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Ahmadinejad Official Website Han / EPA
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, right, greets Iranian President Ahmadinejad at the airport in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday.
News analysis
Published at 1:20 p.m. ET: CAIRO -- It’s being billed as a historic event, a thawing of icy relations between two regional heavyweights. Many in the West will regard Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Cairo as yet one more example of how Egypt has transformed from a staunch American ally to "not an ally or an enemy” as Barack Obama put it.
But it is actually more complex and nuanced than it might appear.
The two countries have been regional rivals since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel and Iran overthrew the Shah -- coincidentally is buried in Cairo -- and imposed an Islamic government after its revolution in 1979.
Ahmadinejad is there to attend the multi-nation summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, so in a way the trip is no different than those he has made to the U.S. to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings -- hardly a sign of warming relations between Tehran and Washington.
A trip to Tehran in August by the then newly-elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was also to attend a multinational summit.
The countries have pledged further cooperation and they routinely condemn what they describe as Israeli aggression against Palestinians.
But there are more differences, both ideologically and politically, than similarities.
Ideological differences
Egypt is now led by Islamist political parties from the Sunni branch of Islam, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the ultra-conservative Nour party and more moderate ones like the Wasat party.
Iran, on the other hand, is an overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim country.
There are deep-rooted ideological differences that date back to the birth of Islam between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
The theological differences are vast, and although they are often downplayed in the politically-correct world of diplomats and politicians, there is still a deep-seated mistrust between the two religious doctrines across the Arab world.
Iran is home to many Sunni Muslims who complain of discrimination at the hands of the Shiite government.
In Egypt, the Shiite minority complains of similar societal discrimination at the hands of the largely Sunni society.
Some of the hardline Sunni groups have called on the Egyptian government to prevent Ahmadinejad from visiting religious sites during his visit.
And, in addition to the religious differences, there is also a vast political gulf between Iran and Egypt that is not likely to be overcome anytime soon or lead to full political and diplomatic cooperation.
The starkest difference between the countries is in the ongoing war in Syria.
Egypt's Islamist government and the Muslim Brotherhood support the revolution against Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
The Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood – which has been joined in its struggle to overthrow the Assad regime by more extremist Islamist groups -- is financed and armed by Sunni-Muslim countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Meanwhile, Iran is a staunch supporter of the Syrian government. Iranian officials have publicly expressed support for Assad, meeting with him and providing his embattled regime and military with money, technical assistance and, according to some reports, weapons.
Another area where the two countries have been at odds is the Persian Gulf. Countries there have large Shiite Muslim populations that complain of discrimination and Iran has consistently tried to highlight the plight of Shiites living in the Gulf region.
They point to the hypocrisy of the international community in turning a blind eye to the uprising in Bahrain, where a Sunni monarch rules a country that is predominantly Shiite.
Egypt, meanwhile, is standing behind the Gulf states, which are providing financial assistance to its faltering economy.
Ed Giles / Getty Images Contributor
Ahmadinejad speaks to the media flanked by two Sheikhs of the Al Azhar mosque during a press conference in Cairo Tuesday.
'We do not agree'
All of these issues came to surface during Ahmadinejad's short visit to Cairo, some of it an embarrassingly public way.
He was greeted only briefly by Morsi and the two held a short meeting at the airport, but there are no scheduled bilateral meetings scheduled during the summit.
Ahmadinejad also paid a visit to Al Azhar, the academic center of the Sunni Islamic world, where he met the most senior scholars of Sunni Islam to discuss Syria, Bahrain and other issues.
At an awkward press conference, the deputy head of Al Azhar, Sheikh Hassan el Shifai, was highlighting points of agreement between them when Ahmadinejad abruptly interrupted to say, “we did not agree, we did not agree.”
Afterward, Ahmadinejad went to pray at one of Cairo's most sacred mosques, Al Hussien. As he left, group of Salafist Sunni Muslims protested his visit and one threw a shoe at him.
So, while this historic visit was marked with all of the politically polite pleasantries and formalities, it’s highly unlikely either leader will be back in Iran or Egypt anytime soon -- unless it’s another multinational summit few people care about.
Related:
4 arrested in Egypt after shoe thrown at Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Leave a Comment:
I love you, bro. I love you too. Come, come, I must show you my new goats.
"Egypt is now led by Islamist political parties from the Sunni branch of Islam, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the ultra-conservative Nour party and more moderate ones like the Wasat party."
We hearing new parties like "ultra-conservative Nour party", "more moderate ones like Wasat party"!
So even Muslim Bloodhounds have variations between them!
Sunnis have “love” among themselves with latest backstabbing daggers!
The story misses a very important point. For quite some time, Iran has been a supporter of Hamas, even though Hamas is primarily Sunni and Iran is Shi'ite. And, Hamas was created by none other than the Muslim Brotherhood. The link is strong, and Iran, the Brotherhood and Hamas all have a similar outlook on Israel, destruction. They each express their views differently but want the same thing. Hamas uses out right terrorism, Ahmadinijad uses harsh speeches and speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Morsi has to be a little more careful now that he runs the most populous Muslim country. But make no mistake, the three are strongly connected by their hate for Israel.
Yeah right and that's why Iraq and Iran got along so superbly when Sunni's ruled Iraq. Totally wrong. Sunni's and Shiites will be forever decapitating the other as much as it can get away with.
gizmowiz
It really isn't that difficult: Iran supports Hamas, Hamas was created by Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Morsi is the Muslim Brotherhood. There may be ideological differences, but nothing unites opposing sides like a common enemy.
So Ftbrgtrng, exactly how does Iran support Hamas? Do they give them moral support or money? It can't be weapons, because most of the weapons Hamas uses are home made or very primitive at best. The rockets they fire are without any form of guidance and don't do much damage when they do manage to hit something. Did you know that Israel counts mortar fire as a missile attack?
On the other side of the coin, America has supplied Israel with F16s and Apache helicopters usede to fire missiles and bomb targets in Gaza. America has also paid 1 billion dollars to Israel so they could build their "Iron Dome" missile defense system.
America sends the Palestinians nothing, because our politicians don't care how many Palestinians Israel manages to kill, using those American provided weapons. One F16 costs more money than all the weapons Hamas has ever used put together.
Do you think Hamas should show the Israelis love forkilling their relatives and stealing their land? Just about all of the land now called Israel belonged to the Arabs in 1945.
In 1967, Israel attacked Egypt, destroying their air force while it was still on the ground, with a surprise attack. Should the Egyptians just forget the sneak attack? It appears they have so far, because they keep taking America's money so they will be nice to Israel.
“The former Commander of the Air
Force, General Ezer Weitzman, regarded as a hawk, stated that there was ‘no
threat of destruction’ but that the attack on Egypt, Jordan and Syria was
nevertheless justified so that Israel could ‘exist according the scale, spirit,
and quality she now embodies.’...Menahem Begin had the following remarks to
make: ‘In June 1967, we again had a choice. The Egyptian Army concentrations in
the Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We
must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.’“ Noam Chomsky,
“The Fateful Triangle.”
“I do not think Nasser wanted war.
The two divisions he sent to The Sinai would not have been sufficient to launch
an offensive war. He knew it and we knew it.” Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s Chief
of Staff in 1967, in Le Monde, 2/28/68
I believe the alleged hatred of the West is due to the American support of Israel's wars on the Arab nations. If I were an Arab leader, who witnesses one sided support of Israel, I would not be inclined to be happy either, would you? Thanks to America support, Israel is the strongest military power in the region. That support was paid for with bribes to our political leaders. i would also hazard a guess that blackmail and extortion are other tools used by Zionists to gather support for the parasites.
Radical islamic Ralph -
Your false propaganda of cut and paste in support of ahmadinejad and the ayatollahs is getting old. You have no credibility in your lies.
farideh, you are so very right. As the Communists used to say, if you say something long enough and loud enough, people will believe you. And Ralph really seems to shout at the moon.
RalphH
Clearly you have not read the news about weapons deliveries into Gaza, many thwarted by Israel's legal embargo. Those weapons said "Made in Iran"
That is what allies do, just like Iran supplying Hamas and Hezbollah.
Did you ever hear of the British Mandate? Arabs owned none of it.
Five countries amassed their armies on the North, East and South borders. If you are geographically challenged, the western border is the Mediterranean. So Israel was surrounded. They had no choice, and I will tell you they did it without US help. Johnson told them to back off. But Israel has a strong desire to survive. and they defeated an enemy that outnumbers them 100 to 1. And by the way, in 73 the Arabs attacked Israel on the holiest day of the year for Israelis. Talk about surprises.
RalphH my suggestion is if you want to make points, you should do a little research. It sounds like you have studied the Islamist AP World History course. You are totally unprepared with any facts.
Yo! Mohammed and Mahmoud:
What's the difference between Sunni and Shi'ite?
And which group represents the true Islam?
Lar - The British governed the region, they didn't own the land. It was not their land to give away.
Try reading this:
. "Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not
even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because
geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab
villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz
Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar
Yehushua in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in
this country that did not have a former Arab population."
Moshe Dayan, address to the Technion, Haifa, reported in
Haaretz, April 4, 1969.
"It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion,
clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with
time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonialization or Jewish
State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their
lands."
Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot, of 14 July 1972.
Lar - My post clearly shows, by the admissions of Israeli leaders, that Israel was in no danger, knew they were in no danger and strted the 1967 war to gain land. I will post that portion again for you.“The former Commander of the Air
Force, General Ezer Weitzman, regarded as a hawk, stated that there was ‘no
threat of destruction’ but that the attack on Egypt, Jordan and Syria was
nevertheless justified so that Israel could ‘exist according the scale, spirit,
and quality she now embodies.’
Lar, Can you understand what is written above? If not, I suggest finding someone with a brain to spell it out for you. I did my research and I win the argument.
British won that land from the Ottoman Empire in WWI, so it was indeed theirs to give away.
The eviction of Arabs you keep trying to make us cry about was the result of Jewish retaliation to Arab aggression, so Arabs only have themselves to blame for that part.
As for the war of 1967:
"Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight . . . The mining of Sharm el Sheikh is a confrontation with Israel. Adopting this measure obligates us to be ready to embark on a general war with Israel." – Nasser, May 27, 1967
"We will not accept any ... coexistence with Israel. ... Today the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel .... The war with Israel is in effect since 1948." – Nasser, May 28, 1967
Ralph, can you understand what is written above? If not, I suggest finding someone with a brain to spell it out for you. You win nothing but the nuttiness contest.
By Ralph's own admission, the Israelis destroyed a good portion of the Egyptian air force in 1967 while it was still on the ground!
You have to admit that it was a pretty good tactical accomplishment for a small country which was surrounded by armies poised to attack them at any time!!!
It is great that Israel is there among them.
Or else there would have been too many 9/11s by now!
Add Qatar to the list seventh century Islamic dancers to the list of most ungrateful backstabbers.
All the oil rich Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and other Sunni Arab League nations are supporting Syrian rebels against Assad.
Here Qatari ruler is the biggest seventh century Sunni dancer.
They are also trying their level best to outsource their dirty job of overthrowing Assad to NATO forces like Iraqi wars to remove Saddam.
Here they have their pals oil companies and lobbyists to do their jobs.
A few months back, Qatari ruler paid a visit to Gaza and gave economic assistance of $400 million to Hamas!
What do these seventh century Sunni rulers think of themselves?
Dave fromOrange- I guess you can say Pearl Harbor was also tactical accomplishment. Hell any nation without scruples or morals can initiate a sneak attack. Egypt could one day return the favor. Would you then applaud them for their brainy maneuver? It isn't exactly miltary genius to strike when the other nation isn't expecting it.
Ely, Britain did not own the land or the towns and more than America owns my house or my town. They had control militarily and that is all. You Zionists attempt to redefine history, rules of conduct and ignore international laws. For that reason, Israel is a rogue nation on this earth, that should be dealt with militarily by the international community.
I want no part of your up-nosed arguments with your rivals here. I am just curious why you think Israel is a rogue state that should be dealt with militarily by the international community. Is that just a polite way of saying that Israel has no right to exist? If so, you seem to be parroting the line of Iran's leader.
Why is this, Ralph?
Ron - I will attempt to answer your question.
First of all, Israel was to exist on a division of land which was was to be given to them by the international community. The land was not enough to satisfy Zionist dreams of a greater Israel, so they started the 1967 war, first claiming they were attacked by Syria, Jordan and Egypt at once. Next they claimed that Egypt and the other nations were gathered at the border of Israel ready to strike, so Israel initiated a pre emptive war, winning decisively, because they started the war by destroying Egypt's air force while it was on the ground.
They later attacked Lebanon, occupying it for 18 years, participating in 2 massacres. Since then, they attacked Iraq and Syria, destroying alleged future nuclear facilities.
In 2006 they conducted massive air attacks on Lebanon, killing over 1000 people, mostly women and children. That same year they attacked Gaza, with air and tank strikes, killing 1400, mostly women and children. Neither Lebanon nor Gaza had any ability what-so-ever to repel F16s.
Israel was complicit in 9/11, and false intelligence which led to the war in Iraq, which will end up costing over 3.5 trillion dollars. The Pentagon was run by Zionists, most with Israeli citizenship, who falsified and cherry picked intelligence to justify an unjustifiable war. I would suggest doing a search on Dov Zakeim, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith.
Israel has broken more UN resolutions than any other nation on earth. Israel is occupying the West Bank illegally, according to international law.
“In violation of international law,
Israel has confiscated over 52 percent of the land in the West Bank and 30
percent of the Gaza Strip for military use or for settlement by Jewish
civilians...From 1967 to 1982, Israel’s military government demolished 1,338
Palestinian homes on the West Bank. Over this period, more than 300,000
Palestinians were detained without trial for various periods by Israeli
security forces. “Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising Against Israeli
Occupation,” ed. Lockman and Beinin.
World opinion on the legality of Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza.
“Under the UN Charter there can
lawfully be no territorial gains from war, even by a state acting in
self-defense. The response of other states to Israel’s occupation shows a
virtually unanimous opinion that even if Israel’s action was defensive, its
retention of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was not...The [UN] General Assembly
characterized Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as a denial of self
determination and hence a ‘serious and increasing threat to international peace
and security.’ “ John Quigley, “Palestine and Israel: A Challenge to
Justice.”
Finally - I resent my taxppayer money going to a country well able to take care of themselves, while the US has to make cuts to the needy. The proof:
Israel's economy is thriving in a global economic meltdown. The Jewish state's 2009-12 economic
growth of 14.7 percent leads all the advanced countries of the world, followed
by Australia with 10.7; Canada 4.8; United States 3.2; Germany 2.7; France 0.3;
European Union minus 1.5 percent.
Right now those parasites are working hard to involve us in another war, this time with Iran.
.
Ralph you conveniently forgot, again you need to do your homework, that Israel was attacked by 6 nations the day it was formed in 1948. Those nations wanted nothing but the complete destruction of the nascent state. From then on, Arab nations and their surrogate terrorist groups have continually attacked Israel to try to eliminate it. You are engaging in mental masturbation if you think the Arabs were not going to attack in 67. If Israel wanted more land, they would have kept Sinai. They did not. they would have kept Gaza. they did not. From the Arab perspective it is not about the land. In their opinion and yours, Israel should not exist on one square inch of land.
Israel has taken several small pieces of land in the West Bank and Golan, and kept them. They have kept them because Golan creates an ability for Israel to defend it self and the West Bank properties were merely to accommodateexpanding populations. relative to the land in the Middle East, it is a sliver. And they gave back Sinai as I said, a piece of land bigger than Israel.
Ralph, you are clearly either an Islamist or you are som fooled by some Islamist propoganda. Step back and thin about what you say.
Iran and Egypt may have a long list of disagreements in religious and political views, but they share the same ideology: Their hatred of the west and their desire for global rule by extremist islam through terrorism.
That's such dogma BS.
Sunni's and Shiites NEVER agree much at all on religious dogma or anything between the two religions. They will be at war with each other to the end of time.
Gismowiz:
Let's take a homegrown example. Southern Baptists have always hated and mistrusted Catholics. Now the Baptists welcome the cooperation of the Church in presenting a solid front against abortion and gay marriage.
These are called marriages of convenience. Once the common foe is defeated, then they'll start hating each other again. The same thing can happen with Sunnis and Shiites in the Muslim world. You know the old saying, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," even though it might be a short-term friendship.
Well Iran ought to be happy with the fact that we are sending F-16s and tanks to Egypt. They can work together using them on Israel and on U.S interests in the M.E.
The F-16's hopefully contain an algorithym incorporated within the firmware controlling the electronics which will disable all systems should the U.S. determine it to be necessary! One never can trust Islamic radicals!
DingleB
While I share the same concern, I am not overly concerned given the fact that Israel still possess superior weaponry and a military that is man(and woman) for man one of the most proficient in the world.
Israel can certainly take care of itself. It's just a shame that U.S. tax payers are funding something so disgraceful.
But are they prepared for the "enemy" within? There are a lot of pissed off Israeli Arab that can do a lot of damage under the cover of war. Bombs landing from Iran can easily cover exploding cars bombs and IDE's.
Did you know that plenty of those Israeli Arabs serve in the IDF?
Those can indeed do plenty of damage to those who threaten Israel.
Israel can certainly take care of itself. It's just a shame that U.S. tax payers are funding something so disgraceful.
Why is it so hard for you guys to see that "aid" like that is to help us more than them. Military deals that we make in the 3rd World are ways to tie those countries military to us. The losers in those deals are not the US or Israel,but the citizens of those countries getting the aid. They are stuck paying for the planes that they don't really need,and the parts to keep them working over the years. It's a way to put those governments military on our payroll. Civilian aid may be one thing,but military aid,come on now. Surely you don't thing we send it out of the goodness of our heart do you.
where is Hillery .. some one call her
WHY?
Please don't bother Hillary, if some can't fund her 2016 Presidential election kitty!
Hillary will be there where Jewish interests or oil rich Sunni rulers' interests are considered!
Warrenn, I just hit the idiot button on you again.
Both Morsi and Ahmadinejad shook hands and said "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Then both gazed toward Jerusalem.
"At an awkward press conference, the deputy head of Al Azhar, Sheikh Hassan el Shifai, was highlighting points of agreement between them when Ahmadinejad abruptly interrupted to say, “we did not agree, we did not agree.”"
You missed it!
Let them dance, cry, shriek, scream, let us infidels just enjoy the varieties of dances and not go near them! Just watch the fun!
They will start killing too!
Israel also needs to ignore them! They have to be more to be patient.
If Islamists bother too much, just bomb Hamas or Hezbollah and vanish!
Back to square one of Islamic story: hate and kill each other.
Allah is furious that they not killing each other enough.
Hope they will at least please Allah by killing each other in millions.
The "war" between Shiites and Sunnis goes on!
It would have been nice if that shoe which was thrown at Iran's "leader" had actually hit him and when he gave a speech in N.Y.C. some years ago at N.Y.U., all of the students in attendance should have worn "very old shoes" which they would not have missed!
The "war" between Shiites and Sunnis goes on!
It would have been nice if that shoe which was thrown at Iran's "leader" had actually hit him and when he gave a speech in N.Y.C. some years ago at N.Y.U., all of the students in attendance should have worn "very old shoes" which they would not have missed!
So the Iranian Muslim Baboon visited Cairo. So what.
They look like they are about to make out...."I can't quit you man"
It is interesting that Ahmadinejad is able to travel freely to all the countries Iran supplies with arms and ammunition. Maybe the US should rethink our idea about sending those used F-16s to Cairo.
This shoe throwing violence is totally out of control, the Arab nations need to hold a joint summit and enact a comprehensive footwear ban. As a start Rahm Emmanuel is divesting all Illinois public pension funds from investing in footwear manufacturers!
Headline: "Iranian space monkey visits Egypt"
To anyone who is confused, please read the "Muslim Brotherhood Project". These are documents that were found in a 2001 raid preformed in Switzerland. These docs. spell out how the M.B. intends to spread Islam and Sharia Law world wide. The M.B. has been working toward this goal for at least 50 years that I have been able to trace. They have been pretty successful. The "cornerstone" of the Project is to unite the Muslim world behind a cause and that stated cause is Palestine. Of course most of us "westerners" understand that if they reach their goal then they will go back to killing each other.
Tensions actually broke out between the two leaders behind the scenes, but they were able to smooth things over by both sitting down and watching Holocaust death camp footage of Jews being killed, which they both heartily enjoyed.
After footage of a few thousand dead or dying Jews was shown, both presidents were in a better humor and the tension was relieved.