Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Not a legitimate party

 Not a legitimate party
by Scott Johnson in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood


I find it absolutely bizarre how little attention is paid to the fundamental nature of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is not a legitimate political party. Its objects are not consistent with democracy or democratic goals. It is, as Steve Hayward concisely commented, “a fascist political faction with murderous intent. Full stop.” Its goal is the (re)establishment of an Islamic caliphate. Forget Barack Obama, lost in Cloud Cuckooland. Do John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte et al. seriously dispute this?
Jeffrey Breinholt points out that, although it claims to be non-violent, its motto describes “dying in the way of Allah” as the group’s highest hope. Breinholt adds that the Brotherhood’s most famous alumnus is undoubtedly Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
If you have read Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower or Andrew McCarthy’s The Grand Jihad, to name just two books that cover the territory, this is well trod ground. Here is a handy fact sheet. Andrew McCarthy provides a short course in “Fear the Muslim Brotherhood” and, most recently, “Understanding the Muslim Brotherhood.” Also helpful is Palestinian Media Watch’s “The Muslim Brotherhood — in its own words.”
I think this is clear enough. If one needs more, however, consider the case of Hamas. Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It came to power in Gaza democratically, in an election competing against partisans of Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas, currently serving out the ninth year of his four-year term, but how’s that working out?
The election in which Hamas came to power was engineered by Condoleezza Rice in the bygone days of President Bush. Rice et al. are guilty of an intellectual error of the first order. There was no excuse for it then and there is less now.
 

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