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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Sisi</title>
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		<title>‘Muslim Reformers’: Forever Talking the Talk, Never Walking the Walk</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/muslim-reformers-forever-talking-the-talk-never-walking-the-walk-1/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=muslim-reformers-forever-talking-the-talk-never-walking-the-walk-1</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2014 05:29:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Al-Azhar won’t denounce ISIS as “un-Islamic.”]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CP-BTV-21.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-247529" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CP-BTV-21-432x350.jpg" alt="CP-BTV-21" width="316" height="256" /></a>Due to its rarity, it’s always notable whenever a top Islamic leader publicly acknowledges the threat of Islamic radicalism and terror.   And yet, such denunciations never seem to go beyond words—and sometimes not even that.</p>
<p>Thus, in “<a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/15286/bahrain-islamists"><span style="color: #0433ff;">An Arab Prince Denounces Islamism</span></a>,” Daniel Pipes highlights “a remarkable but thus-far unnoticed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIBgsazvaOE"><span style="color: #0433ff;">address</span></a> on Dec. 5” by Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain.  In his address, the prince “candidly analyzed the Islamist enemy and suggested important ways to fight it.”</p>
<p>After discussing the positive aspects of this speech, Pipes remarks:</p>
<blockquote><p>So far, perfect. But Salman avoids the bitter reality that the “twisted” and “barbaric” ideology he describes is specifically Islamic and the theocrats are all Muslim: “this war that we are engaged in cannot be against Islam, … Christianity, … Judaism, … Buddhism.” So, when naming this ideology, Salman dithers and generalizes. He proffers an inept neologism (“theo-crism”), then harkens back to World War II for “fascist theocracy.” He implicitly rejects “Islamism,” saying he does not want a “debate about certain political parties, whether they’re Islamist or not.”</p></blockquote>
<p>In fact, this sort of equivocation is typical of ostensibly moderate leaders and institutions throughout the Islamic world.  Consider Egypt.   One of the most appealing characteristics of President Sisi has been his outspokenness concerning the need for a more modern, moderate Islam.<b> </b></p>
<p>For example, months before Sisi was elected president, I <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/gen-sisi-religious-discourse-greatest-challenge-facing-egypt/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">reported/translated</span></a> the following:</p>
<blockquote><p>During his recent speech at the Dept. of Moral Affairs for the Armed Forces [in January 2014], Gen. Abdul Fateh al-Sisi—the man who ousted former President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood in response to the June Revolution and who is seen as the nation’s de facto ruler—declared that “Religious discourse is the greatest battle and challenge facing the Egyptian people, and pointed to the need for a new vision and a modern, comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam—rather than relying on a discourse that has not changed for 800 years.”</p>
<p>Sisi further “called on all who follow the true Islam to improve the image of this religion in front of the world, after Islam has been for decades convicted of violence and destruction around the world, due to the crimes falsely committed in the name of Islam.”</p></blockquote>
<p>As with the pronunciations of Bahrain’s crown prince, so far so good.  Yet what has Sisi actually <i>done</i> about renewing Islamic discourse since becoming president?  “Absolutely nothing,” says one prominent Egyptian journalist.  Speaking recently on his popular TV show, Ibrahim Eissa said:</p>
<blockquote><p>What is the position of the Egyptian government concerning religious radicalization among the religious parties?  And now I specifically refer to the position of President Sisi concerning this matter.  Five months have passed since he became president, after his amazing showing at elections.  Okay: the president has, more than once, indicated the need for a renewal of religious discourse….  But he has not done a single thing, President Sisi, to renew religious discourse.  Nothing at all.</p></blockquote>
<p>Actually, if anything, it appears the Sisi government has done the reverse, for instance, allowing Salafis—those Egyptian Muslims most similar in ideology to ISIS—<a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/salafis-return-to-egypts-mosques-and-media/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">to return to the podium</span></a>.  One political activist called this move</p>
<blockquote><p>a major setback that will make it that much harder for the government to combat reactionary thinking—and this, after the Egyptian public had made great strides against such thinking….  Permitting the Salafi sheikhs to ascend to the pulpits again revives the bitter experiences of confronting this form of thinking, bringing us back to square one.</p></blockquote>
<p>Individuals aside, what about important Islamic institutions that ostensibly condemn terrorism?  How influential are they?  This last December 5, the embassy of Egypt issued a press release <a href="http://www.egyptembassy.net/news/al-azhar-conference-calls-for-muslims-to-combat-extremist-ideology/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">saying</span></a>,</p>
<blockquote><p>Al-Azhar, the oldest center for Islamic learning, pressed for Muslims to combat extremist ideology at an international conference [possibly the same one that the crown prince of Bahrain spoke at] ….  Delegitimizing the ideology of ISIS is an important pillar of the global effort to combat the group. Egypt’s religious leaders play a critical role in that effort.</p></blockquote>
<p>Good words.  Yet, for all its talk about “combatting extremist ideology,” Al Azhar University—perhaps Islam’s most authoritative voice—will <a href="http://www.vetogate.com/1374000"><span style="color: #0433ff;">not</span></a> even denounce the Islamic State as “un-Islamic.”</p>
<p>When pressed on it, an Al Azhar spokesman, Abbas Shouman, recently said: “As an official entity, Al Azhar has never in all its history proclaimed anyone or any organization as un-Islamic …. [B]eing occupied by this question will not lead to anything,” because “Al Azhar <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/the-islamic-state-and-islam/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">will not judge ISIS or its Islam as un-Islamic</span></a>, for it is not its right, neither concerning ISIS nor anyone else.”</p>
<p>But, as one human rights advocate in Egypt was quick to <a href="http://www.light-dark.net/mobile/post.php?id=198953"><span style="color: #0433ff;">quip</span></a>: “What, didn’t the ulema and sheikhs of Al Azhar denounce as un-Islamic Naguib Mahfouz and Farag Foda and others from among the intellectuals and writers whose activities were stopped and some of whom were assassinated due to Al Azhar’s position?”</p>
<p>Indeed, Farag Foda was a prominent Egyptian professor, writer, and human rights activist who was assassinated after being denounced by none other than Al Azhar.  And although Naguib Mahfouz won the Noble Prize for Literature, his literature was denounced by Al Azhar and, predictably, he was stabbed in the neck with a knife when he was 82-years-old outside his home.</p>
<p>What accounts for this stark double standard—that Al Azhar will vent against secular/humanist Muslims, thus inciting the mob against them, while refusing to denounce the cancerous Islamic State?  Or that it will denounce terrorism, but praise jihad (as in <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/jihad-vs-terrorism-listen-to-what-islams-authorities-say/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">this bizarre article full of twisted logic and semantic quibbling</span></a>)?</p>
<p>Muhammad Abdullah Nasr, <a href="http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject_ar.aspx?id=58518"><span style="color: #0433ff;">coordinator</span></a> of a group of former Al Azhar graduates who support a civil government, explains:</p>
<blockquote><p>The Islamic State can never denounce the Islamic State as un-Islamic.   For the Islamic State is the working, postgraduate project for graduates from Al Azhar.  And after this statement [refusing to denounce IS as “un-Islamic”], Al Azhar’s mask has fallen….  Everything that the Islamic State does exists in the curriculum of Al Azhar and is taught to students, including apostasy [punishing Muslims who leave Islam], <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islamic-jizya-protection-from-whom/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">payment of jizya</span></a>, <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/muhammad-and-islams-sex-slaves/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">sex slaves</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/muslims-sexually-enslaving-children-a-global-phenomenon/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">captivity of women</span></a>.</p></blockquote>
<p>At this late point in the game—as I write, Islamic jihadis are terrorizing Sydney, Australia—all purported Muslim moderates and reformers, individuals and organizations, need to understand—or rather, be made to understand by their Western counterparts—that talking the talk is no longer enough: they must walk the walk before they can ever be taken seriously.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>.</b></p>
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		<title>World Leaders Lambast Obama’s &#8216;Failures&#8217; in the Middle East</title>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2014 04:30:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The international community's scorn for a Radical-in-Chief. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/sisi.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-237091" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/sisi-450x300.jpg" alt="Egypt's President  al-Sisi and U.S. Secretary of State Kerry talk before a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo" width="260" height="173" /></a>World leaders are increasingly pointing to U.S. President Obama’s failures in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Some are direct and blunt.  For example, during his recent visit to Brazil, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked by journalists about U.S. sanctions against Russia due to the Ukrainian crisis.  While naturally condemning such moves, part of his <a href="http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=1779613"><span style="color: #0433ff;">response</span></a> was to accuse the Obama administration of “encouraging war between neighboring states.”  In the same context, Putin added:</p>
<blockquote><p>American objectives have not been realized, nor have they accomplished anything, because everything has collapsed.   Afghanistan faces problems, and Iraq and Libya are falling apart.  Egypt also was going to collapse had President Sisi not taken matters in hand.  And all this demonstrates the failures of the Obama administration.</p></blockquote>
<p>In fact, and as I have <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/confirmed-u-s-chief-facilitator-of-christian-persecution/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">pointed out</span></a> in <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/obamas-proxy-war-on-mideast-christians/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">several articles</span></a>, every Muslim nation the U.S. has interfered in—whether to promote “democracy,” as in the much ballyhooed “Arab Spring,” or to defeat “terrorism” and/or eliminate “WMDs”—has seen two results: the empowerment of Islamists, followed by chaos, conflict, and constant atrocities.</p>
<p>Other leaders, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, indirectly point to the Obama administration’s failures in the Middle East.  This occurred during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, in the context of the Presbyterian Church of the USA’s recent decision to divest from Israel in the name of the Palestinian people.</p>
<p>After pointing out that “Christians are persecuted throughout the Middle East”—and <a href="http://blogs.cbn.com/ibrahim/archive/2014/07/21/presbyterian-church-criticizes-israel-ignores-christian-persecution.aspx"><span style="color: #0433ff;">nary a word of condemnation or concern from the Presbyterian Church</span></a>—Netanyahu said:</p>
<blockquote><p>You know, I would suggest to these Presbyterian organizations to fly to the Middle East, come and see Israel for the embattled democracy that it is, and then take a bus tour, go to Libya, go to Syria, go to Iraq, and see the difference.  And I would give them two pieces of advice, one is, make sure it’s an armor-plated bus, and second, don’t say that you’re Christians.</p></blockquote>
<p>While not directly mentioning the U.S.’s role in these three nations—Netanyahu, after all, is on better terms with America than Putin—the obvious is clear: 1) the U.S. played a major role “liberating” two of these countries—Iraq and Libya—and is currently supporting the freedom fighters/terrorists trying to “liberate” Syria; and 2) in all three nations, the human rights of non-Muslims, specifically Christians, have taken a dramatic nosedive, evincing the nature of those the U.S. helped empower.</p>
<p>Consider Iraq today, one decade after the U.S. took down Saddam Hussein, bringing “freedom” and “democracy” to the Iraqi people: now an Islamic caliphate exists, enforcing the savageries of Sharia—from stoning women accused of adultery to crucifying others, burning churches and forcing Christians either to convert to Islam, pay “taxes” (jizya) and embrace third class status, or face the sword.</p>
<p>Libya, Afghanistan, and rebel-controlled areas of Syria are little better.</p>
<p>As Putin pointed out, the only nation still trying to hang in there is Egypt, thanks to the anti-Muslim Brotherhood revolution—which, of course, was criticized by the U.S. government, including by people <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/john-mccain-proves-u-s-leadership-allied-to-muslim-brotherhood/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">like John McCain</span></a>.</p>
<p>To recap Egypt: the Obama administration turned its back on 30-year-long U.S. ally, the secularist Mubarak, embraced the Islamist Morsi, and some of the worst Muslim persecution of Christians—the litmus test of “radicalization”—took place against the Copts during Morsi’s one year of rule, from an <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/an-islamic-declaration-of-war-on-christianity/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">unprecedented attack</span></a> on the most important Coptic building and seat of the pope, <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/scandal-morsi-government-permits-savage-attack-on-st-mark-cathedral/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">the St. Mark Cathedral</span></a>, to a dramatic rise in the <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islams-collective-punishment-of-christians"><span style="color: #0433ff;">imprisonment of Christians accused of “insulting” Islam</span></a>.</p>
<p>As for Egypt’s current president, Sisi, he too made some observations that comport with those of Putin’s (that “someone” is fueling conflict between neighboring states) and Netanyahu’s (that the region is a mess, thanks to the empowerment of Islamists).</p>
<p>During his televised speech in early July, Sisi warned that “religion [code for “Islam”] is being used to destroy neighboring countries”—a clear reference to the empowerment of Islamists in the same failed nations highlighted by Putin and Netanyahu, namely, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan—all the handiwork of U.S. leadership in general, Obama’s administration in particular.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>Egypt’s New Government Calls for Anti-Christian Measures?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/egypts-new-government-calls-for-anti-christian-measures/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=egypts-new-government-calls-for-anti-christian-measures</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2014 04:00:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Outgoing president and close ally of Sisi boasts of the anti-Christian “Conditions of Omar”.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/cp.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-233975" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/cp.jpg" alt="cp" width="312" height="162" /></a>Overlooked in the midst of all the celebrations in Egypt concerning the presidential victory of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, his predecessor, President Adly Mansour—who very much shares in Sisi’s worldview and politics—made a strange comment about the place of the nation’s Christian minority, the Copts. (Sisi installed Mansour as acting president of Egypt on July 4, 2013—right after ousting former President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party during the June 30 Revolution, which was supported by the Coptic Church.)</p>
<p>In a televised speech delivered a few days ago, Mansour addressed the Copts in a very inclusive way, one much welcomed and appreciated by Egypt’s Christians. Among other things, he indicated that they were equal citizens, “brothers” to the Muslims; that they have been an integral part of Egypt’s history; that both Copts and Muslims are victims of and enemies to “terrorism” (a reference to the Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations).</p>
<p>Then he said:</p>
<blockquote><p>I speak to you [Copts] today through the true spirit of Islam—the spirit whose values appeared in the Pact of Omar, wherein the righteous Caliph, Omar bin al-Khattab, made a covenant with the Christians of Jerusalem, after Medina opened [conquered] it in the year 638; the Pact which preserved for the Christians their churches, monasteries, and crosses, and their religion and possessions. Egypt again renews the spirit of this pact and its principles with you; Egypt, the Muslim state, which takes from the values and principles of the tolerant and true Islamic Sharia for its legislation.</p></blockquote>
<p>To those familiar with the actual text of the Pact of Omar—also known as the <em>shurut</em>, or “the conditions,” of Omar—the above speech is a strange contradiction. After all, whereas Koran 9:29 provides divine sanction to fight the “People of the Book” (namely, Christians and Jews) “until they pay the jizya [monetary tribute] with willing submission and feel themselves subdued,” the <em>Conditions</em> of Omar lay out in detail how Christians are to feel themselves subdued.</p>
<p>Below are excerpts from the <em>Conditions</em> (see <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1621570258/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1621570258&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=uhurnetw-20"><em>Crucified Again</em> </a> for my complete translation and historical discussion of the text). The conquered Christians appear to be speaking and agree:</p>
<blockquote><p>Not to build a church in our city—nor a monastery, convent, or monk’s cell in the surrounding areas—and not to repair those that fall in ruins or are in Muslim quarters;</p>
<p>Not to clang our cymbals except lightly and from the innermost recesses of our churches;</p>
<p>Not to display a cross on them [churches], nor raise our voices during prayer or readings in our churches anywhere near Muslims;</p>
<p>Not to produce a cross or [Christian] book in the markets of the Muslims;</p>
<p>Not to congregate in the open for Easter or Palm Sunday, nor lift our voices [in lamentation] for our dead nor show our firelights with them near the market places of the Muslims;</p>
<p>Not to display any signs of polytheism, nor make our religion appealing, nor call or proselytize anyone to it;</p>
<p>Not to prevent any of our relatives who wish to enter into Islam;</p>
<p>Not to possess or bear any arms whatsoever, nor gird ourselves with swords;</p>
<p>To honor the Muslims, show them the way, and rise up from our seats if they wish to sit down;</p>
<p>We guarantee all this to you upon ourselves, our descendants, our spouses, and our neighbors, and if we change or contradict these conditions imposed upon ourselves in order to receive safety, we forfeit our <em>dhimma</em> [protection], and we become liable to the same treatment you inflict upon the people who resist and cause sedition.</p></blockquote>
<p>To “become liable to the same treatment you inflict upon the people who resist and cause sedition” simply meant that, if any stipulation of the <em>Conditions</em> was broken, the Christians would resume their natural status as non-submitting infidels who “resist and cause sedition” against Islam—becoming, once again, free game for killing or enslavement.</p>
<p>That other Muslims read the <em>Conditions</em> to mean what they plainly say—as opposed to Mansour’s portrayal of them as indicative of Islamic tolerance—consider how just a few months ago, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) tried to enforce the <em>Conditions</em> to a tee, when it issued a directive calling on “Christians in the city to pay tax of around half an ounce (14g) of pure gold in exchange for their safety.”</p>
<blockquote><p>It [<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26366197">ISIS’ statement</a>] says Christians must not make renovations to churches, display crosses or other religious symbols outside churches, ring church bells or pray in public.  Christians must not carry arms, and must follow other rules imposed by ISIS on their daily lives.  The statement said the group had met Christian representatives and offered them three choices—they could convert to Islam, accept ISIS’ conditions [based on <em>Conditions of Omar</em>], or reject their control and risk being killed.  “If they reject, they are subject to being legitimate targets, and nothing will remain between them and ISIS other than the sword,” the statement said.</p></blockquote>
<p>To be sure, ISIS’s interpretation of the <em>Conditions of Omar</em> is more orthodox than Mansour’s—certainly more in accordance with Islamic history and doctrine. Consider, for instance, the words of Saudi Sheikh Marzouk Salem al-Ghamdi—an Islamic cleric, not a politician like Egypt’s president—once spoken during a Friday mosque sermon:</p>
<blockquote><p>If the infidels live among the Muslims, in accordance with the conditions set out by the Prophet—there is nothing wrong with it provided they pay Jizya to the Islamic treasury. Other conditions [reference to <em>Conditions of Omar</em>] are … that they do not renovate a church or a monastery, do not rebuild ones that were destroyed, that they feed for three days any Muslim who passes by their homes … that they rise when a Muslim wishes to sit, that they do not imitate Muslims in dress and speech, nor ride horses, nor own swords, nor arm themselves with any kind of weapon; that they do not sell wine, do not show the cross, do not ring church bells, do not raise their voices during prayer, that they shave their hair in front so as to make them easily identifiable, do not incite anyone against the Muslims, and do not strike a Muslim…. If they violate these conditions, they have no protection.</p></blockquote>
<p>What, then, do we make of Mansour’s reference to these medieval <em>Conditions</em>—in a speech meant to reassure Egypt’s Christians of their equality as citizens of a modern nation?</p>
<p>What do we make of the fact that Mansour’s views on the Copts—often seen as inclusive and moderate—are shared by Sisi, Egypt’s new president, who is believed to be more of a pious Muslim than his predecessor?</p>
<p>Was Mansour employing a bit of <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/tawriya-lying/">Islamic tawriya</a>, mentioning seemingly tolerant aspects of the <em>Conditions</em>—that Christians are allowed to “preserve” their existing churches, monasteries, and crosses—while ignoring the “conditions” Christians must obey in exchange for such “tolerance,” namely, that they not build or repair any churches or monasteries above the ones in existence and to keep their crosses out of sight—otherwise they lose all “protection”?</p>
<p>Through such double-talk, was Mansour trying to placate, on the one hand, the Copts, many of whom do not know much about the <em>Conditions</em>, and, on the other, hardline Salafis who do—with words and references that convey different notions to different people?</p>
<p>Indeed, from a Salafi point of view, Mansour’s declaration to the Copts that “Egypt again renews the spirit of this pact [<em>Conditions</em>] and its principles with you; Egypt, the Muslim state,” is tantamount to telling the Copts to remember their place in a medieval Muslim society and embrace their lot as <em>dhimmis</em>, third-class citizens.</p>
<p>Nor does Mansour’s use of words like “the spirit” or “values and principles” of the <em>Conditions</em> really moderate anything. For however one spins it, the most basic meaning of the <em>Conditions</em> is that Christians—because they are Christians, not Muslims—must uphold certain debilitating, discriminatory, and humiliating “conditions” in order to exist as Christians in an Islamic state.</p>
<p>Then again, could Mansour himself, a judge and former head of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court, be ignorant or incredulous of the truth concerning the <em>Conditions</em>?</p>
<p>In fact, a few days before Mansour’s speech, I <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/islamic-fatwa-husbands-should-abandon-wives-to-rapists-in-self-interest/">wrote the following</a> words which may be applicable to him:</p>
<blockquote><p>This is the fundamental problem facing all moderate Muslims: despite what they like to believe and due to a variety of historical and epistemological factors, they are heavily influenced by Western thinking … so whenever they come up against Islamic teachings they cannot fathom [such as the discriminatory <em>Conditions</em>], they collectively behave as if such teachings don’t really mean what they mean.</p>
<p>Yet the Salafis know exactly what they mean.</p></blockquote>
<p>At any rate, most Copts—despite Mansour’s disturbing references to a medieval text that historically justified Christian subjugation—believe that Egypt’s government, first under Mansour and now Sisi, is preferable to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.</p>
<p>And most remain optimistic about Sisi.</p>
<p>Time will tell if such optimism is warranted, or if Egypt’s Christians will again be fated to watch their nation take one step forward and another one right back—the inevitable outcome of a worldview that always tries to articulate itself through Islamic terms.</p>
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		<title>Morsi&#8217;s Boasts of a Pro-Brotherhood U.S. Come True</title>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Aug 2013 04:43:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Startling omens from the final dialogue between the ousted Islamist and General al-Sisi. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><i><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/obama-and-morsi-1.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-202557" alt="obama-and-morsi-1" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/obama-and-morsi-1-450x337.jpg" width="270" height="202" /></a>Originally published by <a href="http://blogs.cbn.com/ibrahim/archive/2013/08/26/morsis-boasts-of-a-pro-brotherhood-u.s.-come-true.aspx">CBN News</a>.</i></p>
<p>Nearly two months after Egypt’s June 30 Revolution, it is interesting to note how the final dialogue between ousted President Morsi and General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi—full of threats and vows of determination on both sides—have all come to pass, including in the very details, specifically the U.S. government’s role.  On July 5, the Arabic language, Egyptian newspaper <i>El Watan</i> published what it said were the final words between the two Egyptian men, as transcribed by an eyewitness, before the general put the president in prison.  (<a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/exposed-final-conversation-between-morsi-and-sisi/">Original and complete English translation here</a>.)</p>
<p>The relevant portions of the dialogue between Sisi and Morsi follow, interspersed with my retrospective observations where appropriate:</p>
<p><b>Abridged Exchange Between Morsi and Sisi</b></p>
<blockquote><p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: What’s the military’s position concerning what’s going on? Is it just going to stand by watching? Shouldn’t it protect the legitimacy?</i></p>
<p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: What legitimacy? The entire army is with the will of the people, and the overwhelming majority of people, according to documented reports, don’t want you.</i></p>
<p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: My supporters are many and they won’t be silent.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>Morsi’s first threat is generic and subtle.  Not yet pushed to the brink, Morsi simply alludes to his “supporters,” who “are many and they won’t be silent.”  No word yet as to who these supporters are or what they will do.</p>
<blockquote><p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: The army will not allow anyone to destroy the nation, no matter what happens.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>An early indicator of military resolve, one that, to this day, does not appear to have diminished.</p>
<blockquote><p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: What if I don’t want to leave?</i></p>
<p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: The matter is settled and no longer up to you. Try to leave with your dignity and tell those whom you call supporters to go back to their homes in order to prevent bloodshed, instead of threatening the people through them.</i></p>
<p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: But this way it will be a military coup, and America won’t leave you alone.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>While technically a military coup, the military was reacting to a popular revolution: tens of millions of Egyptians—many more than in the original 2011 revolution against Hosni Mubarak—took to the streets for several days demanding new elections (as many Egyptians from the very start insisted that <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/did-the-muslim-brotherhood-really-win-egypts-presidency/">Morsi never even won the presidential election</a>).  And nearly two month later, months of <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/egyptian-military-warns-obama-supporting-terrorism-in-egypt-is-red-line/">intense pressure and threats</a>, the U.S., in Morsi’s words, certainly shows no signs that it will “leave you [Egyptian military] alone.”</p>
<blockquote><p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: The people concern us, not America. And since you’ve started to talk this way, I’ll talk to you candidly. We have evidence to condemn you and to condemn many governmental officials of compromising Egypt’s national security. The judiciary will have its say and you will all be judged before the whole people.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>Once Morsi becomes more specific about who his supporters are—the United States, a foreign entity—Sisi also becomes candid, pointing out to him that the military has evidence to condemn Morsi and his Brotherhood cabinet.  In recent weeks and days, talk of this evidence has become more widespread.  According to many Egyptian political activists, the Brotherhood and the Obama administration made a deal, which has seen the exchange of vast sums of money, possibly at the hands of President Obama’s half-brother, Malik Obama.  Add to this the <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/obamas-brother-muslim-brotherhood-leader/">recent assertions</a> of Tahani al-Gebali, Vice President of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Egypt: “Obama’s brother is one of the architects of investment for the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.”  Moreover, that the U.S. government, including ambassador <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/u-s-ambassador-to-egypt-muslim-brotherhoods-lackey/">Anne Patterson</a> and Senators <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/john-mccain-proves-u-s-leadership-allied-to-muslim-brotherhood/">Graham and McCain</a>, has been pressuring Egypt to release Morsi and other key Brotherhood figures, such as multimillionaire Khairat al-Shatter—even though they are also being held in connection to incitement and terrorism against Egyptian civilians—only validates the idea that imprisoned Brotherhood leadership, when tried, may well spill the beans as to the nature of the relationship between Morsi’s ousted government and the Obama administration, hence the reason the latter is so adamant about getting them released.</p>
<blockquote><p><i>[…]</i></p>
<p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: Don’t think the Brotherhood is going to stand by if I leave office. They will set the world on fire.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>True, indeed.  While the Brotherhood’s media wing in Qatar, also known as “Al Jazeera,” has been blasting a 24/7 media propaganda campaign dedicated to demonizing the military and garnering sympathy for the Brotherhood—often by <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/exposed-al-jazeera-airs-fake-brotherhood-injuries-and-deaths/">flagrantly lying</a>—the Brotherhood and its supporters have quite literally been “setting the world  on fire,” most visibly in Egypt, where some <a href="http://www.aina.org/news/20130818125428.htm">80 churches and other Christian institutions</a>, not to mention government buildings, etc., have been set aflame.</p>
<blockquote><p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: Just let them try something and you’ll see the reaction of the army. Whoever among them wants to live in peace, he’s more than welcome; otherwise, [if they try anything] we will not leave them alone. We will not single anyone out, and the Brotherhood is from the Egyptian people, so don’t try to use them as fuel for your disgusting war. If you truly love them, leave office and let them go to their homes.</i></p>
<p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: Anyway, I’m not going, and the people outside of Egypt are all with me, and my supporters are not going.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>Again, Morsi indicates who his two main supporters are: “the people outside of Egypt,” that is, the United States, and “my supporters,” the Muslim Brotherhood and its many Islamist sympathizers in and out of Egypt.</p>
<blockquote><p><i>[…]</i></p>
<p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: Okay, if I agree to be removed, will you allow me to travel abroad and promise not to imprison me?</i></p>
<p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: I can’t offer you any promises. It’s the justice [department] that will pass its verdict.</i></p>
<p><b><i>Morsi</i></b><i>: Okay, if that’s the case, I’ll make it war, and we’ll see who will prevail in the end.</i></p>
<p><b><i>Sisi</i></b><i>: Naturally the people will win.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>The verdict is still out concerning the fate of Egypt.  For true to Morsi’s threats, the U.S. and the Brotherhood and its allies—from church-burning thugs in Egypt’s streets, to Al Jazeera’s media manipulations—are still trying to undermine the Egyptian people’s June 30 Revolution against the corrupt, Islamist rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.</p>
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		<title>Exposed: The Final Conversation Between Morsi and Egyptian Military</title>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2013 04:15:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Guess who the ousted Muslim Brotherhood president warns has his back?]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Picture-5.png"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-196320" alt="Picture 5" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Picture-5.png" width="233" height="161" /></a>On July 5, <em>El Watan</em> (“the nation”), one of Egypt’s most popular newspapers, <a href="http://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/219627">published</a> the final dialogue between General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Dr. Muhammad Morsi, which took place on Tuesday July 2, a few hours before Morsi’s final speech to the Egyptian people.  A reporter who was taken to an adjacent room was allowed to witness and transcribe their conversation from a TV screen.  I translate the entire speech as it appears on <em>El Watan</em> below:</span></b></p>
<p><b>Exchange Between Morsi and Sisi</b></p>
<p>Morsi: What’s the military’s position concerning what’s going on?  Is it just going to stand by watching?  Shouldn’t it protect the legitimacy?</p>
<p>Sisi: What legitimacy?  The entire army is with the will of the people, and the overwhelming majority of people, according to documented reports, don’t want you.</p>
<p>Morsi: My supporters are many and they won’t be silent.</p>
<p>Sisi: The army will not allow anyone to destroy the nation, no matter what happens.</p>
<p>Morsi: What if I don’t want to leave?</p>
<p>Sisi: The matter is settled and no longer up to you.  Try to leave with your dignity and tell those whom you call supporters to go back to their homes in order to prevent bloodshed, instead of threatening the people through them.</p>
<p>Morsi: But this way it will be a military coup, and America won’t leave you alone.</p>
<p>Sisi: The people concern us, not America.  And since you’ve started to talk this way, I’ll talk to you candidly.  We have evidence to condemn you and to condemn many governmental officials of compromising Egypt’s national security.  The judiciary will have its say and you will all be judged before the whole people.</p>
<p>Morsi: Okay, can you permit me to make a few phone calls and then afterwards I’ll decide on what to do?</p>
<p>Sisi: You are not permitted; but we can let you check up on your family only.</p>
<p>Morsi: Am I imprisoned or what?</p>
<p>Sisi: You are under arrest from this moment.</p>
<p>Morsi: Don’t think the Brotherhood is going to stand by if I leave office.  They will set the world on fire.</p>
<p>Sisi: Just let them try something and you’ll see the reaction of the army.  Whoever among them wants to live in peace, he’s more than welcome; otherwise, [if they try anything] we will not leave them alone.  We will not single anyone out, and the Brotherhood is from the Egyptian people, so don’t try to use them as fuel for your disgusting war.  If you truly love them, leave office and let them go to their homes.</p>
<p>Morsi: Anyway, I’m not going, and the people outside of Egypt are all with me, and my supporters are not going.</p>
<p>Sisi: Anyway, I’ve advised you.</p>
<p>Morsi: Okay, but take care—I’m the one who hired you as minister and can remove you.</p>
<p>Sisi: I became minister of defense due to the military’s will and not yours—and you know this very well.  Moreover, you can’t remove me; that’s it—you no longer have any legitimacy.</p>
<p>Morsi: Okay, if I agree to be removed, will you allow me to travel abroad and promise not to imprison me?</p>
<p>Sisi: I can’t offer you any promises.  It’s the justice [department] that will pass its verdict.</p>
<p>Morsi: Okay, if that’s the case, I’ll make it war, and we’ll see who will prevail in the end.</p>
<p>Sisi: Naturally the people will win.</p>
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