The newThe new constitution and the polarization of Egyptian society

Since the fifth day after the start of the January 25^th Revolution, the strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood and their political arm, “The Justice and Freedom Party”, has been based on lies and deception. Such a strategy is not based on intelligence, rationale, or clever thinking. The revolution ended by replacing one authoritarian regime with another.

The new constitution has been ratified by 63% of voters, according to the national election committee. There have been reports issued by journalists, human rights organizations, and some judicial observers, that claim that the election was rigged by representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood at polling stations. It has also been reported that some Copts were prevented from entering polling stations. Others waited in line for more than eight hours and in the end were unable to vote.

It is unfortunate to point out that President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters have played an exclusive role by preventing opposition political groups from participating in drafting the constitution, which has led to the following results:

First, the committee that drafted the constitution did not represent the majority of the Egyptian population. 75% of the 100 members were representative of Islamist political groups. The other 25% were not able to participate, which led them to resign from the committee.

Second, the committee that drafted the constitution was illegally appointed by the dissolved parliament that consisted of a majority of Islamist political members. As a matter of fact, during his political campaign, President Morsi promised to dissolve that committee and create a new one that would be more representative of the various segments of the Egyptian population.

After his election, Morsi failed to implement what he promised those who elected him. This was not the first violation, nor was it the last of the Muslim Brotherhood’s lies.

Third, the new constitution ahs been poorly drafted and does not represent all groups within Egyptian society. The constitution has been framed by more Islamic criteria than secular ones.

Fourth, minorities such as Copts, women and children are not protected or treated equally.

Fifth, the newly approved constitution will lead to a new stage of conflict, which will further enhance instability and increase violence in Egyptian society.

Sixth, the new constitution has polarized the split of Egyptian society into two major political opponents: conservative Islamists vs. liberal secular Muslim and Christian groups. This is the result of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political strategy that is based on excluding others from sharing political power.

Seventh, 30% only of the eligible voters have participated in the election. From a legal point of view, the new constitution should be rejected and a new one should be drafted. Moreover, the drafting committee should represent the Egyptian society as a whole.

The Muslim Brotherhood monopolized Islam to achieve political control. For how long will such a policy continue? Ti

Political Polarization in Egypt

The recent military flare up in Gaza between Hamas and the Israeli military forces led to the killings of more than 160 Palestinians and more than 1,200 injuries. Adding to the devastation was the destruction of homes and public and economic facilities. President Morsi of Egypt played an important mediator role between the feuding parties, which led to a truce and a ceasefire.

President Morsi gained recognition from the U.S. government and other western powers for his efforts. Right after this achievement, President Morsi committed a political blunder by issuing constitutional decrees granting himself unlimited political power and preventing any legal possibility of interfering in any decision he makes. He also froze Egypt’s Higher Constitutional Court and promised to reorganize it after the ratification of a new constitution and the election of a new parliament. Furthermore, he ordered a new trial for all previous officials, including Hosni Mubarak and the top ranking officials who were set free by Egyptian courts.

Morsi also gave political immunity from outside interference to Maglis al-Shura and the constitutional committee. Both are dominated by a majority membership from the Muslim Brotherhood. He also appointed a new public prosecutor to replace Mubarak’s appointment of Mahmoud. Abdel Meguid

These actions were condemned by the Egyptian Judicial Council and considered an interference with the independence of the Egyptian judicial system. Some judges in various Egyptian governorates have declared publicly that they will not preside in courts in protest of President Morsi’s decisions. In the meantime, the Egyptian public prosecutor Mahmoud Abed al-Megid whom Morsi removed will challenge the legality of the president’s decision.

President Morsi accused high-ranking officials in the judicial system of not performing their official functions, including the Egyptian general prosecutor. The rationale used by President Morsi is that the official decree he made is to ensure the protection of the revolution from the followers of the previous regime. He referred to the dangers of the revolution due to the slow progress being made in the economic sector because frequent protests scare foreign investors.

The rationale used by President Morsi as a justification for the official decree he issued was rejected by nearly all-secular political parties, whose numbers exceed 26 groups. They accused the president of trying to create a dictatorship and pave the way for the Muslim Brotherhood to dominate Egyptian society. President Morsi’s political agenda has contributed to the political polarization of Egypt.

President Morsi’s political actions enhanced protests that have been calling on Morsi to resign even before he issued the new decrees. In addition, nearly all secular political parties and groups have joined the young protestors in Tahrir Square, rejecting Morsi’s political agenda and continuing the call for his resignation.

The headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, Port Said and Ismailia and other headquarters were attacked by protestors. In the meantime, the followers of the Muslim Brotherhood organized their followers in front of the presidential palace in support of President Morsi’s decisions. They also called for protests to take place on November 27^th in support of the president.

Let me conclude by pointing out that President Morsi’s political decision has exceeded his legal authority. Such decrees should have been left to the future elected Egyptian parliament to deal with.

Finally, it is important to point out, as I did in several previous posts, that the Muslim Brotherhood and their political arm, “The Freedom and Justice Party”, have been following a strategy based on lies and deception from the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution. Their intentions and political strategy have begun to appear to the Egyptian public. At the end, they will be the losers.

Religious fanaticism is a Byproduct of ignorance

On November 13, 2012, Mr. W. Al-Ibrashi on Dream TV Channel hosted controversial Islamic Sheikh Morgan, who was among the followers of Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Sheikh Morgan has been threatening to destroy Egyptian antiquities such as the Sphinx and the Pyramids. He is under the illusion that such antiquities are being worshipped, something that is in violation of Islamic beliefs. Sheikh Morgan is a fanatic ignorant and dangerous person, not only for Egypt but also for world stability, by his own admission. He was involved in the destruction of the largest Buddha statue in Afghanistan, so he says. It is of interest to notice that during the talk on Al-Ibrashi’s program, none of the participants raised the possibility that the destruction of the Buddha statue in Afghanistan led to the ugly violence that has been taking place against the Muslim minority by Buddhists in Myanmar.

It is also amazing that such an extremist and ignorant man like Sheikh Murjan is left to issue threats against Egyptian antiquities. This person should be prosecuted and put behind bars, because he has already created fears that will impact the Egyptian tourist industry. Tourism is the major source of revenue for Egypt, which has already been negatively impacted by the lack of security during the past 18 months. Sheikh Morgan is a dangerous person to be left free and if President Mursi’s government is afraid to prosecute him, then he should be sent to Myanmar and I am sure he will be tried there for the offenses he committed against their beliefs.

It is interesting to notice here that the day following the airing to this program, the channel Dream was taken off the air!!!!!

The Syrian Tragedy

The Spring Revolution, which started in December 2010 and spread to Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunis, has led to the removal of corrupt governments in all of these states. However, the revolution in Syria, which began in March 2011, is still going on and has led to the killings of more than 30,000 people. At the time the rebellion started, I stated that Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, would only leave office through a military coup or by being killed. During the past 20 months, more than 30,000 soldiers and officers have defected from the regular army and formed the Free Syrian Army to fight Assad’s regime. During that period, Syria’s human resources, its economy and physical structure have been the target of destruction by both sides.

In the mean time, the Syrian Spring Revolution has turned into an international conflict where regional states as well as super powers have been drawn into the conflict.

At the regional level the alliances with or against has been influenced by religious sectarianism (the Sunnis vs. the Shiaa). The Syrian regime is controlled by the Alawite – a Shiaa offshoot – and is being supported by Iran, Iraq and the Shiaa segment of the Lebanese population, led by Hassan Nasserallah.

On the other side, the Persian Arab Gulf States, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are ruled by Sunni regimes that have been the backbone supporters of the forces fighting the Syrian regimes. Money and arms have been sent by both states to the rebel forces.

It is of interest to point out that the conflict between the two major sects of Islam dates back to more than 1400 years ago.

The foreign interferences by states from outside the region include the U.S. and some West European states such as Britain, France and Germany. They support the rebel forces and call for the removal of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The opposing group consists of Russia and China, who support Assad’s regime and call for peaceful dialogue.

Unfortunately, such foreign interference is destabilizing the region and is serving the interests of these superpowers and not the Syrian people who are bleeding to death. As a result of such interferences, the U.N. has been attempting to stop the war among the feuding groups and is calling for a ceasefire and a peaceful transitional period.

The first attempt under Kofi Annan failed. Another attempt was initiated by the U.N. under the direction of Al-Akhdar Ibrahimi. During the past few weeks of discussion with some of the political leadership on both sides, an agreement of ceasefire was accepted, which started at the beginning of the Islamic holiday on October 26 and will be effective during the following four days. Unfortunately, on the first day of the ceasefire, a car bomb exploded in Damascus and an exchange of fire in several Syrian cities between the regular government army and the opposing forces shattered the ceasefire agreement. 167 were killed. I am of the opinion that some of the militant Islamic groups such as al-Qaeda and the Salafis are not supportive of such agreements.

The U.N. envoy al-Ibrahimi was hoping to convince the leadership on both sides to extend the ceasefire with the hope of finding a solution to stop the war and establish a transitional government that will lead to a free election.

The success of such a hopeful strategy is unlikely for the following reasons:

First, there are too many players in the Syrian political arena. Several political Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafis, al-Qaeda and others who are involved want to control the future Syrian government. Second, the various civil political groups, including the Syrian Free Army with fragmented leadership, is seeking to control the future transitional government that will influence the direction of the election in Syria. The struggle has already started between Islamism and secularism. Third, the Syrian conflict began to negatively impact neighboring states such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, where more than 300,000 Syrian refugees are located. Fourth, the impact of the Syrian civil war on neighboring states, especially in Lebanon, ignited the conflict between the supporters and the enemies of the Syrian regime, which based on sectarianism.

The latest assassination of Weesam al-Hassan, the head of the secret Lebanese security division, has been attributed by some politicians to the Syrian government.

Also, a few days ago, the Jordanian government arrested several Salafis in Amman who were accused of planning to start a series of explosions in public places similar to 9/11. In turkey, the press reported protest movements against the government interference in the Syrian conflict. Furthermore, there has been shelling taking place on both sides.

I would like to conclude by pointing out that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The conflict will continue until Bashar Assad is killed. He will not leave his office peacefully. In the mean time, the bloodshed will continue and man y innocent civilians will pay the price.

Even after the removal of the Assad regime, the struggle will continue between the Islamisists and the secularists.

Qatar Prince’s visit to Gaza

The recent visit of the Qatari emir sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to the Palestinian Gaza Strip reflects the important political, economic and psychological strategies.

First, it was  the first trip by a head of an Arab state to Gaza since the Israeli government imposed its embargo in 2007. Since then, that strip of land (which is nearly 25 miles long and around 8 miles wide), where nearly 1.6 million Palestinians reside, has been treated by the Israeli government as sub-human. Recently, the Israeli press exposed the Israeli government’s brutalities to even limit the amount of food that is permitted to enter the Gaza Strip, which hardly meets the minimal requirements for survival. This embargo has been criticized worldwide and was even condemned by international human rights organizations, including Israeli ones. Furthermore, the Israeli embargo has been labeled as a violation of international law by the International Court of Justice.

Many international peace movements have tried to break the Israeli embargo by sailing to the shores of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea, and were intercepted by the Israeli Navy and stopped.

Therefore, the Prince of Qatar visit not only broke the embargo, but also raised the hopes of Palestinians politically and economically. Prince Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani pledged to give $400 million to help the people of Gaza and build new homes for the Palestinians who lost their dwellings as a result of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2007, as well as numerous air bombardments that took place frequently. Also, the money given to Hamas is to help its economy, which has been crippled by the Israeli embargo, which led to very high unemployment and poverty impacting more than half of its population.

It is unfortunate that the Qatari prince’s visit to Gaza was not supported by Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian authority in the occupied West Bank. That negative reaction did not surprise me, since the majority of the members of the Fatah are politically corrupt. The history of that organization, which was started by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was an authoritarian and corrupts organization that lacked the basic principles of democracy, accountability and transparency.

At the beginning, the Palestinian people, as well as millions of people in the Arab world, were hoping that the Arafat authority would create a democratic political model of government that might influence other authoritarian political leaders in the Arab world to imitate. Unfortunately, that hope never materialized from day one. Political and economic corruption continued and still is part of Mahmoud Abbas’ authoritarian rule.

Some political individuals w ho were part of the regime were accused of corruption but not a single one was investigated to be prosecuted. Some even left the West Bank before any investigation. Until the death of Arafat, he was the only person receiving money contributed to help the Palestinians to run their own affairs. Nevertheless, Arafat did not have any policy to show how the funds were spent.

An example was given by the previous Prime Minister Qurai about the money given to Suha, the wife of Arafat. Arafat sent her $30,000 per month to support her while she lived in Paris. That such an amount of money was sent while thousands of malnourished Palestinian children lived in refugee camps is nothing but an act of corruption.

In the recent municipalities elections, which were held in the West Bank (October 2012), the majority of voters did not participate, which was described by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as a slap on the face for Abbas.

It seems to me that the history of Palestinian politicians over the past (at least) eight decades reflects nothing but a struggle for power. During the last eight years, many attempts by some heads of Arab states to bring the Palestinian leadership (Fatah and Hamas) together have failed. In the mean time the Zionist regime continues to expand in the West Bank, in addition to practicing a policy of ethnic cleansing. It is about time for the Palestinian people to start their Spring Revolution and remove their corrupt leadership.

Recent Violence in Tahrir Square

The recent violence and increasing tensions in Egypt, reflected in Tahrir Square (October 12, 2012) where more than 110 people were injured, is attributed to the following factors.

The first factor is the recent court decision to release 23 people from prison and dismiss the accusations against them due to a lack of evidence. Some of the accused were high-ranking government officials in the Mubarak regime who were accused of killing and injuring protestors in “The Camels’ incident” in Tahrir Square a few days before the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

The supporters and opponents of current president Mursi called for a protest in Tahrir Square to protest the court decision. In the mean time, President Mursi issued a presidential order to relieve Egyptian Chief Prosecutor Mr. Abdel Maguid Mahmoud from his position. He also appointed him as an Egyptian ambassador to the Vatican. The prosecutor rejected the order by saying that the law provides him with immunity and no person has the right to remove him, unless he wants to retire or leave office. Mr. Abdel Maguid Mahmoud was appointed to office by the previous president Hosni Mubarak.

The rumor behind the reason for his removal is that incriminating evidence related to the deaths of some protestors was removed, leading to the dismissal of the case against the 23 people accused of being responsible for the Camels’ incident.

In the mean time, the judicial Egyptian Council met with the chief prosecutor as well as with President Mursi deputy Mahmoud Maki to discuss the case.

The judicial council has requested that the president withdraw his decision and let the chief prosecutor continue in his position.

Mahmoud Maki made a public statement to the press that the president respected the request of the judicial council and will reverse his decision regarding the chief prosecutor.

The consequences of such a situation raised questions (pro and con) regarding the case of Abdel Maguid Mahmoud.

Some judges stated publicly that many cases were submitted to the chief prosecutors for prosecution and were rejected without investigation. If such allegations are true, then the people responsible in the Ministry of Justice to maintain the ethical standard of the judicial system and its independence should investigate such situations. Nevertheless, President Mursi committed a blunder. He should have proceeded with his decision regarding the resignation of the chief prosecutor.  After all, one of the main demands of the revolution was the dismissal of the chief prosecutor who was responsible for the prosecution of Mubarak’s opponents and the cleansing of the judicial system for corruption.

The second factor that contributed to the increasing tension between the supporters and opponents of President Mursi is the proposed draft of a new constitution. When he assumed his new role after the election, President Mursi promised to dissolve the committee that was appointed by the Egyptian parliament before it was dissolved by the Egyptian Higher Court to draft a new constitution. The majority of the committee’s members were from Islamic political groups, which reflected unjustified representation of all segments of Egyptian society.  However, he failed to do so. The Egyptian media reported that the drafting of the new constitution would be presented to the public for ratification. The circulating news revealed that the proposed new constitution is short of equal representation of all segments of Egyptian society. If such rumors turn out to be true, it will lend more support to the opponents of President Mursi and support the belief that he and his party, the “Freedom and Justice Party”, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, have been following a policy of deception since they joined the January 25^th Revolution five days after it started. Such a political strategy, especially on the part of the Muslim Brotherhood and other political Islamist groups such as the Salafis, are contributing to the rising tensions among various groups in Egypt. Such negative political consequences will create barriers in the way of economic progress, which the country needs badly.

President Mursi has the capability to put an end to such a strategy and to implement the objectives of the Egyptian Revolution. 

One Egyptian Pound Tax

It is of interest to read an article in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd (Sept. 17, 2012) in which the Minister of Treasury Mr. Mutaz al Saeed proposed a tax of “one Egyptian piaster” per talking minute on cellular phone users. He is proposing that the tax be collected by phone companies and turned into the treasury ministry to help lower the Egyptian budget deficit that has reached 170 billion Egyptian pounds.

I posted similar proposals on my blog on December 4, 2009 and May 27, 2010. According to government statistics, there are more than 80 million cellular phone users in Egypt. I proposed a one Egyptian pound tax per cellular phone per month to be collected by phone companies and turned in to the government.

If such a proposal is implemented, it will net nearly one billion Egyptian pounds per year to be used to improve the educational system and facilities that are currently in very bad shape.

The proposed tax will not create a burden on the average user. This suggestion is more important than the one proposed by the minister of treasury. Education is the backbone of progress in any society.

A Follow Up on Islamophobia

Islamophobia continues to infiltrate the U.S. The recent showing of a film reflecting negatively on prophet Muhammad and Islam created an upheaval in Arab and Islamic countries.

The protests in Libya against this offensive film led to the killings of the American ambassador and three U.S. staffers. It was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the producer of the film is an Israeli American citizen living in California. According to the article, Mr. Sam Bacile raised five million dollars from 100 Jewish contributors to finance and produce the film, the aim of which is to show the destructive aspects of Islam. There are very few Egyptian-American Copts connected to Zionist groups and who have participated in the production of this audacious film.

The negative campaign against Islam, which has created Islamophobia especially in the U.S., is the work of Jewish Zionist organizations and Christian Zionist evangelical organizations. The purpose of such a religious-political campaign is to widen the gap between Christians and Muslims for the benefit of Israel.

It is about time the American people and U.S. government put an end to such a negative political strategy. The first amendment of the American constitution, which guarantees the freedom of speech, has been abused by some individuals and politically oriented groups. The Justice Department should investigate the motives behind the production of the film, which is offensive to more than 1.2 billion Muslims around the world, and especially, which led to the murdering of Americans.

The American government spends many billions of taxpayers’ dollars every year to protect the American national interest. The production of such an offensive film hurts and puts in danger the American national interest, despite the official statements made by the Secretary of State that the U.S. government has nothing to do with the production of the film (which provoked the death and injuries of many). I regret to say that the members of the U.S. congress do not have the courage to put an end to the abuse of the first amendment in the American constitution.

Expansion of Israeli Hegemony

It was reported, recently, that the German government agreed to sell two submarines to Egypt.

As it is always the case, the Israeli government, as usual, issued a threatening political campaign against Egypt and Germany for sales of two submarines. Germany has already sold a submarine to Israel and no questions were asked. However, the Israeli government is trying to prevent a similar sale to Egypt. The Israeli government issued an aggressive call to Egypt to stop the purchase of the submarine, threatening to stop American foreign aid to Egypt.

The political vulgarity and ethnocentricity of Israeli politicians is very difficult to ignore. First, it is the American taxpayers who support American foreign aid, not Israeli taxpayers. It should be stated clearly that the American taxpayers have given Israel more than $180 billion since 1948 in foreign aid. Furthermore, the Israeli threats also reflect that American foreign policy is formed in Israel not the U.S. Second, it is true that Israeli controls the U.S. congress due to the influence of AIPAC and other Jewish American organizations. Some members of the U.S. congress have pointed out that the Israeli government gets what it wants, no questions asked.

For that and other reasons, Israel for the past six decades has been biting the hand that feeds it and causing damage to the American national interest. Furthermore, Israel has been the major cause of world terrorism.

It has just come up in the news that the German government is reconsidering the sale of submarines to Egypt!  Of course this is due to the pressure from Israel.

President Morsi Facing Challenges

The turns of political events during the past few days in Egypt reflect very significant and important changes.
           First, President Morsi’s new strategy, by sending new troops and military equipment to Sinia as a result of the terrorist attack against an Egyptian Military post which led to the killing of 16 soldiers, was an important and strategic decision. The president promised to  clear Sinia from the terrorists. He visited the area twice during the past few days and met with the people and Egyptian troops to enhance their moral. President Morsi’s action enhanced his image especially among his opponents.
           Second, President Morsi’s political action to dismiss nearly a dozen of his army’s top generals and replace them with new ones was important. The military positions, such as the Secretary of Defense, the Military Chief of Staff, and others positions being filled by new, young generals reflects an end to the remnants of the old, previous regime.
           Third, the military changes that took place also reflect very important strategies. The military changes mark the end of the Egyptian Military influence over the civilian political leadership which has been going on for more than six decades. This signifies the beginning of a new and real democracy in Egypt.
           Fourth, at the present time, President Morsi is in control of the executive power as well as the legislative one until a new election of parliament takes place after the writing of a new constitution.
The new political accomplishment of President Morsi was welcomed by brood segments of the political and civil groups. The removal of the military influence from the political stage was a major demand by the revolutionary forces since the fall of Mubarak on February 11, 2011.
However there are still many challenges facing the president, such as:

1.      The shortage of electrical power

2.      The absence of security and the spread of violent acts all over Egypt

3.      The shortage of clean drinking water

4.      The continuous increases in the daily cost of living

5.      The problems of poverty and unemployment

6.      The problems of poor health care services and frequent attacks on physicians and hospitals

7.      the problems of poor education and the illiteracy rate especially among the younger generations (15-30 years old), is estimated at 17 million illiterate

These are among the most pressing problems President Morsi faces. He is in a race with time and needs the support of all the Egyptians in order to start real political, economic, and social reforms. However, in order to obtain a strong public support there should be freedom of expression which is one of the most important feature of democracy.