Egypt's High Rate of Population Growth

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President El Sessi of Egypt has recently addressed the nation regarding the national and international accomplishments achieved in Egypt during the past 18 months.

 What was of interest to me as social scientist was his emphasis on population growth? He stated, “ Egypt is facing a ticking bomb.”

He, of course, was referring to Egypt high population growth. “There are 2.5 million new babies per year”.

According to the Egyptian census record, by the end of December 2015, the total population will be 90 million people. This figure excludes the 8 to 10 million Egyptians working outside Egypt.

I would like to stress here that if the population growth continues at the same rate, Egypt would add another 30 million people during the next 10 years. Hence, by the year 2025 Egypt population will reach 130 million!

Such population growth would be a great challenge facing the Egyptian society, and would require serious consideration from the government regarding the policy made to fulfill the people’s basic needs. Such needs are: education, shelters, health care, food, and higher wages.

In order to fulfill the educational need for the 2.5 million additional people, 2000 new schools should be built.

 Even without such an increase the present schools are in pitiful conditions. More than one third of the 47,000 schools in Egypt now, are unfit to be used.

The Egyptian Minister of Education, while referring to the high density of students in classes, admitted that there is a need to create 58,000 new classrooms in order to lower the number of students by half in each class. The large number of students in each class led to a low quality of education and to the drop out of students as mentioned in the Egyptian newspaper al masrawy (November 1, 2015).

As a result of the poor quality of education in schools,  some parents are obliged to hire private teachers to help their children graduate. The Egyptian government has estimated the coast families face to pay for private lessons exceeds 16 billion Egyptian pounds per year!

It is a fact that there is a correlation between the quality of education and economic growth. From an economic and demographic theoretical model the 2.5 million increase in population per year, requires the national economic growth

to be at least 5% to 7% increase per year.

Egypt’s population growth has already reached a critical stage, 94% of its population is living on 6% of the total land. Hence, the Nile Valley and the Delta regions have the highest population density in the world.

One should also stress the fact that fresh water in Egypt has been decreasing to 600 cu.met. per person per year. Egypt has reached the poverty level in regard to water availability.

As a result of the minimal availability of water and land suitable for cultivation, Egypt is forced to import 7 million metric tons of wheat per year and the government is subsidizing the bread at a cost of 24 billion Egyptian pounds per year. Furthermore, the government subsidizes energy, transportation and other basic food items.

This policy of subsidy led to the continuing increase in the internal and external debts. The internal debts have been estimated to exceed 2.11trillion Egyptian pounds, and the foreign debts around 45 billion dollars.

The problem of population growth in Egypt has been acknowledged since the early 1950s.

Presidents Nasser, Sadat. Mubarak and now El Sessi have all advocated family planning policy.

In addition to the government’ policy, Al Azhar institution has also supported family planning programs. However, such programs were never successful.

I would like to conclude by stating that the Egyptian government should seriously review its family planning and birth control programs in order to curtail population increase.

For more information on population growth in Egypt, check my blog: http://mid-east-today.blogspot.com

Recent Israeli Attack on Gaza

The recent violent attacks that took place between the Israeli government and Hamas in Gaza during the past week led to the followings:

1.   The launching of more than1, 300 air strikes by the Israelis since the offense began. A of 7/12/2014 more than 165 Palestinians died and over 1000 were injured. In addition the Israelis destroyed 200 homes and some public buildings, including mosques and hospitals.

2.   The launching by 800 rockets by Hamas. However, there were no fatalities reported by the Israeli government.

The Israelis forces destructive attacks are not the first and will not be the last one. Meanwhile World organizations have issued orders to both sides to stop the attacks. The feuding parties have not taking the orders into consideration and the fight is still going on.

The Egyptian government tried to negotiate a cease-fire between both sides, but there was no response from either side.

The Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza was opened to allow the wounded Palestinians to be treated in Egyptian hospitals. Furthermore, the Egyptian government sent 550 tons of needed medications, and food to help those who are in urgent needs. and the Egyptian Prime Minister stated publicly that the government and the people are condemning the Israeli’s savagely attacks on Gaza.

It is unfortunate that the people of Gaza are being massacred while their leader; Khalid Ma’shal is staying in a luxurious hotel in Qatar and attacking the Egyptian government for not fulfilling its obligation toward the Palestinians!!  I would like  to address the corrupt leader Khalid Mish ‘al  that since 1948 the Egyptians have paid a heavy price, in blood and money to support the Palestinians people, more than any other Arab states.  

Mish’al who considers himself a revolutionary leader of Hamas should be in Gaza with his people rather than in a five star hotel in Qatar feasting on Ramadan food, with other Hamas leaders.

Mercy on the Palestinian people who have such corrupt leadership.

Crisis in Iraq

The Iraqi society is in a very chaotic situation politically, socially, and economically. This havoc is the result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Furthermore, the type of democracy, which emerged with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011, led to the rise of sectarianism under the leadership of Prime Minister Al-Maliki, who is a tool in the hands of Iranian politicians.

         Prime minister Al-Maliki turned out to be an authoritarian dictator targeting senior Sunni politicians by jailing some and killing others. Furthermore, he directed his Shia militia groups to terrorize and kill some of his opponents. Also he failed to respond to some Shia and Sunni sector leaders demands for democratic reform. The Maliki opposition, which consists of secular Shia and Sunni groups, view his government as sectarian oppression. Such prevailing political situation made it easy for the Islamic terrorist group, “Daish”, to move into Iraq from the Syrian borders and occupy areas in the anbar province especially the city of Fallujah. The Iraqi army has been fighting them for more than a year. Furthermore, the recent conquest and occupation of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, and of the city of Takrit without much opposition from the Iraqi army and the public against “Daish” shows a strong indication of opposition to Al-Maliki’s government. The Daish group threatens to move south to capture Baghdad. Daish is emerging as an extreme Islamic terrorist group that is replacing Al-Qaeda especially in both Iraq and Syria. It has been reported that Daish forces spread fear and terror between both populations in Iraq and Syria namely in areas that they have occupied.

         It has been reported that Al-Maliki’s government have requested military assistance from the United States and stated that Iraqi air space is open to target Daish forces in Iraq. Furthermore, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani called on his followers to join and support Al Maliki government against the Sunni Islamic terrorist “Daish.”

         The BBC news reported that more than 500 members of the Iranian revolutionary guards joined the Iraqi government in order to fight “Daish.”

         It is interesting to realize that what has been happening since the removal of Saddam Hussein’s government as a result of the U.S. conquest of Iraq led to the present situation. For more information, see my  monograph: The U.S. Invasion of Iraq: Conspiracy and its Tragic Aftermath¹.

¹Publisher amazon.com 2014

The Third Egyptian Republic

The Third Egyptian Republic

General A. Al-Saisi won the Egyptian presidential election on May 26, 2014. According to the Egyptian higher election committee, 47 percent of Egyptian cast their votes.

Mr. A. Al-Saisi received 93 percent of the votes or 24,365,176 votes. Mr. A. Sabahi received 2.9 percent of the votes or 895,149 votes. The rejected votes totaled 4.10 percent or 1,577,840 votes. Nearly 25 million (out of 54 million) eligible Egyptian voters cast their votes.

The election fell short of what the Egyptian mass media continued to project during the seven months prior to the election. The rationale behind the fact that less than 50 percent of the public participated in the election may be attributed to the following.

1.     Most of Egypt’s mass media and political analysts confirmed that the election of Mr. Al-Saisi by a huge margin. Repeating this generalization for seven months influenced many people’s political attitudes. As a result, many people reached the conclusion, “Why bother? The general will be elected.”

2.     Another factor that may have influenced the low turnout was the high temperatures that exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Waiting in line for hours in this heat was very difficult for many people.

3.     Another factor that may have discouraged people from participating is fear. The Muslim Brotherhood continued to warn the public that they will disrupt the election. Since the removal of Morsi on July 3, 2013, they have been conducting terrorist activities against the government and the public.

4.     A significant number of young Egyptians who initiated both the 25^th of January 2011, and the 30^th of June, 2013, revolutions were marginalized by those who assumed power. Furthermore, many of them were put in prison for violating the protest law.

5.     General A. Al-Saisi failed to provide the Egyptian public with his political program. This may have discouraged some Egyptians from participating, especially those who were under the impression that members of the Mubarak regime were close to Al-Saisi.

On the bright side, more than 70 percent of Egyptian women participated in the election with high enthusiasm and joy. They are the heroes of Egypt. Another segment that participated were men over the age of 50, but their percentage is less than that of the women.

Furthermore, more than 4 percent of the cast votes were rejected. It was speculated that these votes were cast by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi religious groups to cast doubt on the election.

Nevertheless, the election was more democratic and transparent than any previous election in the history of Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood Student Destructive Behavior

Since the beginning of the academic year at Egyptian universities, the Muslim Brotherhood protest movements on various campuses nationwide left a very clear picture of their destructive behavior. This destruction, especially at Al-Azhar University, confirms the public view that the Muslim Brotherhood’s political fascist ideology is based on violence as a means to achieve their political goal—total control of society under the Muslim Brotherhood’s interpretation of Islam.

The violent acts, including the assassination of heads of state and attempts of assassination during the past 85 years, reflect the Muslim Brotherhood’s authoritarian, fascist ideology.

The young students who are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood get orders from their superior leaders to commit such destructive acts, instead of encouraging them to pursue their learning.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s members pretend that they are true Muslim believers. The first word in the Quran is “read,” which means followers must pursue knowledge, not destruction. The students who caused such a wide range of destruction at Al-Azhar University are not the pursuers of knowledge. They are purely a group of hoodlums and active terrorist individuals whose main objective is to close universities all over Egypt.

Frankly speaking, the transitional government of Egypt has been indirectly passive with these students from day one, while the students’ protests have not been passive at all. The Egyptian security should have put an end to this from the beginning, as the vast majority of Egyptian students are against such protests by the minority of students who are manipulated by their corrupt Muslim Brotherhood leadership. The transitional government has been concerned about its image abroad more than the safety of its academic institutions.

The Muslim Brotherhood, who have been outlawed by Egyptian authority since the 1950s, are a serious liability to any society and should not be permitted to operate under any circumstances.

U.S. foreign Aid to Egypt

Recently, the Arab press in particular and the western press in general have focused on President Barack Obama’s decision to stop U.S. aid to Egypt. The rationale he used is based on the Egyptian military coup that removed the freely and democratically elected ex-president Morsi.

President Obama’s rationale is totally wrong. Whoever briefed him was not in touch with reality. His foreign policies regarding the Middle East in general and the Arab world in particular has been wrong. The Arab population was optimistic after his 2008 election, but is now totally disappointed in the president.

First of all, ex-president Morsi was removed by the majority of the Egyptian people. The crowd that gathered on June 30, 2013, was estimated to be around 35 million people. This reflects more than two-third of the eligible Egyptian voters (54 million). Furthermore, the Tamaroud movement collected 22 million signatures calling on Morsi to resign.

Let me remind President Obama that less than 13 million people voted for Morsi in June 2012. Second, in any democracy, when any high-ranking political figure or head of state violates the constitution or the law of the state, that person will be removed.

Again, let me remind President Obama that when ex-president Nixon violated the law, he was removed. Ex-president Morsi violated Egyptian law from the first day he assumed his new position as president of Egypt.

Let me just mention a few examples to illustrate my point.

1.     Does ex-president Morsi have the right to grant himself a constitutional decree that gives him unlimited political power and immunity from future prosecution?

2.     According to Egyptian law, the president didn’t have total freedom to interfere in the Egyptian judicial system. Nevertheless, he made an effort to cancel the high constitutional court decision that dissolved the Egyptian parliament. He also tried to appoint a new prosecutor general. These decisions are the responsibility of the judicial council, not the president.

The list of legal violations that Morsi committed is a lengthy one. Furthermore, Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood looked the other way and permitted the illegal entry of Islamic terrorist groups in Egypt, which is enough to justify Morsi’s removal from power. This is an act of treason.

President Obama, your decision to stop U.S. military aid to Egypt will cause more harm to the U.S. than to Egypt. Through history, Egypt has played a dominant role in the Middle East and it was a disgraceful act for it to be put under the influence of the U.S. government.

The one billion dollars worth of arms given to Egypt did not help the country in the long run. Egypt will rely on itself to produce its own armament. The $250 million in economic aid should be rejected by Egypt, because it makes no difference in terms of its impact on the Egyptian economy.

Let me conclude by saying that President Obama’s decision enabled Egypt to restore its dignity and independence from the rotten American foreign policy. The Egyptian people who have been urging their government to reject U.S. foreign aid should now urge their own government to become more self-sufficient, which will be an advantage in the long run.

The Destruction of the So-Called Peaceful Demonstration

President Morsi was removed from office July 3, 2013, as a result of more than 32 million Egyptian people calling for his resignation, as well as a petition with 22 million signatures, due to his incompetency and abuse of power. Since then, the Muslim Brotherhood and other supporters have failed to accept this and called on their supporters to protest and demand the return of Dr. Morsi to his position.

From day one and during the weeks following Morsi’s removal, his supporters were not peaceful at all. More than a dozen murders were committed in Raba al Adawiyah and Nahda Squares. In addition to massive public and private property destruction, the Egyptian government announced publicly that the repairs that started in Raba al-Adawiyah would cost 85 million Egyptian pounds, el Orman garden 50 million Egyptian pounds and al Nahda square would cost 258 million pounds. Furthermore, government assessment of the destruction caused by the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters in all Egyptian governates was estimated at more than 500 million Egyptian pounds

The Egyptian government should confiscate and freeze Muslim Brotherhood wealth and let them pay for the cost of the destruction they committed.

Obama – the Nobel Peace Prize!

President Barack Obama, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize because of his opposition to the invasion of Iraq, is reversing his political role. He is now acting as an advocate for punishing President Bashar al-Assad of Syria for using poisonous chemical gas against his people.

The use of such weapons, regardless of who uses them, should be condemned by the whole world.

The irony of American politics and the tactics used by its politicians, especially its presidents, is that a link is always made between international issues and American national interest or national security. This is the rationale George W. Bush used to mislead the American public to justify his invasion of Iraq in 2003. Bush was a liar from the beginning and his policy did not accomplish anything except the destruction of Iraq.

It seems to me that President Obama is acting in a similar fashion regarding his policy towards Syria. The Syrian issue should be left to the U.N. General Assembly to deal with, not the U.N. Security Council. The five permanent members have abused their veto power and have paralyzed the Security Council.

The U.S. government should stop playing policeman of the world under the pretext of U.S. national security or national interest. This is an outdated colonialist concept and people around the globe are now more aware of the truth and cannot be easily mislead. The majority of people in the U.S, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy are against U.S. interference in Syrian national affairs, according to the press.

President Obama, you are not a peace advocate and you don’t deserve the Nobel Prize for it.

What Is Happening in Egypt Now?

In an interview with Mr. W. al-Ibrashi (Dream Channel) two years ago, Dr. M. Badie, the supreme leader (al-Murshid) of the Muslim Brotherhood stated publicly that he is totally against any Muslim Brotherhood members and even other Islamic groups running for political office, because he thinks it will be dangerous for Egypt.

Al-Murshid’s prophecy turned out to be true. The puzzling question that needs to be answered is why Dr. Badie permitted his members to run for the parliament, the Magliss al-Shura and the presidential office?

Since its creation in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood’s main objective and political strategy was to take over the Egyptian government regardless of the cost. Their violent political activities during the past eight decades reflects their intentions and strategy.

The January 25, 2011 revolution opened the door for them, despite the fact that they were not the ones who initiated the massive protests. To put it simply, they have stolen the revolution from the younger Egyptian generation who sacrificed their blood for its success.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s success in assuming political control was facilitated by General Tantawi, defense minister and chief of the Egyptian military forces. Furthermore, the United States government signaled General Tantawi to facilitate the Muslim Brotherhood’s takeover of the Egyptian government. This is attributed to a secret agreement that started during 2003 with the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood to implement the American political demand when they assume political control of the Egyptian government.

The U.S. foreign policy regarding the Middle East is reflected as “the map of the greater Middle East region.” It’s main objective is the protection of Israel and maintaining its economic and military dominance of the region.

For that reason and others, the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood from the Egyptian government reflects the kiss of death for the U.S. Middle East strategy. Furthermore, the termination of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political influence in Egypt will also negatively impact other Islamic organizations in the region. For that reason, the Turkish government—which is headed by an Islamic organization—is panicking and asking the U.N. Security Council to interfere and stop the removal of Morsi from his position.

Nevertheless, the Muslim Brotherhood protest movement, which has been going on since the removal of Morsi from power on July 3, 2013, reflects their kiss of death. The violent terrorist activities they have been conducting against the Egyptian people, as well as their economic, social and political institutions, reflects their failed political strategy. This is revealed in the following evidence:

1.     The Ministry of Health reported the deaths of more than 578 people and the injuries of more than 4,201 others as of August 17, 2013. Among the dead, 57 security men and 553 other police injuries. More than 1,500 terrorist suspects carrying weapons were arrested.

2.     The burning of more than 21 churches all over Egypt.

3.     The burning of government buildings such as the Ministry of Treasury and an attempt on the Central Bank. More than 25 police and security buildings were attacked and burned, in addition to other private property that was also destroyed.

4.     Blocking traffic routes and preventing people from reaching their workplaces or returning to their homes.

5.     Pouring used car oil on intersections and bridges, causing drivers to lose control of their cars, leading to death and destruction.

6.     The security forces presented photos and videos of snipers on top of buildings and bridges, shooting at homes and passersby.

7.     The supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood firing RBJ missiles at security places. It was reported that more than 1,200 suspects were armed with weapons. Some of those terrorists who were arrested by Egyptian security revealed that they are foreign citizens from Afghanistan Palestine and Syria. They were recruited by the Muslim Brotherhood to help in the destruction of Egypt.

Such types of terrorist activities were and still are part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political strategy. The irony of history reflects the double standards the west follows. For the last few decades, western governments (especially the U.S.) have been condemning Islamic terrorism. Now, they are taking the opposite stand by ignoring the Muslim Brotherhood’s terrorism against their own people and criticizing the Egyptian army for their supposed military coup, despite the fact that there was no military coup. The Egyptian army stepped in after more than 32 million Egyptians protested on June 30, 2013, demanding the removal of Morsi from office. The army responded to prevent a civil war from taking place in Egypt. In addition to the Egyptian protestors demands, the Tamaroud Movement submitted petitions with 22 million signatures demanding the removal of Morsi from office due to violations of Egyptian law.

Such large numbers are almost twice the numbers of votes Morsi received during his election on June 30, 2012.

The western governments (especially the U.S.) should stop interfering in Egypt’s national affairs. A recent PEW survey revealed that ¾ of the American respondents rejected the U.S. government’s interference in Egypt’s national

Egypt Protest Video Gives Bird's Eye View Of Massive Anti-Morsi Demonstrations On June 30 Inbox x

Is this still a coup? or a popular revolt?Please watch

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/egypt-protest-video-birds-eye-view_n_3536144.html

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vux_-vJvHww&feature=player_embedded#at=158