Children for Freedom, the Muslim Brothers' youngest wing

By Pakinam Amer
Jul 18, 2007, 3:56 GMT

Cairo - 'The court acquitted my father. Why didn't he come home?' read a statement printed on T-Shirts often worn by the sons, daughters and grandchildren of a group of court-martialed top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group.

The children and grandchildren of imprisoned leaders have formed a league of their own, backed by their parents.

'It is an exercise on channeling their anger through peaceful means of protest,' explained Zahraa, the daughter of Khairat el- Shater, the number one defendant in the Brotherhood case and second deputy of the group's leader.

Zahraa says that she is worried about her children's future 'in a world where there is chaos and no rule of law.'

Relatives wore the T-shirts as they watched their parents behind bars during military court sessions. Although the families of the 40 tried Brotherhood leaders say that the trial did not break their faith, they said that President Hosni Mubarak's jail experience has tormented their children and left them confused.

Nine-year-old Aisha, daughter of Hassan Malek, remembers running to the defendant's cage in the court room, waving at her father and asking if he could see her through the wire cage where the defendants are kept.

Her father, not unlike the other high-profile Brothers, is a civilian who is being tried in a military court for charges of money laundering, belonging to and financing a banned group 'that uses terrorism to achieve its ends,' disrupting public peace and endangering civil liberties.

The Brothers' chief attorney Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud claims that the court does not possess any admissible evidence to prove these allegations.
The lawyer says the trial is politically motivated.

The Brothers and their zealous supporters have been deemed a growing threat to the hegemony of the ruling National Democratic Party, according to independent observers.

The Islamic group, which draws on significant support through charity work and civil service, scored a sweeping victory in 2005 parliamentary elections, defying an official ban to form the biggest opposition bloc.

Most of the defendants in the much-criticized trial were arrested last November.

Acquitted three times by different Cairo courts, the leaders were kept in custody and transferred to a military court upon a presidential decree. The decree was revoked by Cairo's Supreme Administrative Court, but the decision was soon reversed when the state appealed.

'This is the worst sight ever; a parent behind bars,' whispered a daughter of one the defendants as she gave her caged father a feeble smile.

She stays strong for the sake of her parents, she said. 'But my baby brothers and sisters cannot do the same, simply because they don't understand what's happening. They are angry,' she adds.

'My daughter Aisha wants us to leave Egypt after the trial is over and live abroad,' said Malek's wife. 'My children saw a sad reality, it doesn't make sense to them and I have failed to explain it.'

More often than not, the Brotherhood leaders were rounded-up as their families watched. Currently, 34 leaders of the accused group of 40 are incarcerated, while the rest reside outside the country.

Most of the imprisoned were arrested from their own houses in rowdy, overnight raids.

'I feel insecure when I go to sleep at night,' said el-Shater's daughter. She is also the wife of another defendant. In addition to being top members of the Brotherhood's politburo, her father and her husband are businessmen and engineers.

Her father was arrested four times, while her husband was detained five times. She remembers that as a child her father used to tell her that 'police arrests (of political activists) are like death, they come suddenly and without reason.'

'The police pound on the door knocking it off its hinges, they scare the children,' said el-Shater's daughter, who has four children. 'Everytime it is more frightening. My children wake up to the sight of machine guns.'

Zahraa said her tragedy is due to the regime's fierce clampdown on the Brotherhood's rank - a crackdown that was partially linked to the Brotherhood's radical Islamic identity.

Though she was brought up to be a 'peaceful Islamist' and in turn wanted to instil the idea of non-violent resistance in her children, Zahraa is finding it difficult to do so under the circumstances.

'I have trouble explaining to them that the (police) officer who takes their father away should be a source of protection, hard to explain why we're reacting non-violently to (the arrests).

'We're against 9/11 attacks or any violent attacks. But this treatment could give rise to a generation who believes in terrorism,' said the young mother.

Nodding her on, Malek's wife added that her children often ask her 'why don't we beat-up the officers who take our father away, or even kill them?'

'When they saw their father being arrested aggressively for the first time, the children (wrongfully) thought that the police officers will kill their father,' says the tearful mother, who insisted on being referred to as 'Malek's wife' and not by her own name.

The families' message is clear - they want justice and wish they wouldn't be viewed solely as Brothers.

'The criminals get more rights than Islamists in a political trial,' says el-Shater's daughter, 'Why not treat us the same way they treat criminals. My daughter says she wishes her father was a thief.'

During a long, controversial court session held on Sunday, the children in the courtroom were getting impatient and weary, they did not understand the legal jargon.

Lawyers, who contested the competency of the military court to deal with this case, were no less exhausted.

Abdel-Maksoud, the Brotherhood's lawyer for many years, insisted that despite the unconstitutionality of the procedure, the defence team will not boycott the trial as they 'cannot abandon people in need, even if we anticipate the worst.'

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.

This notice cannot be removed without permission.

Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/article_1331435.php/Children_for_Freedom_the_Muslim_Brothers_youngest_wing

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/84022.html

*image from ensaa.blogspot.com

International figures huddle around Egypt's Brotherhood

By Pakinam Amer

Jul 16, 2007, 19:49 GMT

Cairo ­- International figures, representatives of international rights groups, journalists and members of the legal profession, continue to huddle around Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood following a trial session of its top members that was described as 'shameful' and its legality was seriously questioned.

During a conference in downtown Cairo hosted by Egypt's Bar Association on Monday, several of these figures raised their voices in protest of the procedures of a military tribunal trying 40 leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group.

Among them were, United States attorney general Ramsey Clarke, award-winning British journalist Yvonne Ridley and Samih Khrais, the regional representative of the London-based Amnesty International.

Clark urged Egyptians to 'organize and effectively protect their own rights,' as the Brotherhood leaders continue to face the scrutiny of Hosni Mubarak's government.

'People in Egypt should not wait and believe that some remedy will come from abroad,' said Clark who believes that the US government is a major ally of Mubarak and so will not interfere to bring justice in Egypt.

He added that it was 'pitiful' how the country's biggest opposition group, was being clamped down upon by the government and called on authorities to 'recognize the error that they are in.'

The high-profile Brotherhood, although civilians, are being tried in a military court for charges of money laundering, belonging to and financing a banned group 'that uses terrorism to achieve its ends,' disrupting public peace and endangering civil liberties.

Ridley described the Brotherhood's trial as 'unprecedented' and a 'miscarriage of justice' adding that the hearing 'brought shame on the Egyptian government.'

'We are not going to get justice in a military court. We're not going to get justice from dictators and scholars for dollars who do not recognize the injustice (that happened) yesterday,' said Ridley referring to the third session of the trial, which took place on Sunday.

The seven-hour session took place amidst wide protests regarding the legality of trying civilians before military courts where the Muslim Brotherhood leaders and their supporters were in uproar.

Only lawyers and family members of the defendants were allowed inside the courtroom, after standing for hours in the blistering sun and agreeing to leave cell phones, cameras, notebooks, and even pens outside the courtroom. Every single attendee was searched thoroughly, and they were not allowed to set foot outside the military facility for as long as the trial was in session.

At one point during the trial, several civilians stepped in and screamed their protests to the panel of judges. One attendee described his treatment at the court door as 'humiliating and demeaning.'

The authorities refused to permit representatives of international human rights groups, pro-democracy activists - including Clark, Ridley and Khrais - and bloggers to attend as observers.

Very few female members of the press ­ who wore Islamic scarves - succeeded in sneaking inside by pretending to be relatives. The rest were pushed and shoved at the door of the court.

'I tried to get in and I am an impartial witness,' said Khrais of Amnesty International on Monday, but 'I waited for my pass for three hours then I was turned back.'

'What happened defames the trial and the Egyptian government's interests because (Amnesty's) presence could have added legitimacy to the procedure,' he added.

Clark, who was also banned from the trail, added that he will try to get in again, but if he fails he will have to leave because 'it will be a waste of time.'

Ridley, who was similarly barred from the trials, said that the alternative now is 'to name and shame the judges, the prosecutors, (and) the police.'

'It's a great shame and I really feel your pain,' she said addressing the families of the accused, 'but we have to try to make a difference and get your (families) out of these prisons.'

Egypt's government wants to promote what Ridley referred to as 'a diluted form of Islam' and so they have always feared the 'real Islam' that the Brotherhood practices.

'(They want) a pacified Islam that means that we submit to the West and not to Allah,' she said in her fiery statement, calling on the people to 'expose the government for what its is; a puppet for America (and) a complete sham.'

Ridley said that she believed the Brotherhood leaders were punished not because they're Egypt's foremost opposition group but because 'neo-conservative think tanks in America have been trying to link the Brotherhood to Hamas.'

Hamas is a Palestinian militant group that has recently taken control of the Gaza Strip. The Islamic group, which was born out of the womb of Egypt's Brotherhood, had succeeded in achieving unprecedented victory in the latest Palestinian parliamentary elections, gripping the majority of seats.

The Hamas experiment is said to have constituted a threat to the governments of neighbouring countries whose lands harbour Islamic groups that are popular among the grassroots, as in the case of Egypt and Jordan.

Meanwhile, most of the defendants in the protested trial were arrested last November in a fierce security crackdown where the leaders were charged with membership of a banned organization, and with 'providing students with weapons and military training.'

Although acquitted three times by different Cairo courts, the leaders were kept in custody and were transferred to a military court upon a presidential decree.

The decree was revoked by Cairo's Supreme Administrative Court, but the decision was soon reversed when the state appealed.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.

This notice cannot be removed without permission.

Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/article_1330780.php/International_figures_huddle_around_Egypts_Brotherhood

Brotherhood court session chaotic, 'disappointing'

By Pakinam Amer

Jul 16, 2007, 1:10 GMT

Cairo - A military tribunal appointed to try 40 Muslim Brotherhood leaders held its third session Sunday, amid protests by international rights groups and Egyptian lawyers who contested the legality of prosecuting civilians in military courts.

The Supreme Military Court in Heikstep, several kilometres north- east of Cairo, witnessed the presence of 33 of the defendants and their attorneys, who had boycotted the first session in protest.

Six of the leaders outside Egypt were tried in absentia, while one was being treated at a prison hospital after suffering a heart attack shortly before the court session.

The high-profile Muslim Brothers are civilians but are being tried in a military court on charges of money laundering, belonging to and financing a banned group 'that uses terrorism to achieve its ends,' disrupting public peace and endangering civil liberties, according to a brief statement Sunday by the chief judge.

Behind bars in the courtroom stood many of the Brotherhood's most popular faces: atop the list was Khairat el-Shater, the group's third-in-command, a top consultant engineer by profession and successful businessman.

El-Shater, a member of the Brotherhood's so-called Guidance Bureau, or politburo, was dressed in white and often interrupted the court proceedings with loud protests.

'What is being done here (in the court) is nothing but a play, a farce,' the bearded el-Shater told the panel of judges. 'State Security Police have orchestrated this. It's a farce, politically motivated and unclean. The present regime bears responsibility for it.'

During a review of evidence allegedly confiscated from the defendants' houses, el-Shater claimed that some of the exhibited items - including laptops, CDs, video tapes, books and documents - did not belong to him.

He accused police of 'planting' evidence in an attempt to frame him. The court was in complicity and had instructions on his sentence in advance, el-Shater said.

El-Shater's statements were accompanied each time by cheering from the defendants' families, whose shouts of 'God is great' echoed across the courtroom.

Most of the defendants were arrested in November, shortly following a 'military parade' performed by Brotherhood-affiliated students at Azhar University in Cairo.

As a protest against what they deemed 'blatant security interference' in student-union elections, a few dozen students had demonstrated in black uniforms and headbands, and performed a choreographed martial-arts fight sequence on campus.

A fierce security crackdown followed, with the regime using the Azhar University incident as 'proof' that the Brotherhood was reviving its paramilitary wing.

The Brothers officially denounced violence three decades ago. The Azhar students, who later apologized for what they called 'shameful behaviour,' did not brandish weapons during their protest.

A group of alleged top leaders was rounded up from their homes in rowdy, overnight raids. According to the daughter of one defendant, police left no stone unturned during their search, confiscating even children's computer games and 'terrorizing the whole family.'

In a procedure documented by the London-based non-governmental organization Amnesty International, the leaders were charged with membership in a banned organization and with 'providing students with weapons and military training.'

In January, a Cairo criminal court acquitted el-Shater and his codefendants and ordered their immediate release.

Shortly after the acquittal, the leaders were transferred to a military court after a presidential decree. The decree was revoked by Cairo's Supreme Administrative Court, but that decision was soon reversed when the state appealed.

During Sunday's bench trial, one attorney after the other demanded a change of court, insisting that the case should not come under the jurisdiction of military courts. As they challenged the court, the chief judge agreed to 'look into' the matter but refused to dismiss the case all together from his court.

Sunday's hearing was delayed for more than two hours and was generally marked by chaos.

Families of defendants said that the atmosphere surrounding the case did not bode well. Their purpose in attending was to support their loved ones in hardship, but they had no faith in the fairness of the trial.

Before the session started, and in what appeared to be an act of protest, one the 33 defendants stood up, calling for noon prayers. The Brothers behind bars performed both the noon and afternoon prayers, joined by their wives, sons and daughters in the courtroom.

After praying, one the defendants started a series of supplications, wishing in a loud, firm voice that those who did them 'injustice would suffer the same way.' Court officials could only listen as family members, some weeping, repeated the supplication.

Only attorneys and family members of the defendants were allowed inside the courtroom.

Authorities refused to permit representatives of international human-rights groups, bloggers and pro-democracy activists to attend as observers. Among those turned away was former US attorney general Ramsey Clark, a human-rights activist who served on the defence team of hanged Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Any reporters who were present only gained entry by pretending to be a relative of one of the defendants. They had to be fully veiled and to carry identification cards that did not identify them as media personnel.

All mobile phones, cameras, tape recorders and even pens and notebooks were confiscated before entering the courtroom. Copies of the Koran were checked page-by-page, and even women were fully searched in private rooms. Everyone was eyed suspiciously.

Authorities refused to let some of the families leave the courtroom before the session closed.

A security man murmured to a protesting attendant who had wished to leave that 'the rules' had it that no one was allowed to set a foot outside the courtroom before the hearing has ended, so that 'undercover' reporters could not hurry to their editors with the session's coverage.

The hearing, which lasted for more than seven hours, ended at night, after the court ruled that the next session would be held August 5.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.

This notice cannot be removed without permission.

Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/features/article_1330365.php/Brotherhood_court_session_chaotic_disappointing

وكالة الأنباء الألمانية: الأقباط يواجهون التمييز باللجوء إلي الكنيسة..ويعتبرون البابا رئيس جمهوريتهم

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«تاريخ الأقباط مليء بالاضطهاد، ولم تكن الأوقات الهادئة إلا استثناء».. هكذا تحدث الأسقف مرقس عزيز، كاهن الكنيسة المعلقة في حي مصر القديمة خلال التحقيق، الذي نشرته وكالة الأنباء الألمانية تحت عنوان «أقباط مصر بين الاندماج والعزلة».وقال عزيز: الأقباط اليوم يعانون اضطهاداً شاملاً، وعلينا ألا نجمل الحقيقة، والأمور تزداد سوءاً والدولة لا تتحرك قيد أنملة والشباب المسيحي بدأ يستقيظ ويتعامل بشكل مباشر مع هذا الوضع.وذكرت الوكالة في التحقيق الذي أعدته محررتها باكينام عامر أن قسماً كبيراً من الأقباط وجدوا الملاذ في الكنيسة خلال كفاحهم ضد ما يوصف بالتحامل أو حتي الاضطهاد الصريح.وأوضحت أن البابا شنودة الثالث يتلقي شكاوي وأسئلة رعاياه عقب عظة الأربعاء، وغالباً ما يستقبل بالزغاريد والتحية ويصفه المصلون بـ«رئيس جمهورية الأقباط».وأضافت أن عدداً من المراقبين يزعم أن فكرة تعايش المسلمين والمسيحيين عبر القرون غير حقيقية، وفريق آخر يعتقد أن الصراع علي السلطة بين النظام والإخوان يقيد يديه، ولا يريد أن يبدو أقل إسلامية منها، مستندين إلي العراقيل التي تضعها الدولة وتحول دون بناء كنائس جديدة أو حتي ترميم القديمة منها.ونقلت عن يوسف سيدهم، رئيس تحرير صحيفة وطني أن تقييد بناء الكنائس بهذا الأسلوب أمر يبعث علي الغثيان.. وبعض المتعصبين الإسلاميين يريدون تدمير الكنائس».وقال منير فخري عبدالنور، نائب رئيس حزب الوفد: أستطيع أن أعطي مئات الأمثلة علي كنائس، لم تمنح لها تصاريح بالترميم رغم أنها كانت في أشد الاحتياج إليها وثمة كنائس آيلة للسقوط ومع هذا لم تمنح تصريحاً لأسباب أمنية.وتابعت الوكالة الألمانية أنه إلي جانب النزاعات بشأن الكنائس فإن الأقباط بدأوا في الآونة الأخيرة يفسرون أي حادث عنيف في إطار حرب تشن علي دينهم، ويردون علي ذلك بتبني ثقافة الاستشهاد والتي يعتبرها رفيق حبيب المفكر المسيحي خطراً كامناً.من جانبه يرفض الأب صفوت البياضي، رئيس الطائفة الإنجيلية فكرة تعرض الأقباط للتمييز وأرجع المشكلات التي تحدث إلي معاناة الشعب كله.

LINK: http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=68314

*image from al-Ahram Weekly (through images.google.com)

FEATURE: From kids' quarrel to religious strife in Alexandria

By Pakinam Amer

Cairo (dpa) - Fifty years ago, no Egyptian would have believed that a fight between two children - a Muslim and a Christian - could ignite violence requiring the presence of truckloads of heavily-armed riot police to contain it.

But this happened last month in the once cosmopolitan Mediterranean city of Alexandria, albeit in one of the city's poorer districts. There, a fist fight between two boys in front of a church turned into a full-blown sectarian clash between Muslims and Christians.

As religious zealots and angry mobs fanned the flames, the incident could have escalated had it not been for police which arrived quickly on the scene and contained the clash.

"This situation is not unique to Alexandria. The tension is everywhere,” says Father Yohanna Naseef, a Christian Coptic priest and an Alexandrine.

He lists three reasons at the core of the clashes: "The educationsystem that does not encourage dialogue among co-patriots belonging to different confessions, discrimination against Christians in workplaces, and an underdeveloped environment which breeds hatred.”

"Troubles of this kind usually surface in poor areas, where the cultural, social and economic conditions are grim,” says Naseef.

The Dekhela district in Alexandria, where last month's incident took place, is a popular neighbourhood where Muslims and Christian Copts have long co-existed peacefully.

The neighbourhood sports a church, the Holy Virgin, and a number of small mosques. The son of one mosque Imam rowed with a Christian boy and the result was dozens of zealots on both sides clashing in the street, with Muslims pelting the church's windows with stones. Several were injured and police arrested 13 people.

This latest incident in Alexandria has rekindled sleeping tensions and raised many old concerns.

In October 2005, on two consecutive Fridays, angry Muslims who had just finished Friday prayers in the mosque marched on St George's Church in Alexandria's Moharam Bek district, attacking the church and terrorizing Christian inhabitants of the district.

The clash was sparked by the leaking of a CD of a play performed inside the church and said to be disdainful of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

In April 2006, an extremist, claimed by security authorities to have been mentally deranged, attacked four churches in Alexandria. One Coptic citizen was killed and five others injured.

Every incident of violence seems to have awakened the anger inside the Copts' hearts. The mood in the political, judicial and social arena has arguably made matters worse.

Politically, Copts have little representation in Egypt's houses of parliament or within political parties.

With the rise in popularity of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, who are fiercely active on the political arena and have strong representation in parliament, Copts have begun to fear they would be treated as aliens in their homeland, or even persecuted because of their faith.


Claims of discrimination and even religious persecution against Copts are on the rise. Egyptian authorities claim radical Coptic communities resident abroad, especially in the United States, are fanning the flames, and asking foreign powers to intervene to empower Egypt's Christian minority.


In the last 30 years, a "political Coptic project” has emerged, according to Rafiq Habib, a renowned expert on Coptic affairs and aChristian himself, though not a Copt. Habib says the Coptic Church is gradually becoming the main representative of Copts, "a Coptic partyof sorts.”

He adds that ”foreign intervention in the affairs of the Copts, and the idea of establishing quotas for Copts in parliament are part of this project, which is being supported and publicized by some Coptic circles inside and outside Egypt.”


© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

*image from Washignton Post (through images.google.com)

FEATURE: From kids' quarrel to religious strife in Alexandria -- Arabic version

الحركات الاسلامية في مصر: كيف يتحول عراك الاطفال إلى فتنة طائفية
المسلمون والمسيحيون يتخوفون من ان توقظ حوادث صغيرة وافكار متشددة فتنة دينية نائمة.

ميدل ايست اونلاين القاهرة - من باكينام عامر
قبل 50 عاما لم يكن مصري واحد يتصور أن مشاجرة بين طفلين احدهما مسلم والاخر مسيحي يمكن أن تشعل عنفا يتطلب تدخل جحافل من شرطة مكافحة الشغب (الامن المركزي) لاحتوائه.
لكن هذا حدث الشهر الماضي في مدينة الاسكندرية الساحلية التي طالما احتضنت أجناسا مختلفة وان كان مسرح الحادث احد الاحياء الفقيرة بالمدينة حيث تطور عراك بالايدي بين الطفلين أمام كنيسة إلى معركة طائفية كاملة بين المسلمين والمسيحيين.
ومع قيام متعصبين دينيين وجماهير غاضبة بتأجيج اللهيب كان يمكن للحادث أن يتطور لولا تدخل الشرطة التي وصلت بسرعة إلى مكان الحادث وتمكنت من احتوائه.
يقول الاب يوحنا ناصف "إن هذا الموقف ليس بنادر في الاسكندرية. فالتوتر موجود في كل مكان".
وهو يورد ثلاثة أسباب يعتبرها السبب الرئيس في وقوع المصادمات "النظام التعليمي الذي لا يشجع على الحوار بين أبناء الوطن الواحد من أصحاب المعتقدات المختلفة والتمييز ضد المسيحيين في أماكن العمل فضلا عن البيئة المتخلفة التي تغذي الكراهية".
ويقول ناصف: "المشكلات من هذا القبيل عادة ما تظهر في المناطق الفقيرة حيث التخلف الثقافي والاجتماعي والاقتصادي".
حي الدخيلة في الاسكندرية الذي شهد حادث الشهر الماضي هو حي شعبي يعيش فيه المسلمون والمسيحيون جنبا إلى جنب في سلام ووئام منذ زمن طويل.
ويحتضن الحي كنيسة "السيدة العذراء" وعددا من المساجد الصغيرة. تشاجر نجل واحد من الائمة مع صبي مسيحي والنتيجة اندلاع معركة حامية الوطيس في الشارع بين عشرات من المتعصبين من الجانبين حيث قام المسلمون برشق نوافذ الكنيسة بالحجارة. وأصيب عدد من الاشخاص واعتقلت الشرطة 13 شخصا.
وأيقظ الحادث الاخير التوتر والفتنة النائمة وأثار العديد من المخاوف القديمة.
ففي تشرين أول/أكتوبر من عام 2005 وعلى مدى جمعتين متتاليتين كان مسلمون غاضبون يخرجون من صلاة الجمعة في المسجد صوب كنيسة "سان جورج" في حي "محرم بك" بالاسكندرية ويهاجمون الكنيسة ويروعون سكان الحي من المسيحيين.
وأثارت أحداث الشغب اسطوانة مدمجة مسجل عليها مسرحية مثلت داخل الكنيسة قيل أنها تسيء إلى الاسلام والنبي محمد.
وفي نيسان/إبريل عام 2006 قام متطرف زعمت جهات الامن انه مختل عقليا بمهاجمة أربع كنائس في الاسكندرية. قتل في الهجوم شخص مسيحي وأصيب 5 آخرون.
ومع كل حادث عنف تتأجج نيران الغضب في صدور الاقباط. وتزيد الاوضاع على الساحة السياسية والقضائية والاجتماعية الامور سوءا.
على الساحة السياسية يعاني الاقباط من تمثيل ضعيف في مجلسي الشعب والشورى وداخل الاحزاب السياسية.
ومع ارتفاع شعبية جماعة "الاخوان المسلمون" التي تنشط بشدة على الساحة السياسية والتي صار لها وجود قوي في البرلمان بدأت المخاوف تنتاب الاقباط من أن يعاملوا كأغراب في بلدهم أو حتى يتعرضون للاضطهاد بسبب عقيدتهم.
وتزداد المزاعم بالتمييز ضد الاقباط بل وحتى اضطهادهم. وتزعم السلطات المصرية أن أقباط المهجر ولاسيما في الولايات المتحدة يسكبون البنزين على النار ويطلبون من قوى أجنبية التدخل لتمكين الأقلية المسيحية في مصر.
يقول رفيق حبيب الخبير المعروف في الشئون القبطية وهو مسيحي ينتمي للطائفة الانجيلية انه على مدى الثلاثين عاما الماضية برز "مشروع قبطي سياسي". ويضيف قائلا ان الكنيسة القبطية تتحول بشكل تدريجي لتصبح الممثل الرئيسي للاقباط إلى "شيء شبيه بحزب سياسي للاقباط".
وأردف أن "التدخل الاجنبي في شئون الاقباط وفكرة منح حصص للاقباط في البرلمان جزء من هذا المشروع الذي يحظي بتأييد ومساندة بعض الدوائر القبطية داخل مصر".

Link: http://www.meo.tv/?id=50118

ANALYSIS: Christian Copts: Between integration and dissent + Chronology of Christian-Muslim Clashes

Published Date: July 09, 2007
By Pakinam Amer

Cairo - In their struggle against what has been termed prejudice or even outright persecution, many in Egypt's Christian Coptic community seem to have found a sanctuary in the church, where as well as praying they can also vent their rage.

In a typical Wednesday sermon at St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, takes questions and listens to the anguish of members of the community after the sermon.

His entrance is always greeted with singing and cheering, and he is referred to by many worshippers as "the president of the republic of Copts."

The Christian Coptic Church of Egypt is one of the oldest churches in the world and represents the majority of Christians living in the country. The very word Coptic is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, meaning Egypt - thus a Copt is by definition a native of Egypt.

The percentage of Copts in the overall population in Egypt has been lately a source of controversy, with some Islamist sources claiming it to be no more than 5 per cent, and Coptic sources going as high as 20 per cent.

Recently a Coptic bishop told worshippers in a church in Cairo that today there are between 10 and 15 million Copts in Egypt, out of an overall population of almost 79 million according to the 2006 census.

Surprisingly, the census bureau in Egypt has not released figures concerning Christians since 1986. Following the release of the results of the 2006 census, the head of the bureau was asked about the omission. He said the figures were left confidential in order not to "spark anyone's anger".

Religious minorities in Egypt, mainly Christians, have generally been able to practice their faith without severe persecution, though this has varied through the ages.

Following the Arab conquest of Egypt in 642 AD, and throughout the Middle Ages, freedom of religion for what Islamic jurisprudence calls "ahl al-dhimma" (non-Muslims under a pact of protection or dhimma), varied according to who ruled the country.

In the 11th century, the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, perceived by many present-day Egyptians as having been mentally deranged, is said to have ordered the demolition of most churches and synagogues in Egypt, Syria and Palestine, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, only to order their rebuilding later.

When Egypt came under Ottoman rule in 1517, the Ottomans sought to organise the building of non-Islamic places of worship by a special decree of the Sultan, thus issuing the Hatti Hamayoun, or the Hamayoun law, a modified form of which is still in place.

Many Copts, as well as Muslims, have been calling for the past 35 years - since the first clash between Muslims and Copts erupted over the construction of churches issue in 1972 - for a modern unified law for all places of worship, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

A draft of this law has recently been presented to parliament, and is expected to see the light of the day after the end of summer recess.

But why did tensions rise in the past 35 years?

Many secular Egyptians claim that it began under the rule of former president Anwar Sadat, who declared himself a Muslim president leading a Muslim people.

Sadat sought the help of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, they say, and to appease them he amended an article in the constitution to the effect that Islamic sharia (Islamic law) became "the" source of legislation, rather than "a" source of legislation as was the case previously.

Other observers, however, claim that the idea of "Muslims and Christians living harmoniously throughout the centuries" is simply not true.

"The history of the Copts is full of constraints and discrimination. Quiet times are an exception," says Bishop Morcos Aziz Zakariya of the Hanging Church in Masr El-Qadima, Cairo.

"Currently, Copts are suffering outright discrimination, and we should not attempt to embellish this fact," he adds.

"Matters are getting worse, and the state is not moving one bit," says thesoftly- spoken bishop. According to him, "Christian youth has started to wake up and deal openly with this."

Many observers, including Christian experts, believe that the regime's power struggle with the Muslim Brotherhood ties its hands. As a wave of Islamist religiosity engulfs the country, the regime is competing for legitimacy with the Brotherhood, and does not want to appear less Islamic.

This is certainly the case when it comes to building new churches, or even renovating old ones.

Archaic laws mentioned above that pertainto the building and renovation of places of worship are quite restrictive.Copts are not allowed to build churches near strategic areas.

A church has to be away from the Nile, creeks, water facilities, another church, mosques, railway stations, important monuments or government property.

For restoration work, finding property rights is essential even if the church is hundreds of years old. The approval of state security authorities is usually required, and in many cases they do not grant permission for fear of antagonizing Islamist zealots.

"Restricting churches in that sense issick," says Youssef Sidhom, editor of Watani, a newspaper specializing in Coptic affairs.Some fanatical Muslims want to abolish churches."

"I can give you hundreds of examples of churches not granted permits when they were in dire need of restoration," says Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, leading member of the Wafd Party. "Churches that are falling apart, yet permits are not issued for security reasons."

Beside the disputes over churches, Copts have lately perceived any violent incidents as part of a tug of a war against their religion. Consequently, they have started embracing "a culture of martyrdom," says Rafiq Habib, an authority on Coptic affairs, and a Christian himself though not a Copt.

Some Copts are now perceiving themselves as victims of systematic oppression, and believe that they are as persecuted as the first Christians. "This culture represents a resident danger," says Habib.

On a forum on the website Free Copts, a writer published the names of Christian victims in internal clashes in Egypt, terming the victims "martyrs."

There are other Christians who refuse to consider "discrimination" as the sole reason behind Coptic agitation.

Father Safwat Al-Bayadi, head of the Egyptian Anglican Church, attributes the troubles to the fact that "people are suffering in general," he says.

"Young people are fed up and are unable to speak out. They are poor and unemployed, this is why they fight one another," Bayadi says.

He also blames religious rhetoric in mosques and churches, where the desperate conditions of the young are manipulated to stir trouble and garner support.

According to Bayadi, young people sit in a mosque or a church and think the cleric is speaking the word of God. "If the cleric tells them: 'go kill a man', they will probably obey." - dpa

CHRONOLOGY: Clashes between Muslims and Copts in Egypt since 1972

Cairo (dpa) - Below is a chronology of incidents of violence between Egypt's Muslim and Coptic Christian communities since 1972:

November 6, 1972 - A school in Khanka in Qalyoubiya province, used unofficially for Coptic church services, becomes the site of fierce clashes as police intervene to halt the practice. The incident is the first clash over the issue of Christian places of worship in contemporary Egyptian history.

1981 - Shortly before the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981, more than 17 people are killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in the working-class district of Zawiya Hamra in Cairo. The clashes are sparked by a rumour that a church was to be constructed on a site allocated for a mosque.

September 5, 1981 - Sadat orders the arrest of 170 Coptic priests, among hundreds of other opposition figures. He discharges Pope Shenouda III, and replaces him by a five-bishop committee headed byBishop Samuel. Pope Shenouda goes into seclusion in Wadi al-Natroun Monastery.

October 6, 1981 - Sadat is assassinated and Bishop Samuel, seated close to him, is also killed.

March 2, 1990 - Looting and torching of Christian property in Abu-Qarqas, in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya.

September 20, 1991 - Muslim fanatics destroy the property of Copts in al-Muneera al-Gharbiya in Greater Cairo.

June 19, 1992 - Three Copts killed in the village of Sanbou, in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut. Coptic property suffers damage, and some houses are allegedly burnt down.

October 16, 1992 - A church in Tama, in the Upper Egyptian province of Souhag, is attacked, and clashes between Muslim and Christians lead to the death of several Copts.

March 11, 1994 - Two monks and three church visitors killed in al-Muharraq Monastery in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut.

February 3, 1997 - A group of Copts are attacked in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya, and Christian property damaged. Earlier, three Copts were found dead in a field in Minya. The perpetrators, allegedly Muslim extremists, were never found.

February 14, 1997 - Three Copts killed in al-Fakriya district of Abu Qarqas in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya, the site of previous sectarian clashes.

August 1998 - The death of a Muslim, allegedly killed by a Christian, provokes a series of vengeful fierce clashes between Muslim and Copts in Kosheh, a village in the Upper Egyptian province of Suhag. Two Copts are killed in retaliation. Local security forces cordon off the village and rounds up more than 1,200 Copts according to some reports - including priests.

1999-2000 - Violent clashes in Khoseh continue after both sides reportedly arm themselves following the first incident. In one incident, reports said around two dozen Muslims and Copts lost their lives. A wave of arrests follows.

December 2004 - The 48-year-old Wafaa Constantine, wife of a Coptic clergyman in the province of Fayoumb, converts to Islam. The incident sparks mass protests. Some Copts go on a hunger strike demanding the return of Constantine to the Coptic Church. National security police hide Constantine to protect her, an act which enrages Copts. Pope Shenouda retreats to Wadi al-Natroun Monastery in protest. Tensions rise and at least 34 rioting Copts are arrested.

December 3, 2004 - Muslims attack a Coptic church in the village of Munqateen in Minya province. Some 25 people are arrested.

October 2005 - St George's Church in Alexandria is attacked because of the leaking of a CD of a play performed inside the church and allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

January 2006 - An unauthorized church in Udayssat near Luxorprovince is attacked on the eve of Epiphany services.

April 14, 2006 - Four Coptic churches are attacked in Alexandria by the same knife-wielding Muslim, who authorities claim was "mentally deranged.” A 78-year-old Copt dies. Egypt's second-largest city experiences weeks of sectarian rioting.

May 2007 - In the village of Bamha, in Giza province on the outskirts of Greater Cairo, a group of Muslims burn down some 25 houses and five shops belonging to Copts because they were allegedly holding unauthorized services in a house. More than 11 Copts are injured in the incident.

June 2007 - A fist fight between two children - a Copt and the Muslim son of a mosque imam - in Alexandria ignites the anger of both Copts and Muslims in the popular district of Dekhela and clashes ensue. Riot police intervene to contain the violence.

Link: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTI0MjAyMjUw

FEATURE: Christian Copts in Egypt: Between integration and dissent (ARABIC)

الحركات الاسلامية في مصر: وماذا عن الاقباط؟
الاقباط في مصر يشعرون انهم ضحايا لقمع منهجي ويعتقدون أنهم يتعرضون لاضطهاد مماثل لما تعرض له المسيحيون الاوائل.

ميدل ايست اونلاين القاهرة - من باكينام عامر
في كفاحهم ضد ما يوصف بالتحامل أو حتى الاضطهاد الصريح يبدو أن قسما كبيرا من أقباط مصر قد وجدوا الملاذ في الكنيسة حيث يصلون ويتعبدون وينفثون عن غضبهم أيضا.
بعد عظة الاربعاء بكاتدرائية سان مارك في القاهرة يأخذ البابا شنودة الثالث بابا الاسكندرية وبطريرك الكرازة المرقسية في تلقي الاسئلة والاستماع إلى شكاوى رعاياه الاقباط. وغالبا ما يستقبل بالزغاريد و تقابل مداخلاته بالغناء والتحية ويشير عدد من المصلين إليه بوصفه "رئيس جمهورية الاقباط".
والكنيسة القبطية المصرية واحدة من أقدم الكنائس في العالم وهى تمثل غالبية المسيحيين الذين يعيشون في البلاد. وكلمة قبطي مأخوذة من الكلمة اليونانية ايجبتوس التي تعني مصر وهكذا فان كلمة قبطي بحسب التعريف تعني سكان البلاد الاصليين.
ونسبة الاقباط في مصر بالنسبة للعدد الاجمالي للسكان كانت محل جدل كبير مؤخرا حيث تزعم بعض المصادر الاسلامية أنها لا تتعدى 5 في المئة وفي المقابل فان ثمة مصادر قبطية تصل بهذه النسبة إلى 20 في المئة.
ومؤخرا ابلغ أسقف قبطي المصلين في احدى كنائس القاهرة أن عدد الاقباط اليوم يتراوح بين 10 ملايين و15 مليونا من مجموع سكان مصر الذي بلغ نحو 79 مليونا بحسب إحصاء عام 2006.
ومن الغريب أن الجهاز المركزي للتعبئة العامة والاحصاء لم يكشف عن الارقام الخاصة بعدد المسيحيين منذ عام 1986. وعقب الاعلان عن أرقام إحصاء عام 2006 سئل رئيس الجهاز عن هذه المسألة فأجاب بان الارقام تركت طي الكتمان بهدف "عدم إغضاب احد".
والاقليات الدينية في مصر وتضم المسيحيين بالاساس تمارس حقوقها الدينية دون مضايقات حادة بشكل عام وان كان الامر يختلف من عهد لاخر.
فعقب فتح مصر عام 642 ميلاية وطوال العصور الوسطى فان حرية العبادة لما يطلق عليه في الادبيات الاسلامية باهل الذمة (وهم سكان البلاد من غير المسلمين) تفاوتت درجتها بحسب هوية الحاكم.
ففي القرن الـ 11 الميلادي وتحت قيادة الحاكم بأمر الله الخليفة الفاطمي الذي يري المصريون المحدثون انه كان مختل عقليا يقال انه أمر بتدمير غالبية الكنائس والمعابد اليهودية في مصر وسوريا وفلسطين ثم عاد في وقت لاحق وأمر بإعادة بنائها.
وعندما خضعت مصر للحكم العثماني عام 1517 عمل العثمانيون على تنظيم عملية بناء دور العبادة لغير المسلمين ومن ثم أصدر السلطان المرسوم أو الخط (القانون) الهمايوني الذي لا يزال معمولا به حتى يومنا هذا بعد إدخال بعض التعديلات عليه.
وعلى مدى الاعوام الـ 35 الماضية والمطالب لا تنقطع من جانب عدد كبير من الاقباط فضلا عن مسلمين أيضا – ومنذ وقوع أول صدام بين المسلمين والاقباط بسبب بناء الكنائس عام 1972 – بقانون جديد موحد لبناء دور العبادة كافة. وتم تقديم مشروع قانون بهذا الشأن إلى مجلس الشعب المصري ( البرلمان) ومن المتوقع أن يري النور عقب عطلة البرلمان الصيفية.
لكن يثور التساؤل الان عن السبب وراء ازدياد التوتر على مدى تلك الاعوام.
يزعم عدد كبير من العلمانيين المصريين انه بدأ في ظل حكم الرئيس السابق انور السادات الذي أعلن انه رئيس مسلم لشعب مسلم. كان السادات يسعى لنيل دعم جماعة الاخوان المسلمين – على حد قولهم – ومن اجل استرضائها قام بإدخال مادة في الدستور تنص على أن الشريعة الاسلامية هي المصدر الاساسي للتشريع وذلك بديلا عن مادة سابقة تقول أنها فقط احد مصادر التشريع.
بيد أن ثمة مراقبين آخرين يزعمون أن فكرة "تعايش المسلمين والمسيحيين عبر القرون" هي ببساطة غير حقيقية.
يقول الاسقف مرقص عزيز زكريا كاهن الكنيسة المعلقة في حي مصر القديمة في القاهرة "إن تاريخ الاقباط ملئ بالاضطهاد. ولم تكن الاوقات الهادئة إلا استثناء من هذا.
وأضاف الاسقف "الاقباط اليوم يعانون من اضطهاد شامل وعلينا ألا نجمل الحقيقة. والامور تزداد سوءا والدولة لا تتحرك قيد أنملة. والشباب المسيحي بدأ يستيقظ ويتعامل بشكل مباشر مع هذا الوضع".
ويعتقد عدد كبير من المراقبين ومن بينهم خبراء مسيحيين أن صراع النظام على السلطة مع جماعة الاخوان المسلمين يقيد يداه. ومع اجتياح موجة من الصحوة الاسلامية البلاد فان النظام يتنافس على الشرعية مع الاخوان المسلمين ولا يريد أن يبدو اقل "إسلامية".
وهذا هو الحال بالتأكيد عندما يتعلق الامر بقضية بناء كنائس جديدة أو حتى ترميم القديم منها. فالقوانين سالفة الذكر المتعلقة ببناء وترميم دور العبادة تحمل قيودا شديدة.
فمثلا من المحظور بناء الكنائس بالقرب من المناطق الاستراتيجية. فالكنيسة لا بد أن تكون بعيدة عن النيل والجداول والمصارف المائية وألا تكون بجوار كنيسة أو مسجد آخر أو محطة للسكك الحديدية أو المعالم الهامة أو ممتلكات حكومية. أما عملية إعادة بناء كنيسة فانه يلزم إبراز حق الملكية حتى لو كانت الكنيسة شيدت قبل مئات السنين. كما أن موافقة سلطات الامن مطلوبة عادة وفي حالات عديدة لا تمنح هذه السلطات التصريح المطلوب خشية إغضاب المتعصبين الاسلاميين. يقول يوسف سيدهم رئيس تحرير صحيفة وطني المعنية بشئون الاقباط "تقييد بناء الكنائس بهذا الاسلوب أمر يبعث على الغثيان. بعض المتعصبين الاسلاميين يريدون تدمير الكنائس".
يقول منير فخري عبد النور العضو البارز بحزب الوفد "أستطيع أن أعطي مئات الامثلة على كنائس لم تمنح لها تصاريح بالترميم رغم أنها كانت في اشد الاحتياج إليها. وثمة كنائس آيلة للسقوط ومع هذا لم يمنح لها تصريح لأسباب امنية".
والي جانب النزاعات بشان الكنائس فان الاقباط بداوا في الآونة الاخيرة يفسرون أي حادث عنف في إطار حرب تشن على دينهم. وبالتالي فإنهم راحوا يتبنون "ثقافة الاستشهاد " بحسب رفيق حبيب وهو احد المراجع في الشئون القبطية وهو نفسه مسيحيا وان كان ينتمي إلى الطائفة الانجيلية التي تشكل أقلية بين المسيحيين في مصر .
ويري بعض الاقباط اليوم في أنفسهم ضحايا لقمع منهجي ويعتقدون أنهم يتعرضون لاضطهاد مماثل لما تعرض له المسيحيون الاوائل. يقول حبيب "إن هذه الثقافة تمثل خطرا كامنا".
في منتدى على موقع الاقباط الاحرار على الانترنت نشر كاتب اسماء ضحايا مسيحيين لمصادمات داخلية في مصر ووصف الضحايا بـ "الشهداء".
لكن ثمة أقباط آخرين يرفضون اعتبار "التمييز" السبب الوحيد لغضب الاقباط". ويعزو الاب صفوت البياضي المشكلات إلى "معاناة الشعب ككل".
يقول البياضي "الشباب فاض به الكيل وهو عاجز عن الكلام علانية. إنهم يعانون من الفقر والبطالة لذا فإنهم يحاربون بعضهم البعض". كما انه يلوم رجال الدين في الكنائس والمساجد على الاسلوب الناري الذي يستخدمونه في خطبهم ومواعظهم حيث يستغلون معاناة الشباب في اثارة المشكلات وكسب التأييد الشعبي.
ويتابع البياضي ان الشاب يجلس في مسجد أو كنيسة وهو يعتقد ان الامام أو القس يقول كلمة الله . ويردف "إذا قال له رجل الدين اقتل فلانا فانه ربما لا يتردد في تنفيذ الامر".

Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/?id=50096

CHRONOLOGY: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (companion to the two main stories -- scroll down)

Cairo - Below is a chronology outlining key events in the history of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, the Islamist organization that has grown to become the country's largest opposition faction.

July 1928 - Hassan al-Banna, a school teacher in the Suez Canal province of Ismailiya, founds the Society of the Muslim Brothers, generally known as the Muslim Brotherhood.

January 1936 - Street violence takes place between paramilitary groups belonging to political parties, including the paramilitary wing of the Brotherhood.

December 1936 - Restrictions placed by parliament on the formation of paramilitary groups, following the ratification of the 1936 Anglo- Egyptian Treaty granting a form of independence to Egypt which was under British occupation since 1882.

October 1938 - Congress for the Defence of Palestine formed by Egyptian parliamentarians. Brotherhood members active in campaigning against Jewish settlement in Palestine.

October 1939 - Martial law imposed because of World War II.

January 1946 - A pro-British minister is assassinated in protest at Britain's continued military presence in Egypt following the end of World War II. Anwar Sadat, to become Egypt's president in the 1970s is among the assassins. A wave of political unrest sweeps the country for the rest of the year, but Brotherhood members support the pro-British government and clash with communists who enjoy wide influence among students and workers.

November 1948 - Egyptian army defeated in the 1948 first Arab- Israeli War. Police arrest hundreds of Brotherhood volunteers who went to Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948, to fight on the side of the Palestinians.

December 1948 - Cairo police chief assassinated and the Brotherhood group is legally banned. In the same month prime minister Nuqrashi Pasha is assassinated, allegedly in retaliation for the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood. February 1949 - Al-Banna, the founder and general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, is assassinated, allegedly by the secret police.

March 1950 - Trial of Brotherhood members suspected of the two assassinations.

July 23, 1952 - The Free Officers led by Gamal Abdel-Nasser assume power, and seek the support of Brotherhood members. Nasser, allegedly, was a member of the group for a short while before he founded the officers' movement which overthrew the monarchy.

January 1954 - Brotherhood again banned after street clashes in Cairo and elsewhere.

October 1954 - Following an alleged failed attempt on Nasser's life that month, hundreds of Brotherhood members arrested. Six Brotherhood members were executed. The incident marks the beginning of a crackdown on Brotherhood members and supporters during the Nasser era. Most leaders remained in jail until released by Sadat in the 1970s.

September 1965 - Wide arrests of new Brotherhood members, as well as leaders - such as Sayed Qutb - who were released in 1964.

August 29, 1966 - Qutb and two other Brotherhood leaders are hanged after being tried for allegedly plotting to overthrow the regime.

1974 - The last batch of Brotherhood leaders released by Sadat, following the 1973 October War.

September 5, 1981 - Sadat cracks down on all opposition forces, including the Brotherhood, for opposing his peace treaty with Israel. A month later Sadat is assassinated during a military parade marking the victory of the 1973 October War.

May 1984 - The Brotherhood forms an alliance with the Wafd Party and fields candidates for parliamentary elections that year, thus signaling the group's first attempt to win power via the ballot box.

May 1987 - As parliament is dissolved, the Brotherhood forms an election alliance with the Islamist Labour Party. Together, they coin the slogan "Islam is the Solution"." The group wins 35 seats in the new parliament.

October 1990 - As the Egyptian army prepares to join the international alliance formed to expel the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, the regime resorts to repressive measures which leads the opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to boycott parliamentary elections. Throughout the decade Brotherhood members, opposed to both Israel and US intervention in Iraq, are systematically clamped down on, only enjoying brief spells of warm relations with the regime of Hosny Mubarak.

November 2005 - The Brotherhood fields lesser-known group members as independent candidates in parliamentary elections, and wins 88 seats in the present parliament.

November 2006 - Leaders of the Brotherhood arrested. Property and business assets of 40 wealthy group members, including Deputy General Guide Khairat el-Sahter, frozen for alleged money-laundering. The 40 defendants presently await a military trial.

Copyright © 2007 Respective Author

Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/80639.html

*image from news.bbc.co.uk (through images.google.com)

Muslim Brotherhood: Past Struggles, Future Challenges

Published Date: July 10, 2007
By Pakinam Amer

Cairo - The present leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood, members of which are known in Arabic as the Ikhwan, has achieved what other Islamist groups have so far failed to do: made its war against the Egyptian regime "holy" without spilling one drop of blood.

"The path ahead is long - but it would be shorter with a belief in peaceful, civilized change," Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood's second- in-command, said last month in his "Letter to Egyptians", an editorial posted regularly on the Ikhwan's website.

Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood, one of the oldest grassroots organizations in the Sunni Islamic world, has been the ideological inspiration for many of the Islamist movements that have emerged over the past 50 years.In the 1930s and 40s, the group had a strong paramilitary wing, which fought against Jewish settlers in Palestine.

Thousands of Brotherhood volunteers went to Palestine in 1947 to fight against the creation of the State of Israel. Upon their return to Egypt, they were rounded up and put in concentration camps.

In 1948, the Brotherhood clashed with the Egyptian government and assassinated the police chief of Cairo: the government responded by banning the group. They, in turn, assassinated the prime minister, prompting authorities to kill the group's founder Hassan Al-Banna in February 1949.

While the Brotherhood's paramilitary wing has since been dissolved, the group still has a strong affinity with the Palestinian cause.

Former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat is said to have joined the group while studying in Egypt, and the spiritual leader of Hamas, the late Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, was also a Brotherhood member.

Following the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952, the group enjoyed a brief spell of good relations with Egypt's new rulers, the Free Officers, led by Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

However this did not last, and the group was again banned in 1954.

Members of the Brotherhood were subsequently imprisoned and tortured by the Nasser regime and a number of its leaders were executed. Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat, ordered the release of hundreds of Brotherhood leaders in the early 1970s.

Today observers believe the group's widespread influence, which seems to have become stronger as a result of the persecution it has suffered, has prompted yet another clampdown on the group by the present regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

However, thus far the Brotherhood seems to be winning this battle, claiming to speak "in the name of God", as Brotherhood members put it, in a society where strict forms of religiosity are increasing day by day.

In 1987, the group decided to try to gain power by legal means, running candidates in that year's parliamentary elections. It garnered 35 seats in parliament as a result, with current leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef becoming the first General Guide of the Brotherhood to be elected an Egyptian MP.

Since then, the regime has responded by trying to make it impossible for the group to contest elections.

Since the group is still legally banned, it must field candidates as independents, 88 of whom won seats in the last polls. The group now holds some 20 per cent of mandates in the Egyptian parliament, making it the largest opposition bloc.

"The government thinks that its use of excessive force will break our backs, throttle our actions and stop our expansion," said a statement from the Brotherhood after the arrest of some of its senior leaders last November.

"We tell them: You have arrested more than 20,000of our members over the past decades, but this has only multiplied people's love for us and doubled their support."

The regime is apparently doing whatever it can, whether through the official media or by ordering police action against the group, to uproot it from Egyptian society.

Yet it is not easy to outmanoeuvre a group that according to its motto, coined 80 years ago and still chanted today, takes the "Prophet Muhammad as our Imam, the Holy Quran as our constitution, and death for the sake of God as our greatest aspiration".

Rhetoric aside, the Brotherhood is an effective political force, and in recent campaigns it has promised "democracy" to all, including women and Egypt's Christians, the Copts, who have been promised "equal opportunities" with Muslims.

In the introduction to a "Political Reform Initiative" recently issued by the group, Akef writes: "We stand little chance of achieving development in any field of our lives unless we return to our religion, apply our sharia (Islamic Law), follow the path of science and modern technology and acquire as much knowledge as we can."

"In this way we seek God's blessings," he wrote, repeating similar rhetoric throughout the document, which argues for reform in the legal, educational, economic, social and even scientific fields.

Despite the publication of policy documents of this sort, in order for the group to be recognized as a political party it has to be approved by the Parties Commission as stipulated in the Egyptian constitution.

However, Akef says, while "we have always wanted to transform ourselves into a political party, we won't do so until the freedom to form parties is granted without the present restrictions."

The Brotherhood, it seems, does not mind waiting until the right moment arrives. Indeed, it has long shown itself to be adept in the art of staying put, time spent in the prisons of successive Egyptian regimes having taught its members patience. - dpa

Link: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzkyOTM5MzA5

FEATURE: The Muslim Brotherhood: past struggle, future challenges (ARABIC)

الحركات الاسلامية في مصر: الأخوان المسلمون بين نضال الماضي وتحديات المستقبل

القيادة الحالية للإخوان المسلمين بمصر تنجح في جعل حربها ضد النظام المصري مقدسة دون إراقة قطرة دم واحدة.

ميدل ايست اونلاين القاهرة - من باكينام عامر
نجحت القيادة الحالية للإخوان المسلمين بمصر في تحقيق ما فشلت جماعات إسلامية أخرى في تحقيقه حيث جعلت حربها ضد النظام المصري "مقدسة" دون إراقة قطرة دم واحدة.
وقال ثاني أبرز القيادات الإخوانية محمد حبيب في مقال نشره الموقع الإلكتروني للجماعة المحظورة رسميا في مصر إن الطريق مازال طويلا غير أن الإيمان بأهمية التغيير السلمي والمتحضر سيجعله قصيرا.
وكانت جماعة "الإخوان المسلمون" التي تأسست عام 1928 وهي واحدة من أقدم المنظمات الشعبية في دول العالم الاسلامي السنية مصدر إلهام للكثير من الحركات الإسلامية التي ظهرت على مدار الخمسين عاما الماضية.
وخلال الثلاثينيات والأربعينيات من القرن الماضي كان للجماعة جناح مسلح قوي حارب ضد المستوطنين اليهود في الأراضي الفلسطينية. وسافر الآلاف من أعضاء الإخوان كمتطوعين إلى فلسطين عام 1947 للقتال ضد إنشاء دولة إسرائيل. ولدى عودتهم إلى مصر اعتقلوا.
وفي عام 1948 اصطدمت جماعة الإخوان المسلمين مع الحكومة المصرية وقتلت قائد شرطة القاهرة. وكان رد الحكومة حينئذ هو حظر الجماعة. وردت الجماعة على ذلك باغتيال رئيس الوزراء ما دفع السلطات إلى قتل مؤسس الجماعة حسن البنا في شباط/فبراير عام .1949
ورغم أن الجناح المسلح للجماعة جرى حله منذ ذلك الحين إلا أنه مازالت للجماعة صلة قوية بالقضية الفلسطينية.
ويقال إن الرئيس الفلسطيني الراحل ياسر عرفات انضم إلى الجماعة أثناء دراسته في مصر. كما كان الزعيم الروحي الراحل لحركة حماس الشيخ أحمد ياسين عضوا بالجماعة.
وبعد الإطاحة بالملكية في عام 1952 حظيت الجماعة بعلاقات جيدة مع الحكام الجدد في مصر (الضباط الأحرار) بقيادة جمال عبد الناصر لبعض الوقت لكن شهر العسل بين الجانبين لم يدم طويلا وحظرت الجماعة مجددا في عام .1954
وأعقب ذلك حملة اعتقالات وتعذيب من جانب النظام ضد أعضاء جماعة الإخوان المسلمين وشمل ذلك إعدام عدد من قيادات الجماعة. وأمر خليفة عبد الناصر الرئيس الراحل أنور السادات بإطلاق سراح المئات من قياديي الجماعة في أوائل السبعينيات من القرن الماضي.
ويعتقد محللون بأن النفوذ الواسع للجماعة اليوم سبب في الحملة الحالية ضدها من جانب حكومة الرئيس حسني مبارك.
غير أن الجماعة تبدو وكأنها الفائزة في المعركة الحالية مع النظام المصري لأنها تتحدث باسم الدين في مجتمع يزيد فيه التدين يوما بعد يوم.
وفي عام 1987 حاولت جماعة الإخوان المسلمين الوصول إلى الحكم بوسائل قانونية فخاض أعضاؤها الانتخابات البرلمانية وفازوا بـ 36 مقعدا. وكان المرشد العام للإخوان المسلمين الحالي محمد مهدي عاكف هو أول عضو بالجماعة يحصل على الحصانة البرلمانية.
ومنذ ذلك الحين كان رد فعل النظام المصري هو محاولة منع أعضاء الجماعة المحظورة قانونا من المنافسة في أي انتخابات.
ولأن الجماعة محظورة يخوض أعضاؤها المنافسة في أي انتخابات كمستقلين. وفاز 88 من أعضاء الجماعة بمقاعد في البرلمان الصمري الحالي ما جعلهم أكبر كتلة معارضة.
وقالت جماعة الإخوان المسلمين في بيان عقب إلقاء القبض على عدد من قياداتها في تشرين ثان/نوفمبر الماضي "إن الحكومة تعتقد أن استخدامها المفرط للقوة سيكسر عزيمتنا .. لكننا نقول لهم: إن اعتقال أكثر من 20 ألفا من أعضائنا على مدار العقود الماضية أدى فحسب إلى زيادة حب الناس ودعمهم لنا".
وحرصت جماعة الإخوان المسلمين في حملاتها الأخيرة على التعهد بتحقيق الديمقراطية للجميع بما فيهم النساء كما وعدت أقباط مصر بفرص متكافئة مع المسلمين.
وأكد عاكف في مبادرة إصلاح سياسية أطلقتها الجماعة في الآونة الأخيرة تمسك الجماعة بالشريعة الإسلامية واتباع طريق العلم والتكنولوجيا الحديثة والسعي لاكتساب كل أشكال المعرفة.
ودعت الوثيقة إلى إصلاحات في المجالات القانونية والتعليمية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والعلمية.
وقال عاكف إن الجماعة حاولت دائما أن تتحول إلى حزب سياسي لكن ذلك لن يتحقق إلا بعد السماح بحرية تشكيل الأحزاب.

Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/?id=50088

http://meo.tv/?id=50088=50088&format=0

INTERVIEW: Muslim Brotherhood leader on prison, belief, and Mubarak

By Pakinam Amer
Jul 9, 2007, 4:59 GMT

Cairo - 'I used to say to myself, tomorrow I will meet the beloved ones, Prophet Mohammed and his companions,' recounts Mohammed Mahdi Akef of his time in prison awaiting his execution.

Akef is the political leader of the Society of Muslim Brothers, also known as Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement which since its inception in Egypt in 1928 has become the driving opposition force in many Arab countries.

A source of ideological inspiration to many of the world's Islamist movements, the group officially rejects violent means to achieve its aim of an Islamic state but is nonetheless accused of links with extremist groups and of fomenting armed action.

Speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in Cairo, Akef recalls how in 1954 he was charged with involvement in an attempt on the life of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Sentenced to death, the sentence was later commuted to life with hard labour.

Akef was number seven on the state's execution list at one point. 'They executed six Brotherhood leaders one day,' he remembers, 'but postponed the rest until the next.'

While he was lying in a narrow military cell waiting for the sentence to be carried out, a guard came in and told him he had received a phone call. It was his mother's voice on the other end, telling him that 'there would be no execution.'

'I was certain that this was the end, and I was ready for it,' Akef says. The death sentence concentrated his focus so much that he 'did not waste a single minute while in prison.'

'I had a vision for the future that I wrote during that time,' Akef says, adding that he has always refused to publish his 'vision.'

Akef was eventually released from prison in 1974 following Nasser's death and during the rule of his successor Anwar Sadat. Shortly after his release he left the country, first to Saudi Arabia then to Germany.

He returned to Egypt in the 1980s, and was arrested in 1996 on charges of leading the Germany-based international wing of the Brotherhood. He was released in 1999.

If anything, such experiences of prison have made him stronger, Akef claims. 'Prison does not break those who have belief. Not even torture can do that. No force on Earth can conquer the bearers of religious traditions,' the 79-year-old says.

Today, the General Guide, or Murshid, of the Muslim Brotherhood says the group are engaged in an 'open war' with the Egyptian regime that has reached new heights.

The situation today is 'worse than that in the prisons of Nasser,' Akef says.

Egypt's current president, Hosny Mubarak, has slammed the Brotherhood for its desire to bring religion onto the country's political stage, and Egypt's state-owned newspapers refer to the group simply as 'the banned one' despite its parliamentary representation.

Mubarak was recently quoted by the press as saying that the group constituted 'a danger to national security.' If the Brotherhood ever came to power, Mubarak said, the Egyptian economy would be wrecked, and the country would be isolated internationally.

Hundreds of members have been rounded up during the past year on charges of belonging to an illegal organization, while Brotherhood journalists have been harassed, and a group-affiliated newspaper closed down.

The group is fiercely attacked in the state-controlled media. 'What we are facing now is worse than during any other period we have passed through,' Akef says, 'not only because of what is happening to us, but because of the calamities hitting the entire ummah (Muslim nation).'

Akef was born in 1928, the year of the Brotherhood's founding, joining the movement's ranks when he was just 12 years old and when the group's founder Hassan al-Banna, who was assassinated in 1949, was at the height of his influence.

'Freedom reigned' in those days, Akef remembers. 'Everyone, whether good or bad, was left to do what he wanted. No one spied on you or asked what you were up to.'

Akef dedicated his life to the movement. Today, he is as serious as he was when a young man. Asked about his attitude towards the cinema and other forms of entertainment, Akef says that while young he used to love the movie 'Gone with the Wind,' but today he is a Brother above all else. 'I understand politics,' he comments, 'not the arts or entertainment.'

Upon joining the group, Akef was told that the Brotherhood's para- military wing, since dissolved, needed trainers. He was more than happy to comply, thus enrolling at the school of physical education, rather than the school of engineering which he had originally wanted to join.

While he has seen many trials and tribulations over the years, Akef is today more troubled than ever about the future.

The ummah is under threat, he says, and 'losing the ummah would be worse than jail or physical torture. We have been able to handle the latter as long as it was in the interests of the ummah. We have been persecuted for over 50 years now.'

Through speeches that draw on the life of the Prophet Mohammed and other Muslim figures, the Brotherhood has tried to draw attention to events in the Palestinian Territories, Iraq and Lebanon and to developments that they claim are leading to the disintegration of the Islamic ummah.

The Palestinian situation has long been at the top of the group's agenda, with the Brotherhood holding consciousness-raising campaigns about the Arab-Israeli struggle, which they term 'an Islamic nationalist cause.'

For Akef, the former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat had 'abandoned the Palestinian cause,' when he signed the Camp David peace accords with the Israelis and Americans. He however now claims that 'Mubarak has abandoned it even further.'

'The only hope we have is hope in God Almighty,' says the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood.

'If our lives were not based on belief in God and in his prophets, then there would be no meaning in any other belief. The reality is that religion holds the keys to the future.'

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1327588.php/INTERVIEW_Muslim_Brotherhood_leader_on_prison_belief_and_Mubarak

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