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Subscribe to RSSNBC Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel walks through crowded Tahrir Square as demonstrators celebrate the victory of Egypt's first Muslim Brotherhood President.
CAIRO, Egypt – The Muslim Brotherhood has won the presidency. Will it bring a new Egypt? I can’t see how it won’t.
This morning a Christian woman I’ve known casually for years came up to me and asked if I could help her seek political asylum in the United States. Many Christians, women and moderate Muslims worry about the Muslim Brotherhood’s promise to bring Islamic Law. It’s not a good sign if the day after elections that people are asking how they can escape the country.
Last night in Tahrir Square Muslim Brotherhood members were celebrating their victory, calling it not a win for democracy, but divine intervention. They acknowledged that a free vote brought them to power, but saw God’s hand filling the ballot boxes.
In an analysis piece last week I asked, if democracy brings a non-democratic party, is that a win for democracy? Today some Egyptians don’t think so and have considerable buyers’ remorse, feeling the cliché, "be careful of what you wish for."
Big changes are in store for Egypt now that Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, once banned in Egypt, has won Egypt's first democratic presidential election. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
Egyptians face a new Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood
In Tahrir Square street vendors now sell badges with Mohammed Morsi's photograph. Some Egyptians wear them to show support and solidarity, like wearing a U.S. presidential campaign pin. I bought one. It’s sitting on my desk now in Cairo. The laminated badge also has the Muslim Brotherhood’s logo of two crossed swords with a Quran between the blades. Beneath the swords is a single phrase, “And Prepare.”
It’s a quote from the Quran which in the light of the Brotherhood’s win deserves elaboration.
“And prepare” comes from the Quran’s Chapter 8 on "the spoils of war." The full quote is:
“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.”
“And Prepare” means to prepare for battle against God’s enemies.
When I think about the Muslim Brotherhood, I remember a hot, sticky evening in 1998 when I was working as a local journalist in Cairo. I was in the lawyers' syndicate building in central Cairo.
The syndicate was, and still is, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. I had many contacts there and was a frequent visitor. That evening, I sat drinking strong coffee with a group of about a half dozen members of the Brotherhood. We spoke for hours.
I remember the conversation vividly because I have had so many just like it. The Brotherhood members mostly talked about Israel. They were obsessed with the Mossad, Israel’s powerful spy agency. According to them, the Mossad ran everything in the Middle East.
They also said America was at war with Islam. They told me Osama bin Laden was an American creation. They talked about how Jews ran the world, and how the only group as powerful as the Mossad was the "Jewish Lobby" in Washington. Jews and Israel, they said, used America’s muscle to dominate the Arab world through proxy dictators like Mubarak. They told me how Israel was deliberately exporting chemicals that spread AIDS and cancer among Egyptians.
Eric Trager, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, studies Egyptian opposition groups. He spoke with NBC News' Charlene Gubash about what the Muslim Brotherhood victory means for the U.S. and the region.
Egypt's Morsi: Bloodshed will not be in vain
They told me the Americans people, whom they considered decent and God fearing, were ignorant of the games played on them by Jews and their lobby. One Jewish-Israeli-American conspiracy rolled into the next.
I remember thinking all those 15 years ago as I sipped coffee and looked around at the syndicate, I hope these guys don't come to power. But even then I suspected one day it would happen – there were simply too many Egyptians who thought just like the people drinking coffee in the syndicate.
They packed the universities and professional unions. They wrote the little paperback books sold on blankets on Cairo sidewalks linking Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, the Bush family, the Jewish Lobby, Freemasons and of course the Mossad in elaborate plots against Egypt and Muslims.
There are clearly many Egyptian free-thinkers and intellectuals -- lots of wonderful Egyptian artists and architects and scientists. But the conversation I was having in the syndicate was much more common.
Morsi now talks about moderation. Western diplomats hope he means it and that the Brotherhood will have to become more pragmatic now that it will have to actually run a government. That could very well happen, but pragmatism seems unlikely to erase a mentality that is deeply ingrained and which will, especially in time of crisis, expose itself sooner or later.
NBC News: Egypt's ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak slips into coma
Morsi still has to battle with the military for power. The military holds key authorities which it took through steps that were probably illegal. The army’s position looks weaker now that the Brotherhood has won an election that was widely considered free and fair.
Egypt took a big turn last night. I hope now the Brotherhood can move beyond a mentality of conspiracies and turn this country into a success. If it can’t, the Middle East faces a tough road ahead.
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Leave a Comment:
I just want to know how is all this mess Obama's fault. 2 years in power boy, the man can multitask. Republican get your @!$%# straight or you will bring your country down. None of your candidate are looking out for you understand that. Your racism against anything that moves and that is different from you is going to destroy this country. The wild wild west policy doesn't work anymore. Study the situation, respect yours and other nations. China is on your ass and Romney will just help them chew you a little faster. I love this country but man grow up. oh an make up your mind..."why aren't we helping siryia".....oh "why did we help Egypt and libya"....for crying out loud now you are just whining.
If Obama were white you wouldn't say a word. Bush left Obama a nuclear free Iran; an Egypt under Muvarek's thumb and at peace with Israel and a Libya controlled by Gaddafi -- A few years later Iran has nukes; Egypt is run by the same group that bombed the WTC in 1993, with Hamas renewing rocket attacks on Israel and Libya is controlled by Al-Queda. The Manchurian candidate strikes again. Ten percent of Egypt's population is Coptic Christians. Ten percent of Egyptians just lost all their rights, but hopefully not all will lose their lives.
That little rant pretty much makes zero sense. Not sure if you realize, but Obama has been here almost 4 years now, not two. And look how he's almost ruined this country and our reputation abroad. Tax, borrow, spend won't do anything but get us further in debt. He's in way too far over his head and has no practical business experience to understand what it takes to create jobs in the private sector. He's just been flying by the seat of his pants, telling whoever listens what he thinks they want to hear. Time for a change. If we don't like the change, we can do it again in 4 years. But we cannot take 4 more years with this novelty act.
Well alright Jack, lets the see how the road looks for the US in the next few years. Our worse enemy is the one we don't want to see and for America is the blindness of its own people. Thank you come again!
Race has nothing to do with this. I've never been enamoured with Bush; however, the "blame Bush" for everything after 4 years is getting a bit old don't you think. I truly believe Obama is doing what HE thinks is best for everyone. He's never had a job in his life before this. He's never run a business. He's in way over his head; it's time for someone with practical, successful business and educational experience to give it a shot. If Romney wins, he inherits a much bigger mess than Obama did.
Do any of the Anti-Christian lobby on here realize that we're talking about the persecution of close to 8 million people when we talk about the Muslim Brotherhood's plans for the Egyptian Copts?
10% of 80,000,000 (entire pop. of Egypt) = 8,000,000 (pop. of Coptic Christians) Sounds a whole lot different when you put it like that, doesn't it?
What a shame for Egypt ! the Muslims don't live under democratic rule ! you fools just don't get it ! the wool being pulled over your eyes ! wait an see !
Oh the irony. This story sounds like the current state of the US political system. I was and still am a Republican. But I recall in 1992 when the "crazies" started infiltrating with their Christian ideals and elaborate conspiracy theories. I thought, "OK, whatever. You are the minority and there are too many of us educated conservatives to fall for your childish fantasies." Well, fast forward to 2012. The crazies are in charge of my party. Now I'm forced to second guess my votes because many of the conservative values I hold are supported by these crazies. And they have to inject their other bullshi** ideologies. It's a double edged sword. You can't win with the liberals, but it's gotten so bad on the right that it isn't any better. FOX needs to stop injecting the bull crap. They have legit content, but when they have to push lame plots (that don't hold any water), that's just condescending to us.
My party is now the party of false prophecies. The last 20 years have been all downhill. We don’t need to scare people to our side with made up and emotional lies. We shouldn’t the crap “infill” to the actual facts because once the crap is identified, the whole story goes out the window.
If this country goes down, we have only ourselves (Dems and Reps) to blame.
So true. I'm Independent now. It makes sense because you can just take a claim or issue at a time and decide the value of it. Democrats and Republicans ultimately are choking the sense out of the country.
couldn't agree more, see you can belong to any party just don't get blind by our parties bull@!$%#
Hey, he seems like a pretty nice guy.
I am just curious; Will isreal send a formal "congratulations" message?
It's not looking good for Egypt with the ultraconservative Muslim Brotherhood winning in the Election. This will be a precautionary tale of what the U.S. will suffer if we ever elect a majority of Tea Party office.
You're so stupid I don't know where to start...
First, men do rule the world currently.
Second, castrating a man would not raise the pitch of his voice unless done as a boy.
Third, when you want to use a big word like "Eunuchs" learn to spell it correctly first.
Fourth, I don't think many women would want to never have any sexual attention from men. Also, this would make stupid women like yourself useless as this is all you are currently good for.
She just has "penis envy".
Obama is to blame because he weakened our country with all his apologies around the world and because he has yet to show any leadership skills. Talk is cheap but that's all we get from liberals.
I am starting to think the Mayans have it right!
Lets see the people of Egypt rose up against a Dictator
Got Free Elections, elected who they wanted to be President
Now they will have to live under his rule
But if they don't like his rule they can always raise up again and throw him out
So maybe we better just wait and see how he is going to rule and what effect it has on the people and rather they except his rule before we all go off on the change
As far as giving Aid in Military funds we should also hold off, after all the people on the Right might be right since they know all to well how to get people to cut their own throats all too well just look how they are getting fellow middle Class Republicans to vote a tax raise for the very rich while putting the cost on middle class Republicans OLD and POOR
Lee, just how would a"tax raise for the very rich" hurt the middle class? Are you drunk?
Guesss you never read the article huh?? " It’s not a good sign if the day after elections that people are asking how they can escape the country"
And who says they are fair elections? You? get a grip on reality capn, no such thing as fair in that part of the planet.
Mohammed Morsi elected and now Islamic law and another Islamic state? Maybe. Good luck Christians and women in Egypt. Right-wing Islam--old world, theocracy thinking--Allah's gift to the betterment of mankind, especially for women and non-Muslims (and moderate, reasonable Muslims for matter)? Yeah right!
I think you should change your name to BelieveInMythsAreInsane. Just saying.
Never catch me visiting that s**thole ever again!!! And you are correct Greg, in the coming years, if this freakin idiot stays in power, we will see some ethnic and religious cleansing, as is the muslim way, believe in our faith or die. Makes me want to join the army and start pulling off some headshots. Any religion that gets upset over a cartoon is a joke in the first degree and nothing more. Allah LOLOLOL
But...but...we were on their side when the ethnic and religious cleansing was being done to Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovinia, weren't we? How come they don't like us yet?
So many ignorant, dumb comments above me. Obama is not a terrorist and he does not support the Muslim Brotherhood. Religion is not evil, only when it is used to suppress humanity instead of progress it. Muslims, open your eyes to what dangerous fundamentalists in your religion are saying and stand up to them. Really I'm afraid of our ignorance much more than the Muslim Brotherhood. Apathy will not solve our problems.
So true. Apathy is a very big, and very real enemy here at home. It's my take on it that a lot of people just take for granted that we will always be the land of plenty--and that we can work outside our homes and get to and from work without worrying about a sniper taking us out, we can choose to worship in the way and in the house of worship place that we choose, or not at all. Women can get drivers licenses here. They can get and can hold jobs that were once seen as suitable for men only. We have varying community standards, but for the most part we read, or see TV or movies that we want to see. We have an abundance of musical fare to choose from.
We are a relatively young country that had one terrible civil war--150 years ago. Many countries have had a series of them. We take for granted that the lives we lead are our Constitutional rights and we are entitled to them. What's the first thing a totalitarian government usually does? Rewrite the Constitution giving the government more rights than the citizens.
Even President Obama's leftist professors at Harvard are now saying he has to go. Wake up, folks!
The Muslim Brotherhood has been trying to attain power in Egypt for 50 years. Although Nasser attacked Israel, he also modernized Egypt, invoked a more secular pan-Arabism, and put down the MB. Sadat was similar, but the MB finally assasinated him after he committed the unforgivable sin of making peace with and recognizing Israel. Mubarak can thank his lucky stars that he has lived as long as he has, since the MB tried to kill him about half a dozen times (that we know of). The MB may yet kill him, although they seem content now simply to discredit and isolate him.
So, after trying (and failing) to attain power for 50 years through struggle, bombs, terrorist attacks, and assasination attempts, the MB polished up its image, put on western business suits, adopted a more populist rhetorical tone, and finally won power through quasi-democratic means by looking respectable and appealing to the downtrodden, of which there are many in Egypt (and in the Middle East in general).
Now they have to deliver on their promises. They will get some sharia-inspired legislation through, but they won't be able to do much of anything about the economy. The gap between the haves and the have nots will persist. There will be unrest. The MB will grip on to power the same way their predecessors did. The only difference is that Sadat and Mubarak were relatively friendly to the west. Will we be able to say the same about Morsi? Maybe Morsi will attempt to play the role of the moderate. And get assasinated.
Nothing has changed. The only open question is how much worse will it get.
Well, Congratulations, Egypt. You have just elected the Islamic Tea Party to run your country (into the ground). Very best of luck to you. I hope you enjoy religious extremism, denial of basic human rights, paranoia, ignorance and hate of non-existant and imaginary enemies from your political leaders. It sure is all the rage over here!
To see how great our country is you have to look at others. We are not governed by myths. We have a secular government.
Great foreign policy! Holy shiite - what have our dear leaders created?
What did you want? Foreign policy = military force, police the world? We have tried that one.
Greg - And it's worked. Hitler and Stalin are gone, and so are their governments. Also, the Emperor in Japan and his government. Duh!!!!
EWUSRNET--Wonderful! Greg apparently doesn't let the facts of history interfere with his world view. I don't think anyone was overjoyed that we had to go to fight in these wars...but I think most people would agree that they were necessary.
Or, maybe they would have preferred it if those Bostonians had never thrown that tea overboard. Or that we had no militia in the colonies to stand up to the British and gain our freedom from the Empire? Just sayin'....
These people have a book that says "Prepare?
I see a huge FN mushroom cloud hovering over there religious words of BS.
These people will destroy, and kill in the name of this faith.
I repeat BS, BS, BS, and more BS about a man made book full of stupidity.
They think god they love so much is there wonderful loving god that tells them to convert all people, or kill, decapitate, rape, slaughter, torture, those who do not.
I say take a big old FN FAT BOY with the words "here I come so prepare right across its belly".
PREPARE?
These fanatics make me sick, they don't love anything, or anyone, but themselves and that fairytale BS book they dance around.
How about the U.S. just mind their own business for a few years.
Everything is our business. When you understand that, you'll understand world politics.
There's a big difference between meddling and getting involved with issues that have a direct impact on the U.S. We don't have to play big brother for every country on this planet.
What's causes a bigger conflict than when an extremist group gets into power through democracy? When an extremist group tries to remove democracy.
This group just agreed to play the same political games as the west... and if they try to back out there will hell to pay.
They might see it a divine intervention at the ballots, but ultimately these decisions are made by men. So will the Muslim Brotherhood play with us and help Egypt and the Middle East? Many are afraid they will not, but what choice do they have?
I saw this happening back when people were talking about the Arab Spring.
So did Commander Hussein Obama and Comrade Hillary
lilian101 you should move to Egypt we do not need your mentality staining our country and stay off the crackpipe please!!!
wOCKY WOAD - "Staining our country"? Get real.
I don't know if they saw the Muslim Brotherhood or not, I think Presedent Obama is so gleefully ignorant that he thought that by getting rid of mubarak that egypt would become more european socalist democracy. Anyone who has paid attentio to thinks like the Iranian reveloution would know it would become an islamic extrmisim.
And as the political winds are now turning in an ugly direction, President Obama's vow to stand with the Muslims, has much deeper meaning to US citizens as he praises the Muslim Brotherhood for its election win in Egypt. And the Muslim Brotherhood announces that it will review all prior treaties with Israel and renew ties with Iran.
" 'We will reconsider the Camp David Accord' that, in 1979, forged a peace between Egypt and Israel that has held for more than three decades, Morsi was quoted as telling a Fars reporter in Cairo on Sunday, just before his election triumph was announced. He said the issue of Palestinian refugees returning to homes their families abandoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the 1967 Six-Day War 'is very important.' " National Post Wire Services (Jun 25, 2012) "Egypt’s new Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi to ‘reconsider’ Israel peace deal,
strengthen Iran ties." Retrieved 6/25/12 from: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/25/egypts-new-islamist-leader-mohammed-morsi-to-reconsider-israel-peace-deal-strengthen-iran-ties/
Why is it that everytime a topic is posted, some individuals posting comments, seem to miss the subject of the artlcal and go off on a tangent calling each other radical right or radical left,,,why can't people discuss the topic in a normal manner without the name calling...I think if that happened there would be a few people having heart attacks....hope all have a better day
And another country that I will never visit ever again, "god filled the ballot boxes" now that was a good laugh and a half. Judging by how people acted over there, raping women in mass mobs amongst other things this is not a surprising result, starting to think that all those bordering countries have a lot of inbreeding going on judging by the sheer lack of intelligent life forms.
If there is anyone out there that still has doubts about the dangers of religion, stay tuned. Your going to see all kinds of "crimes against humanity" in the name of religion, right here.
Wise up. There is big trouble on the horizon and it's all in the name of a God. How pathetic.
By the way, there is no such thing as a Islamic Democracy. When you stand against human rights, like Islam does, it's impossible to have a true democracy, totally impossible.
Religion isn't the problem. Radical Islam is.
I sure hope you are wrong, but cannot argue you are not. I guess time will tell. Hopefully things in the middle east will turn out okay, but have to agree Egypt sure looks scary at this point in time.
Somewhere
Same things were said about Iran a few decades ago
The USA currently spends, on its own (not countiing its contributions to international aid funds or private donations), over $250 Million yearly on "Economic Aid" to Egypt. Of course, our military support dwarfs that. Since the Camp David Accords, that has been money generally well spent and has kept our hand in and much reduced the difficulties we've had in that part of the world. It is now time to rethink those expenditures.
In case people don't know, the "Muslim Brotherhood" is a radical Islamic organization and Al-Zawahiri (Bin Laden's 2nd in Command in Al Qaeda) is an alumnus of the "Brotherhood", which is more than radical enough on its own, even without the Al Qaeda connection (they, after all, were the ones who assassinated Sadat).
Now, by all means, the Egyptian people have the right to choose any government they wish. However, I believe that we have the right to decide whether or not we are going to shower that government with money and largesse. I see no reason to do so with this group. Cancel the checks and cut off the money supply Let the Egyptians feel - and feel immediately - the "pain" that goes along with voting to return to the 7th C. AD and the politics of religious intolerance. If the immediate result of embracing radical Islam is a sudden jump in the cost of living and a sudden reduction in aid, then that will send a clear message to those other Arab states which are pushing for a change of government that there are consequences to voting in a jihadist regime.
Make it hurt!
I hope living conditions get better for the Egyptian people, they certainly deserve it after all the drama this past year and a half. The Muslim Brotherhood only won by a very slim margin, if all the Muslims had voted for him he would have won by a much more substantial amount...this just goes to show that the people did vote democratically with their best interests at heart rather than voting for whichever was considered the Muslim favorite. What that means for the future of the country and our relations with them, who knows. Israel should be a little worried considering that now they're pretty much an island in the middle of a sea of Islamist militants.