Registering for seats opened yesterday in Egypt for the Peoples Assembly and the Shura Council. Journalists and officials have reported a huge number of women registering to campaign for seats. The peoples assembly must have half farmer/peasants as seats and maybe this time we will see true representation of the farmers and strict guidelines as to them having only 10 feddans and farming as sole income to qualify. One other difference is the Shura Council has 1/3rd seats elected by the president. We have no president. The UN and any concerned parties from any International bodies have been invited to observe the election process. This is another major change. Ex President Jimmy Carter has been allowed to supervise the election process. The elections will be held in waves to allow the judges who already have so much work to do with the corruption and criminal cases in progress, to witness and supervise the polling, and any revolutionary group will be able to supervise at any polling station with them playing a leading role in organisation of queueing, helping disabled, explaining process to voters. Maybe for the first time in many Egyptians lifetimes they get to vote in a REAL election.
Its going to be great when the muslim brotherhood takes control of Egpyt. Egypt will be so much better off.
Why is Egypt engaging in ethnic cleansing? http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/10/12/arab-spring-leads-to-second-exodus/
Have you contacted your senator to cut off ties with the Saudis whose crazy ideology and madmen are terrorizing not only the Coptic Christians but the Muslims also? You do realise your saudi friends salafists who are waving the Saudi flags are beating up the muslim sufis too in Upper Egypt and calling everyone with no beard or niqab an infidel. Time to cut the support and ties with the US surely???? IF you are worried about the radicals that is.
Here this is from the same Vatican paper you posted link to. Catholic priest of Luxors view. http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/e.../articolo/cristiani-copti-egitto-mubarak-291/ 06/ 9/2011 "Attacks against Christians in Egypt incited by followers of Mubarak” [Translate to English:] Zakaria Interview with Joannes Zakaria, Coptic Catholic Bishop Luxor ANDREA TORNIELLI VATICAN CITY «The attacks against Christians in Egypt are being incited by groups of Mubarak followers or Islamic extremists from Saudi Arabia. It is a more political matter than religious...». Joannes Zakaria, 61, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Luxor, is one of the leaders of small groups of Egyptian Catholics, numbering a scant 400,000 of the 8 million Coptic Christians throughout the world. During the last few days, another church was targeted and set on fire by several Muslims as they left their mosque after prayers. Do you believe that what is happening in Egypt is a religious war? «I don’t believe so. The Salafi Muslims, who are leading the attacks, are being incited by splinter groups from the old secret services of Mubarak, who initially used them to fight the Muslim Brotherhood and now uses them to create a climate of tension. These are actions of a political nature to increase tensions and cause people to regret the previous regime». But the Islamic stamp on these actions against the Copts is obvious... «We should consider that today both the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as the Jihadists, want to take the reins of the revolution, head it, and lead it. Mubarak had got rid of the extremists. After the President went into exile and the airport was reopened, approximately 3,000 Egyptian fundamentalists who had fled to Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iran returned to Egypt». Christians and Muslims were protesting side by side when the huge popular uprising caused Mubarak to fall. What changed? «It is true, Christians and Muslims were protesting together. And when Muslims prayed in Tahrir Square, Christians surrounded them to protect them. But once Mubarak fell, every group is now trying to appropriate the revolution for itself. In other countries that are predominantly Islamic, Christianity is widely associated with the West. This is more problematic in Egypt where our church is ancient. “Coptic” actually means Egyptian, and yet poverty and ignorance facilitate simplication, even with us. We must also bear in mind that the Copts are involved in a very active testimony, they are present on the public scene». Are you afraid that with true democracy, the government could impose sharia law on the country? «During the revolution in the square, the Egyptians were fighting for their rights, and there was a large Christian voice too. We will still face difficulties, but I am confident in the fact that many intellectual Muslims have begun to recognize that imposing sharia law was a failure, in Sudan and elsewhere. Certainly, 90% of the population in Egypt is Muslim, we Christians are only a minority. There is the risk that the mentality that will set back progress in Egypt caused by not applying Islamic law will become more widespread. But we Copts are also the most solid and listened to minority in the Middle East. In the new Egypt, Christians and Muslims must be able to coexist with equal dignity and rights». What do you think that Western countries should do to promote the democratic process? «Your leaders are afraid of Islamic extremists, mindful of the interests of their countries and oil. But they also need to think of the people who are living in povery, and are easy prey for fundamentalism. These processes are in conflict with each other, building schools, hospitals and creating jobs». In your daily experience, how is the relationship between Christians and Muslims today in Egypt? «Like the pyramids: at the broader base, everything is less complicated, there are some very beautiful relationships of fraternity and friendship. The problems start gradually as you make your way to the top, with the authorities. Everyone in charge is afraid of everyone else. There is no maturity, the ability to dialog, there is plenty of ignorance in all groups».
The Shura Council is also the name of the organization run by Mullah Muhammed Omar, former head of the Taliban Govt. of Afghanistan; and now leader of the Taliban insurgency. Draw your own conclusions.
Democracy is always worthy of support, terrorist organizations, religious fundamentalists and extremists are NOT worthy of support even if they are elected. The countries and peoples who elect terrorists and religious fanatics are not worthy of support either. Elections have consequences, don't you know, losing the support of the civilized world if you make an idiotic choice is one of these consequences.
Egypt will become another Iran. The muslim brotherhood went from being a banned and in prison group to having a seat at the table forming the new Islamic govt. Thank you Obamahamed!!!
The Egyptian army/police killed over 40 Coptic Christians.. Are you now blaming the Saudis because Egyptians can't get organized after their Arab Spring? Did you think all Saudi men wer beards?
They aren't what they were and they split off from radical groups years an years ago. MB is native to Egypt and not welcomed in Saudi Arabia.
That I know. MB is very educated, well prepared, respond to the needs of the poorer populace, are very patient and have an agenda. My concern are those muslim brotherhoods who are returning from exile abroad. I know people who were approached by them and even they were frightened of their ideas. Those people are very much what they once were.
46 Copts? In the Maspero incident? I think not. Whatever the total - wrong, wrong wrong. Of course this does not bode well for Egypt. Neither did the incident with the Israeli embassy
