Brotherhood of Hate: Muslim Brotherhood's Hatred for Jews and Israel Flourishes in "New" Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood in a Free Egypt
Posted: September 19, 2011
In an effort to sidestep the ban on religiously affiliated political parties in the new Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has established the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). The FJP promotes itself as a pluralistic political party open to all Egyptians, Muslim and Christian; however, the FJP receives its ideological and financial backing from the Muslim Brotherhood and its leadership.
Although the FJP is open to accepting non-Muslim members (the party's Vice-President is Coptic Christian leader Rafiq Habib), the party is opposed to a non-Muslim or Copt becoming head of state. In order to broaden its public appeal to non-Muslims, the FJP has also removed the image of the Qur'an and the word "Islam" from their logos and mottos.
Nonetheless, high level Brotherhood members like Sobhi Saleh, who was elected by Egypt's military council to be on the national constitution amendment committee, have stated that the Brotherhood will implement Shariah law in Egypt if it comes to power, presumably through the election of the FJP.
Perhaps the most telling of the FJP's positions is the party's stance on Israel's right to exist, as documented in detail in the FJP's official political program:
· "The issue of Palestine is the most important issue of Egyptian national security, in addition to being an Arab or Muslim cause, because the Zionist Entity is a racist colonizing expansionist entity, possessing weapons of mass destruction, which has caused the outbreak of many wars in the region, affecting the geographical, political, social and economic situation, disrupting development programs and displacing people from their homes, in addition to the acquisition of Islamic and Christian holy places in Palestine. Therefore the party sees the need to make all efforts to resolve this issue and ensure the rights of Palestinian self-determination and the return of refugees to their homes, establish their state and its capital Jerusalem, restore all the holy places of Muslims and Christians in Palestine and the evacuation of the entire region (Middle East) of weapons of mass destruction."
Brotherhood members who have
assumed prominent positions in the FJP are now able to meet with public figures and officials, where they have an opportunity to advance the Brotherhood's platform on domestic and international issues. For example, in an official meeting with the French Ambassador to Egypt in June 2011, FJP Chairman Mohamed Morsi alluded to the Brotherhood's position vis-à-vis the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. "The nature of the relationship with Israel," Morsi said, "would be determined by the next parliament if the Muslim Brotherhood came to power or shared it in any way."
While some Brotherhood members have either refrained from commenting or been vague about the group's outlook on the peace accord between Israel and Egypt, others have viewed the treaty and all that it entails as a crime against Egypt and its citizens. In June 2011, Essam el Erian, Deputy President of the Freedom and Justice Party and former member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Council, stated that the FJP views the export of Egyptian gas to Israel as a crime committed by the former regime against Egyptians.
In an October 11 article on FJP's official Web site, FJP blamed Israel and the West for creating conditions that encourage sectarian strife between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt. "One of the most prominent reasons fueling sectarian strife and clashes in Egypt without doubt is the intervention of foreigners (the West and Zionists), which the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, the Prime Minister, and the Brotherhood warned would ignite and fuel strife between the Muslims and Copts to thwart the revolution." The article further promoted the conspiratorial view that intelligence operations carried out by the U.S. and Israel aim to recruit Egyptian youth online in order to foil Egypt's revolution:
"It is no secret that events of sectarian strife and the numerous security violations that have recently occurred in Egypt… are carried out unequivocally through intelligence operations by American and Israel….The youth should be warned about being contacted via 'Facebook' by others that may have a Mossad member from a unit dedicated for the recruitment of Arab youth, especially if they were revolutionaries or political activists."
Not all Brotherhood members, however, use the FJP to as a means to be politically active. Unfettered freedom of movement in Egypt has allowed Brotherhood members and supporters to travel around the country and speak at engagements to promote the Brotherhood's ideology and platform. In a March 10, 2011, speech at Alexandria University, Mohammad Selim al Awa, a prominent Islamic thinker and Muslim Brotherhood member, stated that he believes the 1979 peace treaty with Israel should be nullified, and that the peace treaty is really a hudna (ceasefire between two warring sides). Al Awa also advocated for Egypt to build stronger relationships with all resistance movements, suggesting that these groups use Egypt as a base to launch attacks against Israel.
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