The Tundra Tabloids just posted a piece about a Finnish bishop who dared to attach his name to a piece calling the Muslim Brotherhood…. real democrats. Now its back to reality with an article by Barry Rubin, who can be counted on to depict the supposed ‘Arab Spring’ as it actually is, not as what he would like it to actually be. KGS
Egypt: As Grim Islamists March Toward Power, The Naïve Dance in Tahrir Square…and Washington
By Barry Rubin
Almost 80 percent of Egyptian Muslims in nine provinces voted for radical Islamist parties in the second round of Egypt’s election. Roughly 5 percent voted for a moderate Islamic party and about 15 percent voted for liberal parties.
That says it all. In the overall vote—that is, including the Christian voters–70 percent supported radical Islamists, 47 percent (4 million) the Muslim Brotherhood (86 of 180 available seats so far; they might win more) and 32 percent for the Salafists (3.2 million, the Washington Post seriously underestimated their votes).
The liberal (but not overtly anti-Islamist) Wafd won 1 million; the liberal Egyptian Bloc won almost 800,000, and the moderate Islamic, Wasat Party, 370,000.
Incidentally, the vice-chairman of the Wafd said in an interview last July that the U.S. government carried out the September 11 attacks and Ann Frank’s diary was a fake. At least he doesn’t like Iran, though he thinks it is right about the Holocaust being phony. And he’s the liberal.
In preparation for the new order, the military junta is closing down shops selling alcohol. It’s only the beginning. The much-touted Turkish model shows how Islamic law can be introduced gradually and more subtly: simply keep raising taxes on such beverages until no one can afford them. Raymond Stock describes thedestruction of Egypt’s greatest library.
