As an American, why should you care about the massive protests underway in Egypt right now? How does the unrest potentially affect you and the United States?
Three words: The Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, a radical Islamist organization that CBN News has covered extensively for several years now (including its activities in America: watch here), is the most powerful and well-organized opposition force in Egypt.
As I wrote yesterday, there is a real fear that the Brotherhood will take advantage of the current unrest in that country and rise to power, forming a hostile, Islamist government in the world's most populous and influential Arab state.
The first thing to go under such a regime, undoubtedly, would be Egypt's 32-year peace treaty with its neighbor, Israel. A Brotherhood-run Egyptian state would likely move into the Iran/Syria/Hamas/Hezbollah orbit in the hopes of finishing off Israel once and for all.
Any cordial relations with the U.S. would also likely fall by the wayside, although the Brotherhood would have no qualms about using the billions of dollars worth of military hardware that America has supplied to Egypt over the years.
At the same time, the Brotherhood could very well collaborate with Sunni terror groups like Al Qaeda. Yes, Al Qaeda and the Brothers have had their disagreements over the years, mainly over strategy. But Islamists have shown a history of putting aside their differences for what they view as the greater, short-term good of killing Christians and Jews. Witness Shia Iran's alliance with Sunni Hamas and secular/socialist Syria.
In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood provided the ideological inspiration for all modern Sunni Islamic terror groups, including Al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Khalid Shekih Mohammed were all members of the Brotherhood as young men, and American-born Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki has cited Brotherhood ideologues as inspiration. And by the way: Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In essence, Hamas is the Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood's goal is to impose Islamic sharia law, first on Egypt, then on the entire world, while re-establishing an Islamic caliphate that would unite all Muslim countries into one super-state governed by sharia. This re-established caliphate would then wage jihad against the West until it submitted to Islam, with the goal being a world governed by Allah's law.
Are you concerned yet?
Since seizing control of Egypt is phase one of the Brotherhood's master plan, it's no surprise that the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, is crowing about Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's possible ouster and demanding that Mubarak leave the country. The Brotherhood sees a golden opportunity here that it cannot let pass by. And considering that the main secular opposition leader, Mohammed El-Baradei, is known to be cozy with the Muslim Brothers (as well as being an anti-Israel, Iranian stooge in his former role as leader of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency), you have to think the Brotherhood is licking its chops at the possibilities of a Mubarak-free Egypt.
If this report from Stratfor is true, the Brotherhood is already putting a plan into action:
The Egyptian police are no longer patrolling the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Hamas armed men are entering into Egypt and are closely collaborating with the MB. The MB has fully engaged itself in the demonstrations, and they are unsatisfied with the dismissal of the Cabinet. They are insisting on a new Cabinet that does not include members of the ruling National Democratic Party.
Security forces in plainclothes are engaged in destroying public property in order to give the impression that many protesters represent a public menace. The MB is meanwhile forming people’s committees to protect public property and also to coordinate demonstrators’ activities, including supplying them with food, beverages and first aid.
According to this piece by Michael Totten, the Brotherhood may be welcomed in Egypt with open arms. Let's pray that's not the case.
Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News Terrorism Analyst
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