COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Muslim Brotherhood in Ascent in Egypt


The neighborhood is looking a little run down lately. The long time neighbors are getting old, they quit spending on their homes some time back. Some of the new neighbors moving in, don't look quite so genteel. Maybe it's time to think about selling out.

Muslim Brotherhood in Ascent in Egypt

In recent weeks, the Brotherhood fought a fierce battle to win a significant chunk of seats in powerful trade unions, which include millions of workers in the enormous state-run industries, plus workers in the huge government bureaucracy.

In another sign of its growing influence, the Brotherhood last week forced parliament to debate a vote of no-confidence in the minister of culture, a longtime Mubarak confidante, after the minister said that wearing the hijab, or full Muslim headscarf, was a "step backward" for Egyptian women.

The minister remains in office but secular intellectuals immediately accused the group of using an off-the-cuff remark to bolster its political agenda.

"They (the Brotherhood) are trying to Islamize the society from below to reshape it the way they want," said Nabil Abdel Fatah, an expert at the Al Ahram Center for Strategic Studies.

"Don't believe the Brotherhood when they say they do not want to take over the country. That is only a pretense," wrote the government weekly Rose El Youssef in a banner headline.

When it happens, no one can say they didn't see it coming.

1 comment:

  1. The evidence supporting the gradual takeover of the mid-east (and eventually, the World) by Muslim Extremism has grown considerably. Does anyone out there know of any reports that our government is even aware of this?

    And, if so, are they treating the subject seriously?

    ReplyDelete