Must Read CT Editorial

Must Read CT Editorial February 11, 2011

From CT, by Bob Kubinec:

I find here a voice of reason: What do you think?

The recent protests by Egyptian opposition movements have revealed a deep and abiding prejudice in the U.S. foreign policy community toward the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. These feelings are shared among many evangelicals who tend to view all Islamic groups as prone to violence and militantly hostile to Israel and the Christian church.

While it is clear that the Muslim Brotherhood’s views on a range of policy issues fall short of the American ideal of political liberalism, it is unfair to paint the group as the biggest threat in Egypt to the safety of Christians and the survival of Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood’s conservative tendencies pale in comparison to the current regime’s persecution of their own citizens.

Although it may appear at first counter-intuitive, Egypt’s Christians could well be safer if the Muslim Brotherhood were a part of the ruling government….What the Brotherhood is more known for in Egypt is its calls for reforming the regime, including promoting an independent judiciary and fighting corruption in government. An op-ed published Thursday in The New York Times by a member of the Brotherhood’s leadership defined succinctly their mission: “We aim to achieve reform and rights for all: not just for the Muslim Brotherhood, not just for Muslims, but for all Egyptians.” The debate about the Muslim Brotherhood is not whether they currently support democratic reform in Egypt, but whether they will still support reform after they are in government….

Yet something truly remarkable happened in the early 1980s with the Brotherhood: the leadership voluntarily renounced violence and chose to participate in the political order.

In fact, this embrace of peaceful political change was so profound that it prompted a vicious debate among hard-line Islamic extremists on whether the leadership had been co-opted by the state. However, evidence points to a sincere shift of ideology on the part of the Brotherhood. Since then, the Brotherhood has participated in Egypt’s rigged elections, still managing at times to gain the largest number of opposition members in Egypt’s parliament and devoting their time and energy to building an array of social services to help Egypt’s poor.

In recent years, the Brotherhood has even sought to enhance its image by launching a professional website on their policy views, especially in regard to treatment of minorities. The Brotherhood’s leaders have repeatedly stressed that they want to include Egypt’s Christians under all of the state’s protections and freedoms….

… the Brotherhood does not love Israel. Yet this feeling is not unique to the Brotherhood—virtually all Egyptians have a distaste for the Jewish state and sympathize with the Palestinians. The Brotherhood’s current position is that the peace treaty with Israel should be put forward as a referendum to the people. Given the past regime’s rule by force, this policy would appeal to Egyptians, who had no say in the original signing of the peace treaty….

Currently, the government has the ability to appoint many of the leaders of mosques, and regularly monitors and censors Islamic scholars and preachers. This type of control disgusts devout Muslims and raises a groundswell of support for the Brotherhood. This desire—that religion should be free from state control—is similar to American evangelicals’ desire to protect their religious liberties against growing secular intolerance of genuine expressions of faith.


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