Egypt heading toward Shariah standard

U.S. jets over Egypt

The Muslim Brotherhood, which at first worked to "allay" fears the nation of Egypt would adopt radical Islam with the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, has reversed course and now is "working to maximize its achievements in the upcoming elections," according to a new report from the Middle East Media Research Institute.

And raising alarms for many, according to the Islamic group's platform, it is deriving its "source of authority" from Islamic Shariah religious law, saying that the "majority" of the Egyptian people already believe that.

The controversy in Egypt has turned violent in recent weeks, with 25 Christians being killed there just last month in growing conflicts between majority Muslims who are more and more demanding imposition of strict Shariah and minority Christians who have lived in the region for centuries.

The platform "adds that non-Muslims have the right to follow their own religious laws in matters of faith, worship, and personal status whenever these laws differ from those of the Shariah, but should be judged according to the Muslim principles of justice and equality in all other domains of life," the MEMRI report explains.

Get the full report on Shariah and Islamization, in "Ground Zero Mosque," a DVD, and "Stop Islamization."

Shariah is Islamic religious law that controls not only religious activity but secular, social and political circumstances. It is the law that calls for the execution of those who leave Islam, the amputation of the hands of thieves, and for women who are raped to have male witnesses confirm their allegations.

"The platform states further that the aims of the Shariah must inform Egypt's priorities, goals, policies, and strategies and must form the basis of the cultural principles of both Muslims and non-Muslims," the report said.

It continued, "Accordingly, the MB party champions the following values, which, it claims, emanate from the Shariah,: national unity; freedom of belief and worship; equality of rights and duties; respect for human rights; and employing the principle of shura (council) as a democratic tool in both political activity and in private, family, and social circles. The platform emphasizes that the party is open to all Egyptian citizens regardless of religion, gender, age, profession, or social status, that the party strives for an overall reform in all domains – political, constitutional, and moral – and that it advocates inculcating 'the real meaning of the principles of the Islamic Shariah, its moral standards and its values, which are shared by the other monotheistic faiths, as a way of life for the individual and for society.'"

The move is in alignment with what has happened in other Middle East and north African nations where there has been turmoil lately. It took only days after the aerial raids by the West, in support of rebels in Libya, finally removed Moammar Gadhafi from power that those who took over announced Shariah would be the new standard.

Likewise, in Lebanon, the organizations that the U.S. describes as terror groups have taken a majority politically, with similar results.

The MEMRI report said the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that advocates for Muslim control worldwide, was outlawed under Mubarak, but now is entering a "golden age."

"It has formed an official political party, the Freedom and Justice Party, and established large centers in Egypt's major cities, and its members have a strong presence in the media and in decision-making circles. One clear indication of its growing power was its landslide victory in the teachers' union and doctors' union elections, which took place over the last two months," the report said.

It's also been pushing for immediate parliamentary and presidential elections – even before a new national constitution is assembled.

"This campaign was presumably motivated by the MB's desire to take advantage of its strength and its current advantage over the new political forces, which have not yet had time to organize and solidify. The outcome of the upcoming parliamentary elections is seen as crucial, because the stream that wins the majority will have a great deal of influence in the drafting of the new constitution and thus on the character and identity of the new Egypt," the report said.

Running the country right now is the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which is considered by critics to be in league with the MB, which after Mubarak's fall said it would not field a presidential candidate nor would it seek a majority in parliament.

"However … senior MB officials have announced the Freedom and Justice Party's plans to field party candidates running for more than 50 percent of the parliamentary seats … in addition to fielding independent candidates in the elections."

The report said MB will not actually field a presidential candidate under its flag, but "independent candidates who have been members of the movement, such as Abd Al Mun'im Abu Al-Futouh," are in the race.

The MB-linked platform says Egypt's "relations with foreign countries" also need to be "defined by the Shariah." And it states that all citizens, including women, will have the right to run for and serve in public office as long as that "does not violate the right of the family or the dictates of the Islamic Shariah."

It was WND columnist Diana West who recently wrote that in Egypt, the destruction of Coptic Christians now has become "Islamically correct."

The cited the recent deaths of some 25 Christians.

"The unarmed Copts were protesting the destruction of yet another church in Egypt, St. George's, which on Sept. 30 was set upon by thousands of Muslim men following Friday prayers. Why? The trigger was repair work on the building – work that the local council and governor had approved," she said. "Does that explanation make any sense? Not to anyone ignorant of Islamic law. Unfortunately, that criterion includes virtually all media reporting the story."

She warned that those who are not Muslim are expected to submit fully to Islam and follow its demands that Christian churches cannot be repaired. She also explained how non-Muslims in Muslim lands are expected to be subservient at all times.

WND reported only weeks ago that a rising leader in the radical Islamic movement in Egypt said Christian churches may need to be blown up and Christians exterminated to allow the advance of Islamic law, or Shariah.

The comments come from Sheik 'Adel Shehato, a senior leader with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist group. The sheik was jailed in 1991 because of his positions but was released earlier this year in the revolution that removed Mubarak from power.

His interview was with the Egyptian daily Roz Al-Yousef.

The sheik, a senior jihadist leader, responded to a question about using violence against Christians, who make up a substantial minority in Egypt.

"Are you against blowing up churches?" a newspaper interviewer asked Shehato.

"Yes and no," he replied. "The Christian is free to worship his God in his church, but if the Christians make problems for the Muslims, I will exterminate them. I am guided by the Shariah, and it stipulates that they must pay the jizya tax while in a state of humiliation."

"These positions of yours frighten us, as Egyptians," the interviewer said.

"I will not act [in ways] that contradict my faith just in order to please the people. ... We say to the Christians, convert to Islam or pay the jizya, otherwise we will fight you. The Shariah is not based on logic but on divine law. That is why we oppose universal, manmade constitutions."

MEMRI, which was founded in 1998 to monitor Middle East media, is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit group that has offices in Washington, London, Rome, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Shanghai and Tokyo.