Opinion
Will Egypt's Morsi change?
Zvi Mazael
Published: 02.07.12, 18:03
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18 Talkbacks for this article
1. Zvi Mazael is honest, i want to add that.....
Iranian Hunter   (07.02.12)
The reason why The Muslim Brotherhood is hated by many muslims ( sufi, shiites, ahmadiyya, and some sunnis) is because.... they ARE FASCIST. These people would give you their smile and promise of human right and rights to build church and synagogue or buddhist temple or hindu temple (haha one can dream), but behind the backscene they would hire thugs to harass. Just look at Morsi and Shafiq elections, Shafiq head quarter hot burned by "thugs". The reasons why Wahhabi Saudi Arabia don't trust them is simply because the MB wanted, i quote "United Arab States", and it would mean a quickening of the clash of civilizations. Look at Syria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia. Those are all MB. Jordan, GCC are next if my guess is correct. Either GCC or Iran first.
2. GOD IS WITH US!
abdullah ,   Jordan   (07.02.12)
God is with those who are Just. MB is an honest group of men and women who will strive for Egypt's interests and rights. Despite the trillions spent, the propaganda, the wars and the torture. Islam Won !! Is that Why you islamophobes are mad!?!?
3. policy
ms ,   england   (07.02.12)
Why is it that your report is biased towards muslims or islam, you have not even given morsi a chance to before you are already pre juded him and his party,lets talk about mis-doings in israel first,example is why is the israeli government re-patriating poor african people?.And the atrocities that the palestinian people suffer daily are issues need addresssing.
4. An extremely astute opinion piece
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (07.02.12)
The mistake that a lot of people make, I think, is that they expect radical Islamists to all look like snaggle-toothed monsters, much the way people expect terrorists to look like unshaven, weapon-toting fanatics. The fact of the matter is that while all terrorist movements and all fundamentalist Islamist movements have their useful idiots which look precisely like what people in the West expect, the powers behind both fundamentalist Islam and terrorist organizations are far more likely to wear expensive suits and be educated in the West. They look more like Swiss bankers than do Swiss bankers. It doesn't make them any less dangerous -- in fact, it makes them far more dangerous because appearances do deceive -- or any less fanatical. They are simply quite adroit at hiding their true intentions behind a thin veneer of culture and some erudition. Sadly, if the Egyptian military does not take charge, Islamic fundamentalism will sweep Egypt -- including Salafist elements, which are more dangerous than the Moslem Brotherhood -- and that will throw the entire Arab world into complete disarray. For all its poverty, for all its high level of illiteracy, Egypt is the leading nation of the Arab world. When Egypt falls into fundamentalist disarray, the rest of the Arab world will topple like dominoes. At that point, the West -- chiefly the United States -- will have to decide just how committed they are to protecting the Saudis (and their oil production). Obama's abandonment of Hosni Mubarak may prove to be the most critical error made by any American president in history. Assuming, of course, that it was an error. There is quite a bit of evidence which suggests that allowing Mubarak to fall was part of Obama's private agenda all along.
5. U$A Client Dictator vs Religious
American Jew ,   New Jersey, USA   (07.02.12)
HMmmm, why would those families/friends in power living lavish lifestyles for generations, both within & outside their countries, want a different government focused more on their own citizens & not on them ...
6. Impossible to predict what will happen
Istvan ,   BUDAPEST HUNGARY   (07.02.12)
in Egypt. But one thing is 100% sure : The number of refugees to Europe will significantly rise.
7. To: No. 2
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (07.02.12)
Well, look where Islamic rule has taken Iran. Is that your idea of a healthy society and a thriving economy? Do you think that sovereign states should threaten the existence of another sovereign state? Do you think that justice is being served in Iran? More people are executed in Iran each year than in all the rest of the countries that have capital punishment combined! Some justice. And if that weren't enough to satisfy Iran's bloodlust, there are the constant fatwas issued against non-Iranians for all manner of spurious reasons. If you want your Islamofascist state, you can have it. Just don't come crying to the West when it all blows up in your face. Which it will. It already has!
8. #2 Abdullah
Fad Egypt   (07.02.12)
honest ?? are u kidding ? ok here we go , before the revolution the MB refused to participate they participated only on 28 january after the collapse of Mubarak regime they said they dont want to control the government or the presidency they said also they accept Shafik or Omer Suleiman as the president of Egypt also they said they will compete over just 30 percent of the parliamant later they said they want 50 percent at the end of the day they competed over 100 percent of the parliamant they won 48 percent and the radical salafis won 23 percent they attacked the revolutionaries calling them thugs and traitors then they started to bring down the government to form a another one which is unconstitutional and then comes last march , they announced their candidate for presidency !!!!! they are corrupt , they care about power only you Abdullah living in Jordan , please dont fall in this trap , you are being led by a wise king , may God bless him .
9. IRONICALLY only a BIG ISRAEL can save Islam from Islamism.
Jerry ,   The Netherlands   (07.02.12)
10. Usa plan
Dan ,   Canada   (07.02.12)
Plan is simple. Divide and conquer. Divide strong Arab regimes, that started to raise heads and unite for their common interests in the region, opposing us' aspirations. Put these countries back on camels. Renegotiate the price on oil supply.
11. To: No. 3
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (07.02.12)
Repatriating illegal African aliens is preferable to shooting them, don't you think? The Egyptians simply kill them. And there are no "atrocities" committed against ersatz "Palestinians." You need a healthy dose of reality.
12. 3
(07.03.12)
you must be in 2nd grade. your idiocy and ignorance give you away. my god. how come there are such ignorant stupid people in the world.
13. To Sarah B
Bertram ,   London, UK   (07.03.12)
Curiously, I find myself agreeing with much of your analysis. Fanatical Islamism is a cause for alarm for both Israel and the world as a whole. It is more dangerous than other fanatical religious ideologies because it is historically rooted in a mission to convert the world by force of arms. However, I have two comments: 1. Strategically and tactically, all states, including Israel, must act intelligently. Ideology is one thing, political behaviour is another. International relations are based on mutual self-interest. Sometimes supping with the devil can be justified - up to a limit. 2. It is an error to view Islam in a monolithic manner, just as it is with any other religion, including Judaism. Importantly, the label of Muslim does not always indicate an adherence to particular behaviours or even explicit beliefs. 'Muslim' like 'Jewish' is sometimes simply an inherited identity and does not necessarily determine the details of how an individual leads his or her life, or attitudes and behaviour towards others.
14. Islamism is a global danger
Ilya Meyer ,   Gothenburg, Sweden   (07.03.12)
Mazel is right, neither Morsi nor the Brotherhood changed their outlook overnight just because they got into power. The Islamists have one sole aim: domination and eradication of all who do not agree with their way of life. This doesn't just bode ill for the Christian Copts of Egypt or Egypt's Jewish neighbour Israel - just look at the cultural barbarism that other Islamists have perpetrated in Afghanistan, with the Islamist Taliban destroying centuries-old Buddhist relics, and the despicable acts of Ansar Dine Islamists today in Mali, where these Muslim extremists are destroying centuries-old Muslim (!) UNESCO-protected shrines because they are not deemed compatible with their view of what Islam should be. Egypt's Brotherhood has similar "surprises" in store for the world - and yes, they WILL be surprises to a world determined not to see and understand what Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is all about.
15. To: Bertram at No. 13
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (07.03.12)
Well, thank you for the back-handed compliment. Contrary to popular belief, I am quite capable of intellectual analysis. In fact, I manage to do precisely that, my personal feelings notwithstanding. Now, my response: 1. Chamberlain tried to react intelligently to Nazi Germany. It didn't work. In fact, it was an unmitigated disaster -- the West dismantled the only working democracy in Central and Eastern Europe in order to appease the Nazis. Much like the West is today trying to dismantle the only working democracy in the Middle East -- that would be Israel -- in order to appease Arab and Moslem interests. Not a good move. Not a smart move. Fortunately for the West, Israel isn't buying it. The Jewish people know better than most exactly what happened when the West tried to make nice with Hitler (may his name be cursed throughout eternity), even if everyone else has seemingly forgotten. It's a little hard to forget six million massacred souls. We won't sup with the devil. Having had to sup with Sadat and Abbas has been nauseating enough. Can't say we didn't warn you. 2. No one views Islam as monolithic. There are far too many factions, ranging from bad to worse (I have yet to be convinced that "moderate" Islam exists; in fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't), all of it dangerous to civilization as we know it. All religions evolve. Well, most have. Once upon a time, burning people at the stake was commonplace and expected. Christianity has moved away from that and has evolved. Judaism, a religion born in the stark realities of an unforgiving desert has been a tolerant and evolving force for five thousand years. But Islam is different. It bathes itself in its barbarity; it encourages that barbarity; it brooks no differing view. For that reason alone, it must be destroyed. Judaism never threatened civilization. Christianity never threatened civilization. Islam does. Period, full stop. My view is not the product of radical Zionism, it is simply the product of reality. I am extremely pragmatic. Being pragmatic is what I do for a living. I do not think that civilization is particularly well-served by marching backwards. I'm sorry to sound so bleak and unforgiving, but Islam is the greatest threat to civilization that has ever existed. Since most of us prefer civilization and would rather continue to evolve, the only choice we have is to eradicate any and all threats. Those threats are self-evident. How many airplanes must fly into buildings; how many embassies must be destroyed; how many tubes must be blown up until the world gets the message? Do you know -- had the Allies destroyed Germany -- roots and all -- in 1939, some fifty million people might have perished. Not nice. As it was, the failure to destroy Germany in 1939 resulted in nearly eighty million deaths. So -- could you, sir, how would you rewrite history?
16. To Sarah B at No 15
Bertram ,   London, UK   (07.03.12)
To take your last point first. You may be right about destroying Nazi Germany in 1939 but unfortunately the Allies were short of one - powerful - country who saw it as a little local difficulty until Pearl Harbour was bombed. More profoundly, it is tempting, but dangerous, to draw historical analogies. Many a statesman has come unstuck on that one. However destructive Islam may seem it is not Nazism. I am not arguing this on moral grounds but on the basis that it is far more firmly embedded in the history of the world than Nazism ever was. Nazism, although it had to be defeated militarily by the Allies, nonetheless was much more ephemeral than Islam and ultimately sowed the seeds of its own destruction. Mesmerised though the German population was by Hitlerian ideology there was no deep familial, cultural and national attachment to Nazism in the way that there was and is to Islam. It has been characterised by 1500 years of caliphates and empires in the Middle East, North Africa and the Iberian peninsular. Even in the unlikely event that the rest of the world united in an attempt to defeat Islam it ain't gonna go the way of Nazism. Forlorn though it is, the best hope is to encourage change, reformation, call it what you will.
17. Abdullah/Jordan
Dotan ,   Canada   (07.03.12)
I am not mad at all. Contrary I have very good friends in Egypt and hope for them that the new President will bring to a substantial improvement in their lives. No insult but Allah only helps those who work hard and make no war.
18. Concerned
Mark   (07.04.12)
Concerned because in the end neither of the two candidates in the final round were pragmatists. There was nothing for liberal people to vote for.
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