Egypt Faces A Hardline Islamic Future:

janpor · Dec 14, 2011

What the Salafists Want: Egypt Faces a Hardline Islamic Future

By Daniel Steinvorth

The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood led the way in the first round of parliamentary voting in Egypt. Second place went to the even more hardline Salafist party al-Nour. The group would like to see the introduction of an ultra-conservative brand of Sharia -- and a ban on bikinis.

It's a good thing that the visitor is a man. The sheikh doesn't speak with women. But then again, the reporter is a foreigner, which is also worrisome. There are so many prejudices about Islam in the West, says Sheikh Fawzi al-Sayeed. But perhaps, he adds, this conversation will help to spread the truth.

Sayeed, 70, a serious-looking man with a full gray beard, is wearing sandals, a crochet cap and the traditional Egyptian garment called the Jellabiya. He invites his guest into the Al-Tawheed Mosque. It is 6:30 a.m., and those gathered inside have just completed their morning prayers. Now they are forming a half circle around their sheikh, who has taken a seat on a wooden chair in the middle of the room. The Al-Tawheed Mosque in the northern part of Cairo is a plain-looking building with no ornate columns or other decoration; no unnecessary details to distract the faithful from their devotion to God.

[...]

Since the Salafist Al-Nour Party, or "Party of Light," came in second place in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, just behind the Muslim Brotherhood, the world has been looking to Cairo with concern. The two groups captured about 60 percent of those seats assigned on the basis of candidate lists assembled by the parties. One third of the seats are reserved for individual candidates. It is the first phase ofthe 2011-2012 parliamentary elections, with the second round beginning on Wednesday.

[...]

Shocking Showing

But only in Egypt has such a radical group as the Salafists been able to establish itself as a party. This has serious implications, given that this is the most populous and culturally influential country in the Arab world; the revolutionary pulse that has been beating on Cairo's Tahrir Square for the last 11 months can be felt as far away as Libya and Syria, Iran and the Gulf states.

The Salafists' strong showing hasn't just shocked many Egyptians, but especially the country's revolutionary youth, liberals and leftists, Coptic Christians and moderate Muslims. It was, after all, the Salafists who had agitated against the Copts and boycotted the revolution, on the grounds that it was infiltrated with "whores and Zionists." And it was also the Salafists who, until now, had rejected free elections as "un-Islamic." And now they are coming into power as democrats?

The Al-Nour Party was formed in the spring as a melting pot of various conservative and formerly militant groups. Its members were not exactly known for their democratic ambitions, but rather for their close ties to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since the establishment of the "Party of Light," more than $100 million (75 million) in campaign funds have allegedly made their way from the oil-rich, Wahhabite kingdom to the banks of the Nile.

The Salafists' political ideas are as unadorned as their mosques. They are united by the desire to live their lives in accordance with the example set by the Prophet Muhammad and his companions almost 1,400 years ago. This extends to the Salafists' rules on clothing and beards, which require a face veil for women and a full beard, generally without a moustache, for men.

In other words, the Salafists' aim is to return to the early days of Islam. But what is their program in Egypt?

"You see," says Sheikh Fawzi, "the Islamic world still suffers from the great injustice that was done to the religion. And yet the solution is so easy: We must simply apply the Koran and Sharia to heal our country, just as it was commanded by God." Of course, he adds, this includes stoning adulterers and cutting off the hands of thieves. The question as to whether these might not be barbaric practices is one the sheikh finds uncouth.

A Transitional Phenomenon

During the campaign, leading members of the Al-Nour Party seemed as if they came from a different era; it was a sharp contrast to Egypt's liberal tradition. For instance, when party spokesman Abdul Munaim al-Shahat appeared on a TV talk show, he insisted that a divider be set up between himself and a female guest. In his most recent demand, he calls upon Egyptians to "destroy the temples!" He wants Egypt to finally put an end to the "idolatrous worship" of its pharaonic heritage. If Shahat had his way, sculptures, statues and portraits spanning 5,000 years of Egyptian history would be covered with a layer of chalk, and pharaonic street names would be Islamicized.

Another member of the party leadership is calling for a ban on alcohol, even for Christians and foreigners, who can drink alcohol without punishment in most Gulf countries. He also wants to close beaches where Western women show too much skin and ban the wearing of bikinis. As an alternative, he suggests offering foreign tourists camel treks and ski instruction on sand dunes.

Is it for this that the Egyptian youth took to the streets in late January? Is this why they overthrew autocratic former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak?

No, says Amr Iss al-Rigal. "But this is merely a transitional phenomenon. We had a feeling that the religious groups would triumph at first -- because they, like the Salafists, have friends in the oil monarchies. And because they, like the Muslim Brothers, were long members of the opposition, which gave them time to organize."

Rigal, 28, is standing on a busy street in Imbaba, a working-class neighborhood in Cairo. It is well after midnight, and he looks tired as he patiently endures the flurry of camera flashes coming from Egyptian journalists. A campaign banner bearing his likeness flutters above him, stretched between two trees. The words "Coalition of Revolutionary Youth" are written on the banner. The candidate poses for the photographers one more time. It is his last press event of the day. "The democrats will prevail in the long run," says Rigal, with a defiant and self-confident smile.

Cause Worth Fighting For

The young lawyer is one of the heroes of the revolution. Everyone who fought on Tahrir Square knows him. In 2004, he joined a liberal party that challenged Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election, albeit unsuccessfully. In 2008, Rigal was among the protagonists of the "April 6 Youth Movement," which played an important role in launching the revolution -- with a Facebook group initially consisting of thousands, followed by tens and then hundreds of thousands of supporters.

Rigal and his friends were among the first to protest on Tahrir Square, where they persevered, ran from police, chanted slogans and sang songs. He will never forget the magic of those days, and the realization that freedom is a cause worth fighting for, says Rigal.

The former revolutionary has now turned into a candidate for parliament. And his prospects are good, even though he is campaigning directly against the Islamists in the poor Imbaba neighborhood. As the son of a bus driver, Rigal is familiar with the people who vote for the Islamists. And because his father was once a member of the radical group al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, he also knows what makes the Islamists so successful. "They appeal to your religious feelings, to your conscience. They distribute meat and coal. But that isn't a platform. You don't create jobs just by being devout." Rigal says that whenever he has told voters about their political rights, about their right to participate in the democratic process, to education and to healthcare, they have almost always reacted with astonishment and curiosity.

'A Long Way from the Turkish Model'

People like him, says Rigal, are even more suspect to the ruling military council than the Islamists. The army leadership could come to terms with the pragmatic and even increasingly opportunistic Muslim Brotherhood, as it has demonstrated time and again. The Salafists, says Rigal, did well under Mubarak, "because the threatening posture emanating from the militant groups enabled the regime to maintain its police apparatus and its emergency laws," says Rigal. "The democracy movement, by comparison, is uncontrollable, which the generals hate."

Egyptians are waiting anxiously to see how the powerful Muslim Brothers and their "Freedom and Justice Party" will position themselves. Will they distance themselves from the Salafists and seek an alliance with liberal forces? Or will they join the Salafists to create an orthodox Islamic Egypt?

Christians, liberals and secularists aren't the only ones tormented by the fear that Egypt could become an undemocratic country through democratic means. When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Cairo in September, two months before the election began, the Muslim Brotherhood cheered his arrival. Then he gave a speech and said: "A secular nation respects all religions. Do not fear secularism."

Suddenly the Muslim Brotherhood was no longer cheering, while the Salafists sharply criticized secularism, calling it the "work of the devil." It appears that Egypt's Islamists are still a long way from the Turkish model.
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It's kind of strange to witness the success of these radical Salafists.

Why do Egyptians even vote for them?

The problem in Egypt is the economy first, corruption second -- if the economy improves, corruption gets less of a problem.

Sure, it probably is nice for Egyptians to receive some meat, bread and coal -- but that doesn't make good policy.

Thoughts?

S.D. · Dec 14, 2011

The "Arab Spring " was just a cover for a takeover by the Islamist militants.

As long as they claimed that "It was for Democracy",

...they KNEW the West, Europe, and the US would fall for it hook, line and

sinker.

The world has now become an increasingly dangerous and explosive place,

and most definitely,not more Democratic !!!!

Of course, if you speak the truth, as usual, the idiots will call you an

Islamophobe...

even though it is the very countries who were conned into the

" Democracy Fallacy" who will suffer the most,

.... for now...

Margot · Dec 14, 2011

How does Daniel Steinvorth know how much money came from Saudi Arabia... and why doesn't he name names?

Abu Sina · Dec 16, 2011

janpor said: ↑

What the Salafists Want: Egypt Faces a Hardline Islamic Future

By Daniel Steinvorth

It's kind of strange to witness the success of these radical Salafists.

Why do Egyptians even vote for them?

The problem in Egypt is the economy first, corruption second -- if the economy improves, corruption gets less of a problem.

Sure, it probably is nice for Egyptians to receive some meat, bread and coal -- but that doesn't make good policy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

coal????
sorry but that is so funny

Let me tell you why SOME vote for them.

1. Decades of Mubarak have made people turn to religion because when you are desperately poor and oppressed then that is all you have left.
That is why they get the peasant votes.

2. Middle income workers work in Saudi and because Egyptians are naturally pious both Muslim and Coptis C's they go to the mosques.
Saudi mosques and society practice Wahabi style. These middle income return each few months to Egypt becoming more radical.

3. TV and books.
Al Azhar area of Khan al Khalili bookshops sell the Saudi books from Saudi press. TV channels are now Saudi run and funded with extremist Imams. They got the licences to broadcast on Nilesat because of two reasons.
Mubaraks ties with the West and Saudi.
Mubarak thoight that in bringing in the radical Saudi style it would be a force against the MB moderate style and keep MB in check because the Wahabi style was until a few months ago non political. It was no threat to Mubaraks throne. So he encouraged it to keep the MB in check.

The problem now is Mubarak is gone. The Wahabi style has changed course and that is why we see it's rise post Mubarak. They now decided they are political and want a piece of the action. Millions of $$$$ have been flooding into Egypt from the Saudis and Qataris to fund their campaign and this has destabilized the status quo between them and the moderate MB.
Al Azhar was sterile under Mubarak and now is threatened by this extremist ideology and now they are speaking out against it.

In keeping the MB down and in prison Mubarak actually invited a more dangerous and sinister one to take it's place and because the West was hell bent on demonizing the MB who are actually moderate none in the West even knew about the extremist Salafists till now.

Lawyers were going crazy yesterday in the elections. They are demanding to know why the US ambassador was touring polling stations in Giza and having meeting with the MB. They are saying the ambassador had no right to interfere in elections and should not have been in polling stations. What was the ambassador up to they ask??????
They were discussing it on the TV last night and were not happy and said the US should stay out of Egypts affairs.

Many hands involved.
Now the result.
This is what happens when you tinker with the people and cause strife and division to please others. You end up with something far worse in the end.

Abu Sina · Dec 16, 2011

S.D. said: ↑

The "Arab Spring " was just a cover for a takeover by the Islamist militants.

As long as they claimed that "It was for Democracy",

...they KNEW the West, Europe, and the US would fall for it hook, line and

sinker.

The world has now become an increasingly dangerous and explosive place,

and most definitely,not more Democratic !!!!

Of course, if you speak the truth, as usual, the idiots will call you an

Islamophobe...

even though it is the very countries who were conned into the

" Democracy Fallacy" who will suffer the most,

.... for now...
Click to expand...

typical ignorant American nonsense

The Arab Spring was started by the educated middle class youth. Bouazizi was the spark that lit the flame.
The Islamists only joined in after the fall and the West only congratulated them after each fall not before.

This has a Sunni Shia flavor but that is recent. It's convenient now to hijack it for Iranian purposes if you understand but i doubt you will.

litwin · Dec 16, 2011

Margot said: ↑

How does Daniel Steinvorth know how much money came from Saudi Arabia... and why doesn't he name names?
Click to expand...

no needs in names you should know your employers , Saudi Arabia= islamisation/wahabbisation

Breath · Dec 17, 2011

The guys holding hands are Egyptian Christians protecting Muslims whom are doing their five prayers.

Shame there are many Egyptian Muslims who can't show the same tolerance and do similiar gestures.

Abu Sina · Dec 18, 2011

I agree

the wahabi ideology that breeds terrorists through ignorance is a big problem.
How to stop it's spread and financing is the problem.

waltky · Dec 2, 2012

Judges decide to go on strike to block Morsi decree...

Egypt's highest court joins judicial strike
Dec 2,`12 -- Egypt's highest court joined a judicial rebellion against President Mohammed Morsi on Sunday by declaring an open-ended strike on the day it was supposed to rule on the legitimacy of two key assemblies controlled by allies of the Islamist leader.

The strike by the Supreme Constitutional Court and opposition plans to march on the presidential palace on Tuesday take the country's latest political crisis to a level not seen in the nearly two years of turmoil since Hosni Mubarak's ouster in a popular uprising. Judges from the country's highest appeals court and its sister lower court were already on an indefinite strike, joining colleagues from other tribunals who suspended work last week to protest what they saw as Morsi's assault on the judiciary. The last time Egypt had an all-out strike by the judiciary was in 1919, when judges joined an uprising against British colonial rule.

The standoff began when Morsi issued decrees on Nov. 22 giving him near-absolute powers that granted himself and the Islamist-dominated assembly drafting the new constitution immunity from the courts. The constitutional panel then raced in a marathon session last week to vote on the charter's 236 clauses without the participation of liberal and Christian members. The fast-track hearing pre-empted a decision from the Supreme Constitutional Court that was widely expected to dissolve the constituent assembly. The judges on Sunday postponed their ruling on that case just before they went on strike.

Without a functioning justice system, Egypt will be plunged even deeper into turmoil. It has already seen a dramatic surge in crime after the uprising, while state authority is being challenged in many aspects of life and the courts are burdened by a massive backlog of cases. "The country cannot function for long like this, something has to give," said Negad Borai, a private law firm director and a rights activist. `We are in a country without courts of law and a president with all the powers in his hands. This is a clear-cut dictatorial climate," he said.

Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, a rights lawyer, said the strike by the judges will impact everything from divorce and theft to financial disputes that, in some cases, could involve foreign investors. "Ordinary citizens affected by the strike will become curious about the details of the current political crisis and could possibly make a choice to join the protests," he said. The Judges Club, a union with 9,500 members, said late Sunday that judges would not, as customary, oversee the national referendum Morsi called for Dec. 15 on the draft constitution hammered out and hurriedly voted on last week.

MORE
Click to expand...

Margot · Dec 2, 2012

Abu Sina said: ↑

I agree

the wahabi ideology that breeds terrorists through ignorance is a big problem.
How to stop it's spread and financing is the problem.
Click to expand...

Egyptian expats living in Saudi Arabia transferred around $8 billion in remittances to their home country last year, making them the largest contributor to their country’s economy, Egypt’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud Auf, said on Friday.

Their remittances account for 60 percent of the total sent from Egyptians abroad, Auf said during a Ramadan festive event in Riyadh.

The remittances sent from Saudi Arabia are comparable to the revenue combined by both Egypt’s Suez Canal and the tourism sector which the ambassador said brings in about $5 billion each.

continued.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/29/229131.html

protectionist · Dec 3, 2012

Margot said: ↑

Egyptian expats living in Saudi Arabia transferred around $8 billion in remittances to their home country last year, making them the largest contributor to their country’s economy, Egypt’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud Auf, said on Friday.

Their remittances account for 60 percent of the total sent from Egyptians abroad, Auf said during a Ramadan festive event in Riyadh.

The remittances sent from Saudi Arabia are comparable to the revenue combined by both Egypt’s Suez Canal and the tourism sector which the ambassador said brings in about $5 billion each.

continued.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/29/229131.html
Click to expand...

And that has exactly WHAT to do with the statement quoted ? ("the wahabi ideology that breeds terrorists through ignorance is a big problem. How to stop it's spread and financing is the problem.")

Margot · Dec 3, 2012

protectionist said: ↑

And that has exactly WHAT to do with the statement quoted ? ("the wahabi ideology that breeds terrorists through ignorance is a big problem. How to stop it's spread and financing is the problem.")
Click to expand...

You wouldn't know a wahhabi if one flew up your nose.. nor have you ever considered Egyptian diaspora or the reasons for it.

protectionist · Dec 4, 2012

Margot said: ↑

You wouldn't know a wahhabi if one flew up your nose.. nor have you ever considered Egyptian diaspora or the reasons for it.
Click to expand...

Sure I know a Wahabbi. In case you didn't know, we don't have to go to the ME to find Wahabbi's. We have one, for example, right in "our" US House of Representitives >> Keith Ellison. And US mosques are loaded with them. And I don't care about Egyptian diaspora, as long as they don't come here to the US.

Now that that's settled, you can answer my question from my previous post. (# 11)

Abu Sina · Dec 4, 2012

janpor said: ↑

What the Salafists Want: Egypt Faces a Hardline Islamic Future

By Daniel Steinvorth

It's kind of strange to witness the success of these radical Salafists.

Why do Egyptians even vote for them?

The problem in Egypt is the economy first, corruption second -- if the economy improves, corruption gets less of a problem.

Sure, it probably is nice for Egyptians to receive some meat, bread and coal -- but that doesn't make good policy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

It's kind of strange to witness the success of these radical Salafists.
Click to expand...

not really when the illiterate peasants have Wahabi channels pumping out the ideology every night

Why do Egyptians even vote for them?
Click to expand...

because the channels say that if they don't they will go to hell and they have very limited education and most cannot even read

The problem in Egypt is the economy first, corruption second -- if the economy improves, corruption gets less of a problem.
Click to expand...

WRONG!

You cannot fix the economy till the huge amount of corrupt businessmen are tackled and that is what Morsi is doing and it is not easy because they are not willing to give up their old life and ex regime ways. The depth of corruption is massive and the economy will never recover properly and people will not invest (I mean honest investors not the criminal ones) until there is less corruption. They want assurances that their money is safe and not going to Swiss bank accounts.

Sure, it probably is nice for Egyptians to receive some meat, bread and coal -- but that doesn't make good policy.
Click to expand...

coal????

not every Egyptian has a shisha pipe

Margot · Dec 4, 2012

protectionist said: ↑

Sure I know a Wahabbi. In case you didn't know, we don't have to go to the ME to find Wahabbi's. We have one, for example, right in "our" US House of Representitives >> Keith Ellison. And US mosques are loaded with them. And I don't care about Egyptian diaspora, as long as they don't come here to the US.

Now that that's settled, you can answer my question from my previous post. (# 11)
Click to expand...

Have you ever considered why the GCC are NOT like Egypt, Yemen, Iraq or Iran?

dixon76710 · Dec 4, 2012

protectionist said: ↑

And that has exactly WHAT to do with the statement quoted ? ("the wahabi ideology that breeds terrorists through ignorance is a big problem. How to stop it's spread and financing is the problem.")
Click to expand...

This is the ideology of the Muslim brotherhood at work in Egypt.

- Allah is our objective.
- The Prophet is our leader.
- Qur'an is our law.
- Jihad is our way.
- Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.

Margot · Dec 4, 2012

dixon76710 said: ↑

This is the ideology of the Muslim brotherhood at work in Egypt.

- Allah is our objective.
- The Prophet is our leader.
- Qur'an is our law.
- Jihad is our way.
- Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.
Click to expand...

And you have NO idea what that means, do you?

dixon76710 · Dec 4, 2012

Margot said: ↑

And you have NO idea what that means, do you?
Click to expand...

They use a literal interpretation, means just what it says.

Margot · Dec 4, 2012

dixon76710 said: ↑

They use a literal interpretation, means just what it says.
Click to expand...

Then read it literally.

dixon76710 · Dec 4, 2012

Margot said: ↑

Then read it literally.
Click to expand...

I did. Make a point relevant to the topic of discussion if you can,and I am not the topic of discussion

Margot · Dec 4, 2012

dixon76710 said: ↑

I did. Make a point relevant to the topic of discussion if you can,and I am not the topic of discussion
Click to expand...

Try to understand each line of it.

Allah is our objective.
- The Prophet is our leader... the Prophet is their leader.
- Qur'an is our law.... the Koran is their law
- Jihad is our way... the struggle to be a good Muslim
- Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope... to die in the faith

dixon76710 · Dec 4, 2012

Margot said: ↑

Try to understand each line of it.

Allah is our objective.
- The Prophet is our leader... the Prophet is their leader.
- Qur'an is our law.... the Koran is their law
- Jihad is our way... the struggle to be a good Muslim
- Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope... to die in the faith
Click to expand...

No, it's the jihad that most frequently leads to their death, "booty" if he survives.

The Prophet said, "The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah's cause and nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His Apostles, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr). Had I not found it difficult for my followers, then I would not remain behind any sariya going for Jihad and I would have loved to be martyred in Allah's cause and then made alive, and then martyred and then made alive, and then again martyred in His cause."

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