliberations on whether to ban the [Muslim] Brotherhood, a long-outlawed organization that swept to power in the country’s first democratic elections a year ago.

Such a ban — which authorities say is rooted in the group’s use of violence — would be a repeat to the decades-long power struggle between the state and the Brotherhood.

For more than a month since the July 3 military overthrow of Morsi, Brotherhood members and supporters have attacked and torched scores of police stations and churches, in retaliation. Shops and houses of Christians have also been targeted.

Continue reading Egyptian regime thinking of outlawing Muslim Brotherhood. Again.

Egyptian military starts arresting Muslim Brotherhood protesters.

We will now pause for the bitter laughter of the foreign policy hawks:

An Egyptian security official says 650 people, mostly backers of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, have been detained for allegedly trying to storm a military facility, an incident the military claims sparked violence that left more than 50 pro-Morsi protesters dead.

The detainees were largely pro-Morsi protesters seized during clashes early Monday outside the Republican Guard headquarters. Protesters and Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood deny any attack took place on the headquarters, saying troops opened fire on their sit-in nearby as the protesters finished dawn prayers.

Via Hot Air. And do you know why there is laughter, and it is bitter? It is because there is no “right” answer here. You can choose the hardcore Islamist thugs with unpleasant gender issues who nonetheless happened to win an election; or you can choose the (at-best) endemically corrupt and definitely authoritarian military cabal who nonetheless would like to get the country out of its current death spiral. Have fun! Continue reading Egyptian military starts arresting Muslim Brotherhood protesters.

Muslim Brotherhood reaches out to Hezbollah.

Ah, the Arab Spring.

Tell me again how marvelous it is that we encouraged the Muslim Brotherhood to take over in Egypt: “In a dramatic policy shift, Egypt will seek to forge “tight” relations with Hezbollah, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Hamdy revealed in a candid interview published Saturday in Lebanon’s Daily Star.” Such ‘tight’ relations will presumably include Hezbollah’s right to keep getting ready for that armed conflict with Israel that Hezbollah is supposedly not REALLY getting ready for. Because, of course, nobody in the Middle East has ever preemptively decided to try to attack Israel, ever. Continue reading Muslim Brotherhood reaches out to Hezbollah.

Obama: ‘protecting’ American lady-parts. Egyptian ones? …Well, not so much.

Let’s connect the dots:

One. This is from the official Tumblr of the Obama re-election campaign (click it fast, because it won’t be there soon): [UPDATE: Well, that was fast.]

Two. We are giving aid to Egypt. Which is to say, we are giving Egypt $450 million of your tax money.

Three. Egypt, of course, is run by the Muslim Brotherhood. This is what the Muslim Brotherhood thinks of Female Genital Mutilation:

“Saad El Katatny, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in parliament, says his movement is not opposed to the child law as a whole, rather “just those provisions that run counter to the norms, customs, and nature of the Egyptian people.” Aspects of the law that he takes issue with include articles that make it illegal to try children as adults, permit birth certificates for the children of unwed mothers, restrict corporal punishment, raise the marriage age to 18 years, and reinforce a standing ban on female circumcision.” (2008)
“Female Advisor to Egyptian President: Girls Not Circumcised “Lacking in Faith” Earlier this week, Egypt’s Tahrir News conducted an interview with Dr. Amina Kamal, advisor to President Morsi on Women’s Affairs, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party, and a member of the Constituent Assembly.” (2012)
“A number of Egyptian human rights groups have submitted a communication to the Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud against the Muslim Brotherhood`s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) to investigate the complaints of people in the village of Abu Aziz in the Minya governorate, south of Cairo, over the existence of a large medical convoy organized by the party that wanders streets and does medical examination on people, including female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, in violation of Egyptian law, conventions and treaties signed by Egypt.” (2012)
“Muslim Brotherhood (MB) MP Mohamed el-Omda objected to the criminalization of female circumcision in the presence of his three daughters and his mother.” (2012)
“For those wondering why on earth (in spite of the many rebuttals from Islamic clerics that FGM is distinctly un-Islamic) the Muslim Brotherhood have decided to virtually campaign on their support of it? Perhaps a view down the lens of social currency is helpful. Certainly we are not unfamiliar here in the UK with the idea of politicians aligning themselves with moral currencies such as marriage and sexuality in the face of the rapid decline of monetary capital. The Muslim Brotherhood also find that taking the [dubious] moral high-ground of chastity and honour avails them the opportunity to triumphantly reach into the heart of the vast majority of economically deprived Egyptians without offering any actual policies to relieve their hardship.” (2008)

Four. Let’s look at that Tumblr again, shall we?

Five. I think that I do agree with the Tumblr, after all: American women should vote to protect lady-parts. Which is to say, they should be voting for Romney-Ryan.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Barack Obama takes a page from the Muslim Brotherhood.

You may have noticed a little while back that the US Embassy in Cairo called out the Egyptian government/Muslim Brotherhood for saying one thing in English (read: Western foreign consumption) and another in Arabic (read: domestic/regional consumption). Which is all to the good… so why did the President do the same thing this week?

The View: “In an interview with ABC’s “The View,” Obama — who is in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly — was asked if the Benghazi assault was indeed terrorism. “There’s no doubt that the kind of weapons that were used, the ongoing assault, that it wasn’t just a mob action,” Obama said.”

Obama’s UN speech: “In every country, there are those who find different religious beliefs threatening; in every culture, those who love freedom for themselves must ask how much they are willing to tolerate freedom for others. That is what we saw play out the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world. I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity.”

…Annnnd that’s pretty much everything that the President had to say at the UN as to why we are having ongoing riots in the Middle East in the first place: it’s all because of that video. Oh, sure, the President admitted that Iran funds terrorist groups; but he knows, you know, and I know that the Benghazi attack (and probably the triggering riots*) were started up by an al-Qaeda affiliate (read: Sunni), while Iran prefers to work through groups like Hezbollah (read: Shi’ite). Which most of the people at the UN know, too – so yeah, they’re getting a message loud and clear, and it’s this: Barack Obama doesn’t want to look too closely at existing terror networks in the Middle East. Continue reading Barack Obama takes a page from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Obama vs. Obama on whether Egypt is an ally.

Barack Obama, 2012:

Egypt is neither an ally nor an enemy of the United States, President Barack Obama said Wednesday in the wake of a violent protest at the US embassy in Cairo.

“I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy,” Obama said in excerpts of an interview with Telemundo aired by MSNBC.

Barack Obama, 2011:

Sunlen Miller and Kirit Radia report: President Obama today reiterated that Egypt is an ally of the United States and that the he’s “always said” to President Hosni Mubarak that reform, both politically and economically, is essential for Egypt.

“Egypt’s been an ally of ours on a lot of critical issues,” Obama said from the White House this afternoon, “President Mubarak has been very helpful on a range of tough issues in the Middle East. But I’ve always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform — political reform, economic reform — is absolutely critical to the long-term well being of Egypt.”

Continue reading Obama vs. Obama on whether Egypt is an ally.