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Subscribe to RSSAfter issuing a decree making himself more powerful than the courts, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has sparked a wave of anger – some of which is directed toward the United States. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
CAIRO -- Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members, seeking to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel with a rushed, marathon vote that further inflames the conflict between the opposition and President Mohammed Morsi.
The vote by the constituent assembly advanced a charter with an Islamist bent that rights experts say could give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and bring restrictions on freedom of speech, women's rights and other liberties.
The draft, which the assembly plans to deliver to the president Saturday, must be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days. Morsi said Thursday it will be held "soon."
Morsi added that the decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians fearing a new dictator was emerging less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak, was "for an exceptional stage."
"It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television on Thursday night. "There is no place for dictatorship."
External link: English translation of Egypt's draft constitution
The Islamist-dominated assembly that has been working on the constitution for months raced to pass it, voting article by article on the draft's more than 230 articles for more than 16 hours. The lack of inclusion was on display in the nationally televised gathering: Of the 85 members in attendance, there was not a single Christian and only four women, all Islamists. Many of the men wore beards, the hallmark of Muslim conservatives.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square Friday to denounce Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi and the draft constitution his Islamic allies approved earlier in the day.
For weeks, liberal, secular and Christian members, already a minority on the 100-member panel, have been withdrawing to protest what they call the Islamists' hijacking of the process.
"This constitution represents the diversity of the Egyptian people. All Egyptians, male and female, will find themselves in this constitution," Essam el-Erian, a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared to the assembly after the last articles were passed just after sunrise Friday.
ANALYSIS: Crisis tests Egyptians' constitution
"We will implement the work of this constitution to hold in high esteem God's law, which was only ink on paper before, and to protect freedoms that were not previously respected," he said.
The sudden rush to finish came as the latest twist in a week-long crisis pitting Brotherhood veteran Morsi and his Islamist supporters against a mostly secular and liberal opposition and the powerful judiciary. Voting had not been expected for another two months. But the assembly abruptly moved it up in order to pass the draft before Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel.
Ahmed Youssef / EPA
Eighteen days of popular protest culminated in the downfall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011.
"I am saddened to see this come out while Egypt is so divided," Egypt's top reform leader, Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei said, speaking on private Al-Nahar TV. But he predicted the document would not last long. "It will be part of political folklore and will go to the garbage bin of history."
NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin discusses Egypt unrest
A new opposition bloc led by ElBaradei and other liberals said the assembly had lost its legitimacy.
"It is trying to impose a constitution monopolized by one trend and is the furthest from national consensus, produced in a farcical way," the National Salvation Front said in a statement, read by Waheed Abdel-Meguid, one of the assembly members who withdrew.
Thursday's vote escalates the already bruising confrontation sparked last week when Morsi gave himself near absolute powers by neutralizing the judiciary, the last branch of the state not in his hands. Morsi banned the courts from dissolving the constitutional assembly or the upper house of parliament and from reviewing his own decisions.
President Mohammed Morsi recently granted himself unprecedented power, leaving many Egyptians furious. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
In a sign of the divisions, protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square who were watching the interview chanted against Morsi and raised their shoes in the air in contempt.
The president's edicts sparked a powerful backlash in one of the worst bouts of turmoil since last year's ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. At least 200,000 people protested in Cairo's Tahrir square earlier this week demanding he rescind the edicts.
Street clashes have already erupted between the two camps in the past week, leaving at least two people dead and hundreds injured. And more violence is possible.
The opposition plans another large protest for Friday, and the Brotherhood has called a similar massive rally for the following day, though they decided to move it from Tahrir to avoid frictions. Bands of youths have been daily battling police on a road leading off the square and close to the U.S. Embassy.
Defiance
The Constitutional Court's announcement that it would rule on the legitimacy of the assembly was in direct defiance of Morsi's edicts. It will also rule Sunday on whether to dissolve the upper house of parliament, which is overwhelmingly held by Islamists. Most of the nation's judges are on indefinite strike to protest the edicts.
It is not clear what would happen to the approved draft if the court dissolves the assembly. The crisis could move out of the realm of legal questions and even more into the more volatile street, to be decided by which side can bring the most support.
The opposition is considering whether to call for a boycott of any referendum on the constitution or to try to rally a "no" vote, said Hamdeen Sabahi, a National Salvation Front leader who ran in this year's presidential race and came in a surprisingly strong third.
"The people should not be made to choose between a dictatorial declaration or a constitution that doesn't represent all the people," he told independent ONTV, referring to Morsi's decrees. "He is pushing Egypt to more division and confrontation."
During Thursday's session, assembly head Hossam al-Ghiryani doggedly pushed the members to finish. When one article received 16 objections, he pointed out that would require postponing the vote 48 hours under the body's rules. "Now I'm taking the vote again," he said, and all but four members dropped their objections. In the session's final hours, several new articles were hastily written up and added to resolve lingering issues.
"We will teach this constitution to our sons," al-Ghiryani told the gathering.
More Egypt coverage from NBC News
Islamist members of the panel defended the fast tracking. Hussein Ibrahim of the Brotherhood said the draft reflected six months of debate, including input from liberals before they withdrew.
"People want the constitution because they want stability. Go to villages, to poorer areas, people want stability," he said.
Over the past week, about 30 members have pulled out of the assembly, with mainly Islamists brought in to replace some. As a result, every article passed overwhelmingly.
Human Rights Watch Rights groups criticized the hurried manner in which the constituent assembly pushed the draft charter through, saying it not the right way to guarantee fundamental rights or the rule of law.
"Rushing through a draft while serious concerns about key rights protections remain unaddressed will create huge problems down the road that won't be easy to fix,"said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director for the New York-based group.
The draft largely reflects the conservative vision of the Islamists, with articles that rights activists, liberals and others fear will lead to restrictions on the rights of women and minorities and on civil liberties in general.
'Morals and values'
One article that passed underlined that the state will protect "the true nature of the Egyptian family ... and promote its morals and values," phrasing that suggests the state could prevent anything deemed to undermine the family.
The draft says citizens are equal under the law but an article specifically establishing women's equality was dropped because of disputes over the phrasing.
As in past constitutions, the new draft said the "principles of Islamic law" will be the basis of law.
Previously, the term "principles" allowed wide leeway in interpreting Shariah. But in the draft, a separate new article is added that seeks to define "principles" by pointing to particular theological doctrines and their rules. That could give Islamists the tool for insisting on stricter implementation of rulings of Shariah.
Another new article states that Egypt's most respected Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, must be consulted on any matters related to Shariah, a measure critics fear will lead to oversight of legislation by clerics.
The draft also includes bans on "insulting or defaming all prophets and messengers" or even "insulting humans" — broad language that analysts warned could be used to crack down on many forms of speech.
It also preserves much of military's immunity from parliamentary scrutiny, putting its budget in the hands of the National Defense Council, which includes the president, the heads of the two houses of parliament and top generals.
The final draft contains historic changes to Egypt's system of government. It limits to eight years the amount of time a president can serve, for example. Mubarak was in power for three decades. It also introduces a degree of oversight over the military establishment - though not enough for critics.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
This was the goal of Muhammad Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood, and allied Salafists, all along, to create a religious state based more strictly than ever on Islamic Sharia law. They're just about there now thanks in large part to naive fools in the west who helped enable their ascent to power. The consequences will be felt for years to come.
MORE propaganda from our "news services", subverting OUR democracy.
President Morsi, tell me again "there's no compulsion in religion".
How can the American People have a democracy when The People
are in darkness thanks to propaganda services such as NBC?
Watch out, folks! Some day we will find ourselves mislead into unnecessary and illegal wars thanks to the participation of
these propaganda services...SNARK...it has ALREADY happened!
Watch out, folks! Some day we will find ourselves giving up freedoms to so-called "patriotic" legislation...SNARK...it has ALREADY happened!
Watch out, folks! Some day we will find ourselves supporting the extra-judicial killing of Americans...SNARK...it has ALREADY happened!
Watch out, folks! Some day we will find ourselves supporting torture and military tribunals...SNARK...it has ALREADY happened!
So, folks, use a lot of salt when you read something by these propaganda services they are here to shove the American People into darkness.
You have to be aware ahead of time to catch some of the things they try to slip by you. The Christians and Liberals walked out of their own accord weeks ago to sabotage the constitutional assembly. They were not "left out" as the headline tries to mislead you. And the "judges" are old guard left overs from the Mubarak regime. The Christians and Liberals hoped to enlist the judges with challenges in court to sabotage the constitutional assembly.
Instead of working directly on the constitution they have tried to sabotage it. They haven't succeeded.
I feel really bad for the common Egyptian people. Who had such high hopes of having a shot at more representation and democracy. Yet only to see their hopes being dashed by President Morsi making himself a dictator and now this sudden vote.
At least they aren't foolish enough to just walk away. These people have learned, there is power in numbers and if need be, they will crush what is being done and start from scratch again. Like a sleeping giant who has finally awakened. The population now knows there is strength enough to stand up against those who would enslave and oppress them once more.
Even women are finally realizing they don't have to remain mute and totally submissive to the abuses they have endured before. I wish the Egyptians seeking freedom to control their own destinies the best of luck.
Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members
There are 85 million people in Egypt. Beside liberals and Christians (MSNBC's favorites) there are no atheists, Buddhists, Jews living in that country? Why are we sending our tax dollars to a terrorist regime?
This political fail was bound to happen. Trying to control the political outcome of another people will only lead to disaster as it did in Iran.
Anybody who calls Islam a religion is naive. Islam is a political mandate with a religious base. It also mandates unilateral war, subjugation, or acts of terror against unbelievers, until the entire world submits to it's tenets.
Eventually, any expression of disbelief will become a UN mandated crime. After all, any statement, implicit or explicit that Mohammad was not talking to Allah through Gabriel is a blasphemous insult to believers.
There should be no US food resources nor tax dollars going to Egypt until they can come up with a Constitution. Other faiths besides Islam do not need to be funding, nor supporting Egypt's exclusions of Egyptian peoples to their own ideas of freedom and liberty. This Constitutional isn't doing anything to further regional nor world peace. It's not doing anything to promote peace and unity within it's own boarders. The Muslim Brotherhood, if they are so smart, can provide all the food and money needed for Egypt's 85 million people, because they probably have plans for trade and commerce besides plans for individual liberties.
All right, folks - let's be honest now: did anyone here really THINK that ANY Muslim nation could EVER become a democracy??????
JP, what planet are you from? Do you keep up at all with Islamic/Muslim activity around the world? Christians and secularists have absolutely no power in Egypt to do or say anything. If they walked out, it was probably to protect their own lives and or because it was pointless to be there. Islam does not tolerate other religions. Islamists have been burning churches and slaughtering Christians with impunity since this "Arab Spring" fiasco began.
I guess that Arab Spring isn't working out like the Women and minority Christian population thought it would. Hope they enjoy the iron fist of the Islamic Caliphate.
Provisions could bring restrictions on freedom of speech, women’s rights and other liberties
http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypts-islamists-hurriedly-approve-new-constitution/
Bravo Barry!!! Lover of women's rights!!
The people had it right.... But Just like Solyndra... The Obama Administration chose the losers and winners.... The people lost, the Islamist won... we have egg on face... To be fair to Obama... The UN backed the decision... I think this is a preview of what will happen with Palestine and their increased status... less than a year they are going for a power grab and their is nothing the USA can do.. We have become impotent on the world stage.
In the land of nut jobs there is no equality. Not for women. Not for other religions. Why we support these wackos is beyond me.
Why would liberal and Christian people in Egypt think they could ever have parity and/or equality? Remember, the Muslim Brotherhood 's running things now! As far as the Muslims are concerned, that segment of the population mostly does not exist and are considered lower than whale scum!
Some of you are funny. If the people of Egypt could overthrow Mubarak, they can just as easily overthrow Morsi. Most of you who think sharia law is some kind of big bad thing that guts the will of the people underestimate what happens when those who have nothing left to lose decide they're not going to take it any more. I'm pretty realistic about things over there, so I'll leave you with the thought "welcome to the perpetual revolution." Don't look for peace where the people don't want it.
Laughingcat, you are so WRONG. The people of Egypt were only able to overthrow Mubarak because the US, Obama, told him to not use violence and eventually, to step down. We have no control over these Islamist terrorist that now run Egypt. They don't care about our support all they care about is imposing their Sharia law on every citizen and ridding Egypt of all the Non believers. It's sad to say, but these Dictators in the Middle east served one purpose, to keep the Islamist terrorist in check, now thanks to Obama and the UN, they are in charge and the purification of the entire Middle east has begun. ""Christians beware""
Islamic Sharia Law in Brief
This is a very good article written by a FORMER muslim.
http://www.islam-watch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=625:islamic-sharia-law-in-brief&catid=79:mirza&Itemid=58
Some common laws of “Islamic Sharia” which are regularly practiced in the Islamically ruled (Sharia-based) nations with some minor variations:
1- Jihad defined as “to war against all non-Muslims to establish the religion” is the duty of every Muslim and Muslim head of state (Caliph). Muslim Caliphs who refuse jihad are in violation of Sharia and unfit to rule.
4- A percentage of Zakat (alms) must go towards jihad.
5- It is obligatory to obey the commands of the Caliph, even if he is unjust.
8- A Muslim who leaves Islam (apostate) must be killed immediately
14- It is a crime for a non-Muslim to sell weapons to someone who will use them against Muslims. Non-Muslims cannot curse a Muslim, say anything derogatory about Allah, the Prophet, or Islam, or expose the weak points of Muslims. However, Muslims can curse, criticize or say anything derogatory they like to the religions of others.
19- Homosexuality is punishable by death.
20- There is no age limit for marriage of girls under Sharia. The marriage contract can take place anytime after birth and consummated at age 8 or 9.
21- Rebelliousness on the part of the wife nullifies the husband’s obligation to support her, gives him permission to beat her and keep her from leaving the home.
33-It is obligatory for a Muslim to lie if the purpose is obligatory and is known as Taqiyya (Islamic Deception).
So you don’t think this guts the will of the people?
"The vote by the constituent assembly advanced a charter with an Islamist bent that rights experts say could give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and bring restrictions on freedom of speech, women's rights and other liberties."
For moderate Egyptians, females, Christians and Jews of Israel consequences will be immediate.
Talk about fools in the West.
British invented the Islamic extremist Frankenstein monsters, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
US and allies have kept them alive. But for Iraqi wars, Sunni Saudi, Qatari, Kuwaiti, UAE and some more monsters would have been out of map!
Examine the roles of Sunni Saudi fronts, Muslim Blood hounds and Sunni Salaffi kiling machines in Egypt!
Leaving liberals out of a nation's constitution is not a bad idea! They're probably familiar with obama's policies and know they suck!
BenSnead: So what you're REALLY saying is that Repubs and Islamists are one and the same. Funny, we already knew that, which is why you idiots are losing elections. Can't wait till 2014 to wipe out more of your ilk, after America realizes they shouldn't have left you people in charge of the House. If it has to be a political ground war in red states to save this country, so be it!
It should surprise no one that the Muslim Brotherhood took this opportunity to create another Iran. All American funding of this now Islamic ruled country, should be withdrawn. We'll see how fast that government will hold up. I imagine that the military will immediately stand down, since none of them will be getting a paycheck from here on out.
The same basic thing that happened in Egypt is happening here, to a great extent. The popularly elected figure starts grabbing more and more power and circumventing the rest of the government to get his agenda passed. President Obama has signed close to 1000 executive orders in less than 4 years, far more than any predecessor. He has announced that his justice department will not uphold certain laws passed by congress, the legally recognized lawmaking body. The liberal Senate refuses to do their lawful duty and pass a budeget (four years now!), and instead just passes spending bills. It's happening slightly slower here than in Egypt, but it's happening nonetheless.
Egypt was the first Christian country majority(Coptic catholic), for over 800 years; when the Muslims first took over ,about 1000 years ago, they let the Catholics and Jews alone and lived side by side; that now has all changed, the new Egyptian constitution does in fact say, that Islam is the state religion, the Coptic's (about 10% of the population) have no where to go, they will be exterminated within a few years, Syria is next, then Turkey, then you will see the combined nations attack Israel, with our armed forces in decline, there is little we can do to stop a coming genocide against Christians and Jews, the Arab spring is a nightmare.
I'm not surprised, but I do feel for the people of Egypt. My guess is they will be another Iran in a year or so (then other ME countries will follow suit). For the west, I think the end result of the "Arab Spring" will be an entire region of militant religious extremist regimes.
Hopefully I'm wrong...
I am not a fan of many of Obama's policies, but I disagree with your assessment. Bush also used lots of executive orders (and nearly as many czar's), and almost all presidents choose some laws to not enforce - and some laws to enforce with more vigor than normal.
I do think Obama (and Bush) have done more circumventing of congress than most presidents because neither one was able to find a way to work effectively with the other party. I also think this is a bad trend that I hope gets reversed with the next president - but to act like Bush didn't do a lot of the same things Obama is doing sounds like an attempt to rewrite history.
Isn't it hilarious that the same American Christians who are in an uproar over this, are the same American Christians who would like nothing more than to turn the U.S. into a Christian-only theocracy?
I see some parallels here in the US. The intent now by the left is to make the US a one party system. Any dissent will not be tolerated because the liberal view on all issues is always correct. I am sure the Islamics feel the same way about their views on issues. So they leave out the dissenters. It just so happens that in this case it is the liberals and Christians that are being kicked to the curb and naturally that does not go over very well with our media.
Keep this in mind. One day the Germans were waving to each other, the next day they were saluting. The masses can be fooled pretty easily and very quickly.
@theboys
Would you like a little more cheese to go with that whine (and delusion).
You're not really serious, are you? We're pretty much a "center" country. There's no Left-wing conspiracy. It's just that the Right has become so bat@!$%#, and moved sooooo far to the right, that anything remotely moderate, tolerant, reasonable, or sane ... looks like evil socialism to them(you)
Keep this in mind. The same type of idiots that were drawing Hitler mustaches on Bush, are the same type of idiots now drawing Hitler mustaches on Obama.
Don't be that guy.
Egypt is lost to radicals... Libya is lost to radicals... Iraq allowing Iran use of its airspace...Syria plunging into civil war and turning more radical...they're burning our embassies and killing our ambassadors...it's no secret we are HATED by every country there...even our supposed "friends"...
Now seriously, why are WE there? ...and why do we allow THEM to come here?
Must suck to be excluded from legal protections for being a member of a particular group of people, even if it is a lifestyle choice to be such (which being Christian most certainly is).
Guess now they're getting a better understanding of how they treat people who're gay (which ISN'T a choice).
Morsi is the despot that Obama promised two billion dollars to.Our country should cut ties with Egypt immediately.
Smoky's mom must be smokin' something to come up with this response to BenSnead's post!
Big government means more control. More control to big government means less democracy for the citizens. Morsi and Obama both are working for the same thing... Morsi is just more honest about it!
Actually, I think Obama is a little jealous Morsi is making it look so easy!
And Morsi keeps on f***ing things up. One of the main reasons the people of Egypt had a revolution in the first place was due to ECONOMIC reasons not "We will implement the work of this constitution to hold in high esteem God's law, which was only ink on paper before, and to protect freedoms that were not previously respected,". The majority of the people of Egypt could give a chit about Sharia Law at the moment, and are more worried about putting food on the table to feed themselves and their children. They do not want another dictator or a government forcing them to do things that go against THEIR religions.
Is not getting killed, beaten, your house burned, etc. not punishment enough for disrespecting Allah or Muhammad? I do not know many that get away with disrespecting either without some kind of percussions, so WTF is the point, and why is it so important? What is so important about making it so the government can legally do those things, or is it so that the people that do the killing, beating, burnings, etc. cannot be punished under law since they would be "justified"? Trying to push through a bunch of B.S. is just wasting everyone's time and will only push people away from Allah, not towards as you intend. This is reducing your power/influence and that of the M.B. as we speak.
@FedupwiththeFed If the article was written by a FORMER Muslim, and "8- A Muslim who leaves Islam (apostate) must be killed immediately", WTF is he doing still alive? Why have radical Muslims not tracked him down and killed him yet?
1. How much money or percentage of their earnings are Jewish people required to give to their religion btw?
2. How much of that money goes toward buying land, weapons, wars, etc. for Israel?
3. According to the bible we are supposed to not curse the Jewish people even though they might be unjust or breaking God's/Yahweh's laws (does not say chit about the land however so making it uninhabitable for 1000 years or so would be ok, not to mention it would just mess up the surface.). The Jewish people get free reign to do whatever they want according to some, they are "justified" in their actions.
4. According to the bible women should listen and respect their husbands. That the husband is the head of the household. WTF about Lilith?
It all depends on perspective my Jewish friend and who wants what.
Becoming a hardcore Islamic country like this is only going to guarantee that the country will never truly be competitive with first world countries such as the United States.
Simply look at how prosperous small countries such as Bahrain have become simply by embracing the future instead of keeping their countries in the stone age.
Ok, I'm pretty sure Netanyahu and Israel doesn't care about Muslims, or Islam, so what's the problem?
LOL....You should tell that to the GOAWR party in Congress right now, all those Christian hypocrites.
Time for Egypt's military cadre to step back in and put this bad dog down. If it comes to Shariah or a military dicatatorship then it's time to bring back the dictatorship. Everybody said these @!$%#s would try to take over and still they allowed them to. Everybody knew they were dangerous and still they were allowed to take over. All in the name of a Democracy that Muslims aren't ready for. There was a reason the Brotherhood was a banned party. It's too bad Mubarak didn't hunt them down. Poetic justice.
I assume you'll be leaving soon to go defend women's rights and the Egyptian Christians...right? ...no?
Oh, you'd like the United States Armed Forces to do your "religious" dirty work for you while you sit back with your holier than thou attitude. I understand, neoconservatives don't actually get their hands dirty, they stand in the background with pom-poms.
What the Egyptians do with their own country is their own business. I doubt we'd be really happy if another country or group of countries decided what is best for us.
As a lesbian, non-christian, american woman I have to say that what The Muslim Brotherhood is doing in Egypt is a lot like what Conservative Christians are trying to do here - make their religion the rule of the land, to hell with democracy, to hell with freedom...
We LIBERALS are the ones fighting for freedoms, rights, and a seperation of church and state...
but it's the conservatives saying THEIR GOD trumps our freedoms, our rights.
So, the irony and hilarity of watching conservatives bitch about this is a slight comfort.
yes, the people who ousted Mubarak, and demanded democracy arent fooled...
just like the liberals in america demanding equality for women (still) and equal rights for gays, arent fooled by christian conservatives who pretend to value freedom - for all.
Morsi is a dictator who will impose even more strictly Islamic principles on the people of Egypt. Our leaders are either naive dupes or knowing conspirators in this development. We assisted in the downfall of Mubarak who was our ally and who helped keep the peace between Egypt and Israel for decades. Now that will , and is , coming to an end thanks to the elevation of the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi to power.
Islamic principles that will be implemented and followed are as follows : No freedom of speech or press. No freedom of religion or separation of church and state. No equal rights for women. Encouragement of attacks on any other point of view but Islam , i.e. , attacks on every other religion and on atheism and agnosticism.
Totalitarianism and intolerance will reign in Egypt and our actions and in-actions have aided and abetted this nightmarish , Orwellian reality.
I knew some loser would blame it on Obama....
Right from the same playbook every despotic regime has used to gain power. Create and foment political dissatisfaction, civil unrest and unreasonable fears of some "enemy." Offer to solutions to the civil unrest with "severe but necessary" police-state to supress the domestic enemies and obtain civil peace. Pander to the political dissatisfactions and unreasonable fears. Don't stop the turmoil until you are succeeding. Prepare to be relentless in demanding your way and wear down your opposition. Like most parents with bratty children, the opposition will eventually get worn out and cave in to your demands.
If you don't believe this is how it is done, just read Germany's history from 1920 to 1946, Russia's history from 1910 to at least 1930 and the USSR's history with central Europe from 1930 to 1960. Practically every African revolution has gone the same way. Muslims, Islam, Sharia and Wahabiism, Al Queda and all the others have learned this well and count on your ignorance and complacency. Welcome to the new Arab Spring middle East where women, children and non-Muslims will have no rights and orthodox 6th-century Islam and Sharia law will rule supreme. But that's just the beginning. The process will continue its relentless pursuit of claiming the entire planet for Islam, Muslims and the rule of Sharia until it is completely finished. It's not just coming there, it's coming to your neighborhood.
The Egyptian revolt was won by a new younger breed of all the religious faiths within Egypt. It was then stolen by the old guard of muslims, long ago, silenced by Mubarak. They could never make a dent in Mubaraks strangle hold on power. Because they could not get the people behind their radical Islamic views.
Egyptians, seem to know, no matter how bad life was under Mubarak, life under any Islamic rule of law would be worse. It seems the fear that the new boss, will be worse than the old boss, is very much reality to many Egyptians right now.
Those in charge are finally getting their long awaited dream, that alone they could not attain, to create their Islamic heaven on earth. By writting this constitution on issues that are irrelevant to those who faced down the brutality in the streets. They were not united against Mubarak in the name of Islam. So hopefully they will not accept a constitution dedicated to Islam.
If the constitution restricts any Egyptians from living in freedom, or as one people, different yet peacefully united, without fear of religious persecution. If those in power, ignore the rights of any one in the new constitution. Hopefully those who may not have any fear under it will still stand and fight for the freedom of those that might have. Because a revolution of freedom for some will never bring peace for all.
Post 1.17 by Fedupwithfed - Great article! The thought of a Islamic-ruled world is very frightening after having read it. Though I've lost faith in a great part of my fellow man I do think that a vast majority of the world has come far enough along to understand that words and deeds are two different things. It becomes more apparent with every incident of violence and unrest that the true nature of their religion is barbaric, hypocrictical BS.
I have faith that the peoples of the more enlightened nations of the world will recognize the danger upon them this religion represents and push it back into the sandpit of hell from wince it came! There's no place in the world for the kind of garbage illistrated in that article. The same kind of crap pushed on the people by Christianity that lead to the founding of the United States. Like Christianity, Islam will have to evolve and become more inclusive if it wishes to survive the coming centuries.
In a few years Egyptians will sadly find that they were better off with Mubarak, despite his flaws, as their country becomes another theocracy similar to Iran and their tourism business goes down the toilet.
another democratic government bites the dust
another democratic government bites the dust
another one gone another one gone another one bites the dust
hey they are going to get the cristians to another one bites the dust
so much for democratic system leave one group out and your back to being terrorist in control of a government, good luck people of egypt who wanted to be a human and not a cave man
prayers for the meak and the tired souls who like treating others like they were human and not like a kicking and punching bag
the worst people on the planet are the people who use gods name to justify murder, these grouos of idiots will find no virgins or even a open door in heaven
im pretty sure that type of thinking comes from man not the word of god
sadsadsad
They were not "left out" as you claimed. They WALKED out to try to sabotage the constitutional assembly.
THINK before you buy into propaganda from NBC.
I'm thinking if they walked out, they were protesting the bullying by the brotherhood allies, yet instead of being heard, they were taken advantage of because the brotherhood allies rushed to pass their own constitution. Even judges are walking out in protests.
If the founding fathers of the US didn't agree on the US constitution together then not all of the colonies wouldn't have ratified it. This is like colonies walking out. Everyone has to agree before you ratify a constitution, not just one group.
Bad things happen when you walk out, strange how folks forget that key sentence. I remember another people who used to walk out to protest. The Russians used to walk out of meetings in protest, until they discovered it was in their best interests to sit it out, no matter how difficult. I don't think it will pass the people's sniff test and will as stated in the article, if you bothered to read the whole article... end up in the dustbin of time.
Think, before you buy into any of J.P.'s propaganda. NBC can't hold a candle to your delusions, JP.
Ninja, please, THIS Egypt thing is NOT like the founding of the U.S. The U.S. was founded out of the ideals of the Enlightenment. This Egypt thing is being founded upon the principles of a totalitarian medieval ideology of theocratic savagery. How anyone can compare the founding of the U.S. with this third world fiasco is beyond me.
"im pretty sure that type of thinking comes from man not the word of 'A' god"
There fixed. Just so you don't sound like the same religious sheep your trying condemn.
You know, the same old "my god can beat up your god" hypocrisy that runs rampant in the small of minds of habitual, born to follow, religious tools.
We can send them a few thousand of our Liberals.......... The pitbulls could possibly chew a few legs off. In fact send them Fiesty and Bev....... Would be funny to see what the Muslim Bortherhood would do to those too.
Two.....didnt want to trip you guys off line!
""We will implement the work of this constitution to hold in high esteem God's law, which was only ink on paper before, and to protect freedoms that were not previously respected," he said."
This is what Sunni Muslim Blood hound's Essam el-Erian mentions!
It is clash of religions!
Jewish lobby in the US and Jews of Israel and Christian right will be doing a big blunder to support Sunni Saudi, Qatari, Kuwaiti, UAE, and other Islamic monsters in any manner.
Fountainheads of Sunni Islamic extremism should be immediately cut to size right away!
We should not start dancing with them, Turkey or anyone on Syria and Iran.
Permit Russians to strengthen Assad and cut down all Sunni Syrian rebels, al Qaida, Salaffi, Muslim Blood hounds to ground!
Also remove sanctions on Iranian oil to crash oil prices and weaken our enemy No. 1 Sunni Saudi and co.
Get them all right away or else they will get us one by one!
Seems to me it's you patriotic, good Christian right-wingers who are a' hanker'in to go get you some Muslims. I definitely think you should go convert the Muslim Brotherhood to the path of light.
Ol Doc --------- Under Islamic law it is illegal to attempt to convert Muslims to another point of view.
Yes. All the more reason for them to go.
Ol Doc ====== Or maybe you could change the law to recognize freedom of speech.
You have to be aware ahead of time to catch some of the things NBC tries to slip by you. The Christians and Liberals walked out of their own accord weeks ago to sabotage the constitutional assembly. They were not "left out" as the headline tries to mislead you. And the "judges" are old guard left overs from the Mubarak regime. The Christians and Liberals hoped to enlist the judges with challenges in court to sabotage the constitutional assembly.
Instead of working directly on the constitution they have tried to sabotage it. They haven't succeeded.
So...what exactly could they do? They were obviously being steamrolled and the only way to allow people to know that they were having no input into the process was to walk out.
All they (Christians and Liberals) had to do, is to stay and vote againest what they didn't like. I agree with J.P. They (Christians and Liberals) left to try to draft their own version in 10 day. Judges have a lot to lose as they are part of the old corrupt regime.
Ok J.P. and Rightclick let's think now. If what you say is true IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE HEADLINE. If they would have stayed and voted they STILL would have been voting on a constitution that leaves them out. Come one lets start "thinking now!"
Ok J.P. let's think now. If what you say is true IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE HEADLINE. If they would have stayed and voted they STILL would have been voting on a constitution that leaves them out. Come one lets start "thinking now!"
Uh-oh, "Now", you've used the "T" word several times now, t-h-i-n-k. All J.P. and Rightclick and their buddies understand is that they need to get on the site and say *something* bad about NBC. It's their marching orders, go forth and muddy the water, blame Obama for something every day and whatever you do *don't* be constructive.
You are looking upside down!
"The draft also includes bans on "insulting or defaming all prophets and messengers" or even "insulting humans" — broad language that analysts warned could be used to crack down on many forms of speech."
These are just like Sunni Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other seventh century bigoted Sunni rulers' constitution.
JP at this point I am incline to believe you are advertising for another agency. Nice try...but the world has started to wake up and no one is going to jump just because you scream out something....were not sheep...you would fit right in with MB...you just dont want equality...because you think you are better..your not, especially since you use the same propaganda, bandwagon, bs that you decry.
Shocking, just shocking, especially considering the alligator tears and demands for beheadings from anyone who insults the supposed prophet or more exactly anyone who refuses to be coerced in to forfeiting their beliefs to accomodate a group of goose stepping fanatics with long knives and dynamite.
Here we go again, another hardcore Islamic government on the making, thanks to the support of the U.S. and its allies. Seems to me that, its in the best interest of this country and western civilization, to have friendly dictators, than crazy lunatic jihadist theocratic fundamentalist governments.
It's not in the making, it's made.
These are next to follow.
In Egypt, Sunni Saudi backed Salaffi and MB are opening up new chapters of Islamic bigotry. Morsi is just a front for them. Just watch the fate of Christians, women and Israel as the time goes by.
Followers of Islamic cult, especially Sunni Saudi inspired Islamic radicals and militants (al-Qaida, Salaffi, Wahhabi, MB, Taliban and other label ones), are fast marching backwards to their seventh century desert tribal days.
They are indulging in rapings, lootings, killings and genocides of non-Muslims (Darfur, S. Sudan, Nigeria and spreading like wild fire in many regions and Muslims (Libya, Yemen, Mali, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places).
Even in Syria, if Assad is overthrown by Sunni Islamic religious Nazis like al-Qaida, MB, the conditions of Christians will be unbearable just like Iraq.
Pakis and Sunni Saudis and co are responsible for 80 percent of world problems including economic ones. Examine the devastations with Iraqi wars and now sanctions on Iranian oil and the resultant oil price manipulations.
They are making the lives of their own people also miserable by their Islamic religious madness to the intolerable levels.
These terrorists won bec. some idiot liberals did not vote in the run off between Shafik and Morsi. ANYONE is better than the Muslim Brotherhood or the Islamists. I am just going to vent out my anger here intsead of facebook. The Muslim Brotherhood invented the word "felol" to divide the liberals and they were the ones taht came up with the idea that liberals should not vote in the run of bec. Shafik supposedly is a "felol". Those who did not vote thought it is the revollution speaking not the muslim brotherhood. NOW SEE WHERE IT GOT US YOU MORONS???!
is there a chance at all that they were forced to leave and its just being reported they walked out??? This type of media influence has been used throught history to mis lead the masses...could it be possible?
i am going to punch the feathers out of my cushion.
lol stop this is suppose to be serious...lol (still giggling)
Great! Now if they would just leave out the Muslims, Jews, and other superstitious nuts, they might just make their country work!
There are no Jews there. Leave out the Muslims and there's nobody home. Therefore, Egypt is nothing more than a perpetual train wreck.
@Pray Hard - you just left out the roughly 10 million Coptic Christians.
The Constitution was just accepted - angering many people who will again descend on Tahrir Square. As I said before, being "Muslim" is DIFFERENT than being an "Islamist Muslim." Non-radical Muslims are fighting side by side with Copts and the small minority of other religions (yes there are Jewish people in Egypt).
The passing of this Constitution is not really "finished."
http://www.arabist.net/
Here are the second and third articles of the Constitution (the first is about being a sovereign nation, etc...:
Article 2
Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic its official language. Principles of Islamic Sharia are the principal source of legislation.
Article 3
The canon principles of Egyptian Christians and Jews are the main source of legislation for their personal status laws, religious affairs, and the selection of their spiritual leaders.
Simply put, by the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20551575
Mormons, Scientologists, Pagans, etc.... will not have religious freedom and are not allowed to meet in secret. Christians and Jews are NOT under Sharia law as even Sharia law has stated for thousands of years that it is reserved for Muslims only.
Does this mean that Egyptians will accept this constitution - NO, but NBC clearly cannot write an article. It is the Muslim Brotherhood that the people of Egypt want OUT! The MB offices in many cities have been attacked - despite pleading with Egyptian police for help - the police did not show up to defend them.
Black Kettle, thanks for taking the time to post the Articles.
It seems the only form of Christianity recognised by the Brotherhood is the indigenous Coptic Church.
Also, there appears to be an anomaly between No. 2 and No 3. It's not clear which law takes precedence in the event of a conflict between a Muslim and a Christian. If Sharia dominates --- as it must (according to No. 2) --- then No 3 becomes null and void for the Christian, who must be judged by Sharia.
As presented, I have no doubt Article No 2 will have huge adverse ramifications for minorities. Little wonder there is a massive backlash by free thinking Egyptians to this one-sided constitution.
bend over America, cuz you're about to get fekked
Wow! Substitute liberal for conservative, and we got what President Stinky (BO), the abomoniation in the White House, would love to have!! Imagine Stinks just being aboe to go around killing people that don't agree with him!! Oh wait.....Brian Terry, Amb. Stevens....Turns out Stinky's a murderer too!!
your statement would have been better without personal insult of Obama
Interesting.
I bet obama is taking notes. He has the same thing in mind here. Just got to get rid of those nasty guns and bibles that Patriots have.
He already wants to increase the national debt ceiling by Presidentail Decree, thus by-passing Congress. He is destroying the checks and balances built into the Constitution. We better start taking care of our own back yard and not worry about Egypt. Obama is a danger to the security of our nation and very few people realize this.
Actually he is in the process of banning guns in this country. There is something going on in the UN, a treaty or something I read about that is doing just that. It is similar to what England did in which every citizen had to turn their guns into the government for destruction. Folks please don't ask me to verify my source because I don't remember where I heard it. Those who want to accuse me of being a conspirator, knock yourself out. I know what I heard and considering other things that are happening in this country, e.g. the Fast and Furious debacle as well as how liberals feel about citizens owning guns, I believe this to be true. Because of this, I will continue to purchase weapons and ammunition. Thankfully, I live in Arizona and there seems to be a gun show every weekend of late. No folks, I am not your militia type white man. In fact, I am a Black woman who was born and raised in the ghetto of Chicago. Because of this, I am acutely aware of what happens when only the bad guys have guns. Sorry, I appreciate the hard work of the police, but they can't be everywhere at once. So, I will continue to be an independent and self sufficient sista working hard, playing hard and protecting myself!!! Thankfully I am dating a bloke who was raised in a rough Chicago suburb and appreciates the importance of protecting himself and his loved ones. How romantic and loving can you get when on Christmas a bloke gives his honey a 12 gauge and she in turn gives him a .357? Sigh.....love is in the air!!!!!!
Wes,Pandy and Otter. There are medications for your paranoia. Put away your AK47s you will be OK even with that attitude.
LOL at this thread and it's simpleton conspirators.
LOLOLOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
DG, instead of the juvenile name calling why don't you do some research and truly find out if what I say the UN is doing is accurate? Btw, just because someone is paranoid doesn't mean that there isn't validity in what they say. At any rate, I am sure that medication for "my paranoi would cause drowsiness. Considering I have two jobs and work six days a week, I cannot afford to take such a medication. Thank you for the suggestion nonetheless. God bless America!!!
The Jews in Europe took their medications in the 1930's just before Hitler disarmed them. We are not paranoid, just prepared. And yes Pandy, the UN is writing a Small Arms Treaty that Obama backs. Of course if it violates the Second Amendment, Congress would never ratify it. Then again I have heard that Obama has aleady written a Presidentail Decree ratifying it and once again by-passing Congress. Time will tell, so in the meantime, stay prepared.
pandy--it is called the small arms treaty. Yes, it is being worked on now. Guns, will be on the agenda very soon.
12.2 You are correct, you other simpletons read - Programme of Action go to WWW.poa-iss.org/PoA/poahtml.aspx. Really eye opening. The president is just going to allow the UN to take over. You think their the One World Order? To think that there is no evil is just plain stupid.
Moron alert!
What they have now is what they wanted. An Islamic republic (can you say Iran). And the best part? We helped them get it.
This is not want we wanted!
america has been chumped, and is being used, i think obama knows, he still sends taxpayers $$$ to islamic states. and soon to cut defense spending, our enemy is rising but were cool being liberal idiots, buy health care when your nuked..
You'll need health care when you're nuked.
Dictators never describe themselves as dictators. Think of north Korea, it's proper name is Peoples' Republic of Korea, The harshest dictatorship wrapped with a name like that. Once power is taken completely freedom and democracy will be the first things to be taken away through the Parliament and presidential decrees. All acting together for a more perfect Muslim state.
kinda sounds like someone in america.
Sounds like our congress.At least they read it before they past it to law!
Why would any person who practices the Christain religion live in a country who's primary religion teaches that in order to get to Heaven, they must kill non-believers? Get out and get out now. Take all assets with you or your head will be separated from your body.
It might b because they have lived there for a couple of millenniums? They were there before there were Muslims.
Agreed, judaism and christianity were there before Islam.
Both of you are correct, but they are now in the minority with the majority not caring if they live or die. A prudent man would get out of there.
Islam is in Egypt because they invaded it and conquered it at the point of a sword in the decades after Muhammad's death.This is how Islam was spread over the Maghreb and Levant , by invasion and war.
these people are like Americans of the let and right both want their piece of the pie but compromise is a dirty word
"These people are like Americans"
No, they're not.
odb2, what stupid comments "These people are like Americans", and "compromise is a dirty word".
Pay attention and learn. They are not like Americans, they are only like other Muslims.
Furthermore, there is NO Arabic word for "compromise". The Arabs do have the expression "take and give" similar to our "give and take" but they do not have an exact word for "compromise", for the obvious reason that the act of compromising is not part of the Muhammadan ethos. This fact alone debunks the myth that Muslims are tolerant
Well, I can understand leaving the liberals out..... they hate constitutions.
Champagnesabre
I'm thinking you don't understand what liberalism actually means.
Speaking of hatred: "Champagne for real friends and real pain for sham friends"
A bitter milestone was reached yesterday, 20,000 deadly terror attacks by Muslims since 9/11. At the moment, the count sits at 20,008. The following is the 20,000th from the religion of bloody pieces and faux victimism: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/11/29/Muslims-kill-Jewish-woman-in-Iran/UPI-50361354190081/
Enjoy your life and freedom while you can.
Really?? And they didnt see this coming???
Exactly - I don't know why so many people seemed surprised. It is how Islam has worked since it birth.
Eric ======= For our leaders not to see this coming is either incompetence or complicity.
And what the Egyptians are going through now is different than the machinations our own government is going through as it relates to the "fiscal cliff"?
One side is saying tax now and we'll talk expenditure cuts later, the other side is saying if we can't talk about both now, it will go no-where.
But then again, we supported the "winners" in Egypt didn't we. I guess that support is coming back big time to bite us in the a$$....
Yeah, how's that "Arab Spring" working out for ya, Barak Hussein Osama-Obama?
Irv. I know this is your conservative knee jerk reaction but what the h--ll does this have to do with Obama? Republicans and Obama wanted Mubarak to go because there were riots in the streets. In this area of the world supporting anyone is a gamble.
I am a conservative, but not a republican as I think both parties are obviously criminal organizations and against the American people, I find it sad that so many people will comment on these other countries and the idiocy there, but we continue to put one or the other party in office here and they have done nothing but dig us a bigger and bigger hole for the last 80 years. While I think it is obvious that Obama is not a capable leader, and there is no difference between him and Bush (dont go nuts libs, he hasnt changed any of Bush's policies, even strengthening some) this is not his fault, we have been setting up problems like Egypt for the last 125 years, we want world instability so our government can slowly erode our rights here under the pretense of protecting us from the enemies that our government has created. This is not a left or right issue as each party has been pushing us down this road jointly, if any of you truely think that the pubs and reps are really against each other your deceived, they want total control in this country with the people having no say or defense against them. Give yourself a history lesson, start during FDR's reign and see how many laws the government has passed protecting or seperating themselves from the people that elected them. We like to point out the flaws in other countries, but we truely ignore the more serious ones here.
Start thinking about 2016 people on both sides, see if Obama truely was a "time of change" for the better. If he doesnt put on track for a tremendous turn around then I dare all of you to vote out all the sitting members of both parties, that is our true power in this country, we can vote crooks out of office, but startlingly we continue to vote the people stealing from us time after time ( Ted Kennedy, Strom Thurman, etc...) I know conserves and libs have fundamental differences in beliefs on alot of issues, but I think we can all agree that we need true change and need better leadership then we have received. If we dont make these changes in the polls soon, we will lose our ability to completely, we ARE headed towards a police state and only we can stop that.
I see drone parties for egypt, coming soon. Separation of church and State is THE ONLY WAY to fix that.
You Egytians wanted Mubarak out and now you get the same thing except an Ayatollah will "review" governing ? Sounds like Iran.
"There should be no US food resources nor tax dollars going to Egypt until they can come up with a Constitution."
Should this be true for all countries? I know of another country in the area that does not have a constitution and gets massive aid.
There should be no money going to Egypt period, we are broke, the government wants to raise taxes again. We need some kind of legislation in this country that forbids our government giving money to foreign nations unless OUR federal government has a balanced budget and can show proof we can afford it. I know that makes sense and that may be a foreign concept to both sides of the aisle, but isnt that how smart business' and families run?
I also wonder how many Egyptians have buyers remorse over electing a president from a terrorist organization.
They sure sound like christians to me.