Monday, June 25, 2012

Morsi's Feelings Towards Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
The Oregonian newspaper continued with information about Mohammed Morsi b: 1951, Egypt's newly elected president,  this morning.  He has a long record of opposition to the Egyptian-Israeli ties. He was elected to the Zionism Resistance Council in his home province.  Later he co-founded the Egyptian Commission for Resisting the Zionist Project.   However, he has declared on Sunday that his Muslim Brotherhood government will follow the Egyptian international commitments, including the peace treaty with Israel.  During the campaign he promised to be a centrist ruler despite his Islamist background and roles in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1977.  This is when the movement was banned.  He was elected to Parliament in 2000 where he was in charged of the Brotherhood's unofficial parliamentary bloc from 2000 to 2005 when he was defeated.

By January 28, 2011, Morsi was detained with 34 other leading Muslim Brotherhood officers by Mubarak's government, but escaped when security guards left their posts at the prison where he was held.  He was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's guidance council .  Then  he became head of its Freedom and Justice Party of which he just resigned from on Sunday. This resignation seems to be a symbolic move.

The military arm has dissolved the Brotherhood-led parliament and has seized legislative power.  The generals have guns and tanks and armored vehicles to hold authority.  The Brotherhood leaders and ruling generals have had face-to-face meetings last week between the Brotherhood's parliamentary leader, Saad el-Katatni and Gen. Sami Hafez Enan.

Jihad el-Haddad, Brotherhood spokesman, said on Saturday that that the Brotherhood made its demands for the reinstatement of the parliament and the empowerment of an elected president.  They had agreed on Friday that further talks with generals would be conducted by a new "national front" it had formed with more secular advocates of democracy.  They will have greater collaboration and openness than formerly.  The Brotherhood happens to be thought of as Egypt's best-organized political force.  They barely won over Ahmed Shafiq, who was a former air force general and Mubarak's last prime minister.  The vote was 13.2 million for Morsi, and12.3 million for Shafiq, or 52% to 48%..  

Now he promises to build a coalition government and promises that his prime minister will be independent and his governemt would include Christians.  He promised not to turn Egypt into a theocracy but said Islam should provide governing principles.

He also calls for Egypt to not be subordinate to the USA and suggests he will confront their close ties to Washington they had under Mubarak.  Jay Carney, press secretary, is concerned about human rights and the minority Coptic Christians that have been attacked.  I'm concerned about keeping the peace treaty with Israel.  I have a feeling that the only thing holding Egypt to this will be the money that the USA doles out to Egypt.  Morsi sounds like he will try to free them from this line of economic aid.

Resource: Oregonian newspaper 6/25/12  page A4, New Egyptian president was a professor in US, and front page, continues on page A5, McClatchy Newspapers 
Oregonian newspaper 6/24/12 page A9, Results of Egypt's vote still up in air by David D. Kiripatrick, NY Times






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