Not a few of us predicted this would happen - and we were right. Yet, we were chided, castigated and shouted down by those kindhearted souls who truly wanted to believe that the "popular uprising" in Egypt would bring about some democratic, secular fantasy where everyone was happy and fulfilled. Hence the title "Yay! Egypt is free!," a phrase we often saw on places like Facebook and elsewhere.
 Huge Muslim Brotherhood Rally in Cairo |
We knew that the Muslim Brotherhood was waiting in the wings to take over, as part of this "democratic" process that allowed everyone to have a voice, including the Ikhwan (Brotherhood) naturally. I personally didn't blog about this particular situation, but I did post frequently at my forum and on Facebook, and I was correct about the rise of the MB. It didn't take much guesswork; nor did it require supernatural powers of prophecy. All I did was follow the lead of the MB itself, as its members stated their goals quite clearly.
Now comes this "news" from The New York Times, weeks after some of us already knew this would happen. I didn't follow the NYT's coverage of the events, because I can't stand their stomach-churning Islam-appeasement and dhimmitude, but I would suspect that they were ever-so-optimistic about what would happen next, without any clear impression in mind. The waters of the future were murky indeed, except in one direction: That of the Muslim Brotherhood. So, there was really no surprise at all, since that was where all the signs were pointing. Only the sightless would have missed those markers.
"The [Muslim Brotherhood] has replaced the secular youth movement as a driving force."
Did anyone with senses really believe that the MB - rabid, intransigent Islamists with a huge, wealthy and powerful support base spread throughout the world - would allow the secular students to lead one of the world's most ancient and important nations? Such a notion represents the height of naivete and ignorance of history and the nature of the beast.
In any event, it's not good to be right in this instance.
Islamist Group Is Rising Force in a New Egypt
A Muslim Brotherhood celebration in Cairo on March 12. The group has replaced the secular youth movement as a driving force.
CAIRO — In post-revolutionary Egypt, where hope and confusion collide in the daily struggle to build a new nation, religion has emerged as a powerful political force, following an uprising that was based on secular ideals. The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group once banned by the state, is at the forefront, transformed into a tacit partner with the military government that many fear will thwart fundamental changes.
It is also clear that the young, educated secular activists who initially propelled the nonideological revolution are no longer the driving political force — at least not at the moment.
As the best organized and most extensive opposition movement in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was expected to have an edge in the contest for influence. But what surprises many is its link to a military that vilified it.
"There is evidence the Brotherhood struck some kind of a deal with the military early on," said Elijah Zarwan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. "It makes sense if you are the military — you want stability and people off the street. The Brotherhood is one address where you can go to get 100,000 people off the street."...
"We are all worried," said Amr Koura, 55, a television producer, reflecting the opinions of the secular minority. "The young people have no control of the revolution anymore. It was evident in the last few weeks when you saw a lot of bearded people taking charge. The youth are gone."...
About six groups from the ultraconservative Salafist school of Islam have also emerged in the era after President Hosni Mubarak's removal, as well as a party called Al Wassat, intended as a more liberal alternative to the Brotherhood....
...in these early stages, there is growing evidence of the Brotherhood's rise and the overpowering force of Islam....
This is not to say that the Brotherhood is intent on establishing an Islamic state. From the first days of the protests, Brotherhood leaders proclaimed their dedication to religious tolerance and a democratic and pluralist form of government. They said they would not offer a candidate for president, that they would contest only a bit more than a third of the total seats in Parliament, and that Coptic Christians and women would be welcomed into the political party affiliated with the movement.
None of that has changed, Mr. Erian, the spokesman, said in an interview. "We are keen to spread our ideas and our values," he said. “We are not keen for power.”
He would not comment on whether the Brotherhood had an arrangement with the military, but he said the will of the people to shift toward Islam spoke for itself and was a sign of Egypt's emerging democratic values. "Don't trust the intellectuals, liberals and secularists," Mr. Erian said. "They are a minor group crying all the time. If they don’t work hard, they have no future."...
Despite the protestations of not being "intent on establishing an Islamic state" and "keen for power," the fact is that the MB has stated its intent to commit "grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house," whereby it most definitely has expressed a desire to see not only an Islamic state but also an Islamic world. The Ikhwan certainly does want to run things, whether or not its members are visibly in the front line.
As for not trusting "intellectuals, liberals and secularists," all of these groups have been battling for the Muslim Brotherhood in numerous Western countries - these are the very groups continually stumping for Islam and attacking critics as "Islamophobes," "racists" and "bigots." Yet, here is what a spokesman for a major global Muslim organization really thinks of its biggest pawns. Will these soon-to-be marginalized groups wake up to the fact that they've been had? In fact, as many of us have stated repeatedly, trashing these supportive groups is evidently one of the first things the MB and other Islamic supremacist organizations do when they come to power.
It is unfortunate, but these possibly well-meaning "liberal" groups fit the classic definition of a "dhimwit," a term created by TROP based on the word "dhimmi," which popularly refers to a non-Muslim who is subservient to Islamic supremacy:
A non-Muslim member of a free society that abets the stated cause of Islamic domination with remarkable gullibility or guile. A dhimwit is always quick to extend sympathy to the very enemy that would take away their own freedom, if given the opportunity.
