It's been a harrowing, historic week in Egypt. There have been days of chants and chaos, bloodshed mixed with moments of breathtaking solidarity between the protesters and the soldiers sent to subdue them. The flame of social unrest that first flickered in Tunisia has spread to Egypt, culminating with the announcement Tuesday by President Hosni Mubarak that after three decades in power, he would not run for another term. The clashes left government buildings in ashes, stores ransacked, and an economy teetering. Cairo's international airport teemed with Americans, Israel's and other foreigners trying to flee. Egypt's tourism industry froze. At Cairo's Liberation Square, Mubarak's announcement was met with jeers and calls for an immediate resignation. Pro-Mubarak forces struck back, attacking the protesters in waves. The country of 80 million, rich in history but bereft of personal freedoms, awaits the next stage.
I thought when Iran had its protests, & Neda Soltan was brutally murdered, that it would not be long until we would see the rest of the Islamic world go .... as Iran goes Islam goes! ~ After Iran had its Islamic Revolution ~ not to be outdone the Saudis implemented the same kind of restrictions in Arabia ~ like the black burqua dress for women and strict separations of the sexes in schools. I considered after the Iranian Riots/semi-Revolution eighteen months ago that Islam might be relaxed. The opposite happened & instead there was a tightening of Islam, especially concerning 'Women's Issues' and an increase in stoning, amputations and laws of death for apostasy. Many Iranians were protesting against some of these Islamic strictures ~ on the streets we saw blatant examples of freedom ~ also there is a growing disillusionment ~ that this Islam doesn't hold all the answers as promised. That is what we saw manifest in Tunisia too. And now in Cairo, Chaos!
No doubt in large part across the region this uprising is about food on the plate and money in the pocket in Egypt. And the Muslim Brotherhood has raised it's head ready to step into the vacuum as Mubarak's regime gets ever more rocky. What would that mean?? What are their goals?? The goals of the Muslim Brotherhood are exactly the same goals as their offshoots Hamas and Al Qaeda. Their main goal is to restore the caliphate, creating a single state run according to Islamic precepts that would stretch from Spain to Indonesia.
Islamists take a very long-term view of events. While Westerners think in terms of election cycles, Islamists think in terms of centuries. To these groups, a decade is an eye-blink. To Islamists, the Crusades were an unfortunate century or so, which they have since rectified. They look at Israel the same way ~ as a blip on the historical page ~ an anomaly that will inexorably be destroyed in the coming decades, due to their current strategy of picking away at it piece by piece and enlisting clueless Westerners to rally to the cause in the name of "international law" and "human rights" that the Muslim world itself utterly rejects. Their patience and ability to take the long view is their strength. The important word here is "strategy." The Islamists have one ~ a long term plan ~ and the West does not. Nor does Israel, apparently!
In most Arab countries, the Islamists have been quietly gathering strength for the eventual takeover of the lands ~ if not this decade then in the next or in five. They act with one voice. They use social service programmes to gain acceptance with the masses. They engage in outreach to gain adherents. They happily use new and old media to spread their ideology. They are imigrating into every country on planet earth and affecting demographics there. They are executing a brilliant, long term strategy. They have a strategy. We don't. And Israel, especially Eretz Yisrael, needs one. NOW!!!
It is sad ~ the pyramid builders might not be able to go and see the pyramids. Or worse, they may be removed as the Budda's of Bamiyan were. It all points to an opportunity for Israel's leadership to retake the Sinai .... NOW!!!
You are an excellent writer. Funny that when the Palestinians riot in Israel and believe me the riots get a lot more violent, Israel handle them a lot more smoothly then Egypt does and with less casualties. Still no one slam Egypt for their treatment of the riots yet when Israel steps on the toes of a Palestinian the world is in uproar.
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