The Muslim Bortherhood

An interesting piece from today's guardian, covering the Muslim Brotherhood in relation to the ongoing demonstrations, the movement's past and its future aspirations. If you think you know what the MB are all about, I strongly urge you to read this -just to be sure...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...hood-uncovered

When the call first went out for mass pro-change protests on 25 January, the brotherhood responded as it always has to any major anti-government activity originating outside its own sphere of influence – it dithered. With that dithering came a loss of credibility, as the demonstrations gathered momentum and coalesced into nothing short of a revolutionary challenge to 30 years of entrenched dictatorship.

Now, though – having been wrong-footed and overtaken by largely non-religious young activists – the brotherhood is seeking to regain its standing as the country's leading opposition movement, without turning either local or western opinion against it.

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"There can be no question that genuine democracy must prevail," Mohammad Mursi, a brotherhood spokesman, wrote in an article for Tuesday's Guardian. "While the Muslim Brotherhood is unequivocal regarding its basis in Islamic thought, it rejects any attempt to enforce any ideological line upon the Egyptian people."

Although the Brotherhood appears to have firmly embraced democracy, the means for reconciling that with its religious principles are not entirely clear: the issue of God's sovereignty versus people's sovereignty looks to have been fudged rather than resolved.

The Brotherhood continues to maintain that "Islam is the solution" while at the same time demonstrating a kind of pragmatism that suggests Islam may not be a complete solution after all.

The MB has been used as some sort of buzzword that if they take over, they will instate sharia or some such which will let terrorists flutter free like butterflies, which is a complete fantasy. Their stance is kind of similiar to the german christian social democrats though, and the reality on the ground is, anything is still better for egyptian democracy thank Mubarak, that includes the MB.

That and as far as islam is concerned, its laws are completely subjective to human interpretation, thats not a controversial thing to say in arabic countries by the way.

Democracy>dictatorship

I am in full agreeance with the two same avatar guys above.

And we save 1.3 billion dollars in funds used to oppress people!

It's a win win

But srsly

I'm fully aware why America props up dictatorships which rape and maim there own people for powers sake. I'm also fully aware that the majority of Americans are blissfully ignorant of such actions. I'm also fully aware that our politicians use this ignorance to paint those that dislike us as being beyond saving when in reality we probably killed a relative or maimed a friend.

So the democracy may have an islamic bent, such is life. There were NATO countries which had large communist parties and yet we still managed to work with them

Not planting the seeds because you fear thorns is counterproductive

Eventually these people will run out of things to hate, it is our job to simply wait

:bow:

I'm convinced that if the Muslim Brotherhood changed their name from the rather sinister "Brotherhood" to something more media-friendly, such as "Club" , "Coalition" or maybe "Society" then they would receive much more positive media coverage in the West.

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Originally Posted by Subotan

I'm convinced that if the Muslim Brotherhood changed their name from the rather sinister "Brotherhood" to something more media-friendly, such as "Club" , "Coalition" or maybe "Society" then they would receive much more positive media coverage in the West.

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well, the Ikhwanul Muslimin is supposed to be RL counterpart of the Legendary Brotherhood of NOD?

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Originally Posted by Subotan

I'm convinced that if the Muslim Brotherhood changed their name from the rather sinister "Brotherhood" to something more media-friendly, such as "Club" , "Coalition" or maybe "Society" then they would receive much more positive media coverage in the West.

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What coverage about the Muslim Brotherhood. Do you know who they are. They are the very founders of the political Islam that has been in the way of a humanitarian tradition for a while they aren't very nice people. Can't live with them can't kill them, we'll see. But it's no innocent boyscout-club they are incredibly dangerous

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Originally Posted by Fragony

What coverage about the Muslim Brotherhood. Do you know who they are. They are the very founders of the political Islam that has been in the way of a humanitarian tradition for a while they aren't very nice people. Can't live with them can't kill them, we'll see. But it's no innocent boyscout-club they are incredibly dangerous

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Hmm, that seems contrary to even what Fox news, that bastion of "Islamiphilae", reports:

http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/20...secular-group#

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During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper called Egypt's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood movement "largely secular."

In response to questioning from Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) about the threat posed by the group, Clapper suggested that the Egyptian part of the Brotherhood is not particularly extreme and that the broader international movement is hard to generalize about.

"The term 'Muslim Brotherhood'...is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," Clapper said. "They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera.....In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally."

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While the US may arguably not have demonstrated much "intelligence" in the last 10 years, this is the President's inteligence advisor.

If the above isn't true, then the MB are certainly going quite far out of their way to pretend it is:

From the NY Times: What the Muslim Brothers Want Op ed by Essam El-Errian, a member of the guidance council of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/op...=2&ref=opinion

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As our nation heads toward liberty, however, we disagree with the claims that the only options in Egypt are a purely secular, liberal democracy or an authoritarian theocracy. Secular liberal democracy of the American and European variety, with its firm rejection of religion in public life, is not the exclusive model for a legitimate democracy.

In Egypt, religion continues to be an important part of our culture and heritage. Moving forward, we envision the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures of freedom and justice, which are central Islamic values. We embrace democracy not as a foreign concept that must be reconciled with tradition, but as a set of principles and objectives that are inherently compatible with and reinforce Islamic tenets.

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They are wrong, they haven't change one bit

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Originally Posted by Fragony

What coverage about the Muslim Brotherhood. Do you know who they are. They are the very founders of the political Islam that has been in the way of a humanitarian tradition for a while they aren't very nice people. Can't live with them can't kill them, we'll see. But it's no innocent boyscout-club they are incredibly dangerous

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lol

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

lol

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ever read anything

no where is my linkboy Louis

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Originally Posted by Fragony

ever read anything

no where is my linkboy Louis

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YEA I READ ALLOT

You and Louis make quite the 1-2 punch of muslim relations. Granted Louis has stopped refering to "them" by name. All I can picture is some crazed Frenchman hoarding great works of philosiphe and art in his 3rd floor apartment while boarding the door

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They are wrong, they haven't change one bit

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Yeah, when was the last time you were in Egypt?

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Originally Posted by Fragony

They are wrong, they haven't change one bit

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Geez mate, you really don't do much to make yourself look better than the nutters in the caves.

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

YEA I READ ALLOT

You and Louis make quite the 1-2 punch of muslim relations. Granted Louis has stopped refering to "them" by name. All I can picture is some crazed Frenchman hoarding great works of philosiphe and art in his 3rd floor apartment while boarding the door

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That's why you had it all wrong allthe time, with open minded they meant the front entrance of the apartment . I'm not even sure he really wants you that way

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Originally Posted by Fragony

That's why you had it all wrong allthe time, with open minded they meant the front entrance of the apartment . I'm not even sure he really wants you that way

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https://img690.imageshack.us/img690/889/cryingua.jpg
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Wiki reveals they have dodgy roots, but appear to be more placid nowadays. From what I've seen on the news, they seem to be taking a back seat and have accepted this revolution is led by young secular folks, so they're just going with the flow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Subotan

I'm convinced that if the Muslim Brotherhood changed their name from the rather sinister "Brotherhood" to something more media-friendly, such as "Club" , "Coalition" or maybe "Society" then they would receive much more positive media coverage in the West.

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The first time I heard of them I thought they were some sort of equivalent of the Aryan Brotherhood...