Barry Rubin Egypt Muslim Brotherhood

BARRY RUBIN: IKWHAN DESIRES FULL SHARIA THIS I KNOW, FOR THEIR CHARTER TELLS US SO…….

To know the Muslim Brotherhood is to loathe the Muslim Brotherhood. These leopards will never change their spots, how could they, to give up on their dreams for a pure Islamic state, is to turn their back on who they are and against the supremacism entitled to them by the founder of their ideology, Mohamed.

It’s the one thing that keeps the Tundra Tabloids from believing that hardened Islamic fundamentalists, like the MB, can ever change into a more “moderate” version of their former intolerant selves. They can never bring themselves to doing it, for it would  mean the complete rejection of who they are, and giving up on the divine right to institute Allah’s law on earth, the sharia.

While there are many things to be said of the Arab Muslim, being impatient is not one of them. Just because the (often touted) Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan appears “moderate” and to support pluralism by working with other parties in the Jordanian parliament, if given the chance to no longer having to compete with the other parties, they would accept the opportunity in a heart beat. Sharia as the main code of law in Jordan would be ushered in overnight with all hoopla and allahu akbars they could muster.

Don’t kid yourselves, everyone wants things to be different, but denying the reality of the region and fundamentalist Islam is foolhardy, if not outright stupid. In order to discern what the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood truly stands for, you have to read their charter. The weight of evidence on who they really are, (read =true agenda) rests upon how they define their own movement. What’s so difficult about understanding that? KGS

How Do We Know What Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Wants? Because It Tells Us!

By Barry Rubin

In the scores of articles that have appeared about the Muslim Brotherhood, I have not seen scarcely a single one in a newspaper (here’s a Los Angeles Times op-ed that does so) that suggests the group might cause some alarm. I have also not seen any mention of the Brotherhood’s political platform. Yet if you are going to analyze the attitudes of the Brotherhood might it not be of some use to consider its main political blueprint for Egypt’s future?

The platform, circulated in 2007 and partly translated by MEMRI, genuinely frightened many people in Egypt, especially the reform-minded types (many of whom seem to have forgotten about it) who have played a central role in the pro-democracy demonstrations.

Indeed, a number of such people said a little over two years ago that they saw this document as a blueprint for an Islamist state. Actually, there are certain parallels with Iran in the Brotherhood’s thinking that surprised even me.

So why isn’t this being discussed as an important source for understanding the Brotherhood, especially since Egypt may soon be drawing up a new Constitution.

The platform says “Islam is the official state religion and that the Islamic shari’a is the main source for legislation…;The Islamic state is, by its very nature, a civil state, because appointments to [public] office are made on the basis of qualifications, experience, and expertise, while the [holders of] political positions are elected by the people….”

The words “the main source” are extremely important. Historically, the battle has been fought over whether shari’a was “a main source” (permitting the use of European law) and “the main source,” meaning its shari’a all the way down. The difference between “the” and “a” is a fateful one, determining the future course of Egypt.

True the draft platform says:

“The authority of the shari’a will be implemented in a manner that conforms to the [will of the] nation, by means of a parliamentary majority elected in free, clean, and transparent [elections].”

That sounds very democratic. But wait! It continues:

“The legislative branch must consult with the nation’s Supreme Council of Clerics,” elected from the clerics and a separate arm of government. The president will also have to consult with it on key issues. This resembles the Iranian system that includes not only president and prime minister but also the Council of Experts and the Council of Guardians.

“In the case of controversial [questions] which are not unambiguously [settled] by shari’a laws based directly on clear and applicable texts [from the Koran or hadith], the final decision will be made by the legislative branch.”

That sounds good. But remember that the Brotherhood hopes to have a lot of members in parliament also. The Brotherhood doesn’t have to take over the country. Having 30 or 35 percent of the seats in the face of divided rivals and offering its support in order to gain leverage could be sufficient for the Islamists to have their way on key issues.

More here.

3 Responses

  1. Hey KGS
    Don’t know if it’s true, but I just heard (like I heard yesterday) that Mubarak stepped down. Is this like the 40th time?

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