Video: Muslim Brotherhood: "'United States of the Arabs' with Jerusalem as Its Capital"

On May 1, Egyptian Cleric Safwat Higazi launched the presidential campaign of Muhammad Mursi, telling a huge, enthusiastic crowd that Mursi will restore "'United States of the Arabs' with Jerusalem as Its Capital"

The video is from MEMRI, and the transcript follows.
The part of interest starts at about 17 seconds into the video:

This Is The Moderate Platform Of The Muslim Brotherhood?

Of course, the Brotherhood’s representatives also used their time in America to deny their theocratic aims. “As our name indicates, we are the Freedom and Justice Party,” said Asem, the Brotherhood website editor, on CNN. “And what we would like to achieve in Egypt is actually a civil democratic state that is based on the rule of law.” But the Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Khairat al-Shater, recently promised to give clerics a legislative role—an undemocratic structure if there ever was one.
Eric Trager

In uncovering The Muslim Brotherhood's Mendacious Charm Campaign in Washington, Eric Trager reviews the positions that The Muslim Brotherhood has publicly taken--despite the fact they have turned around and claimed the opposite during their recent visit to Washington.

Aside from the above denial of their intent to form a Islamist government, the Muslim Brotherhood has also been deceptive with the media in regards to other of its positions:

Barry Rubin: The Moderate U.S. Establishment Position? That the Muslim Brotherhood Might Be Moderate

The Moderate U.S. Establishment Position? That the Muslim Brotherhood Might Be Moderate

The Washington Post continues to talk relatively sensibly about Middle East developments. And yet its latest editorial also shows the type of contortions necessary to avoid facing the awful truth of the situation in the region.

The editorial concludes:

Election results notwithstanding, it seems clear that the vast majority of Egyptians as well as Tunisians seek economic progress and respect for human rights, and not a theocracy. Secular citizens and minorities, who make up a large part of the population, will not accept discrimination. Islamic movements will succeed in government, and retain their following, only if they recognize those realities.

Really? Let’s consider this text as it reveals precisely how the Obama Administration and the conventional wisdom in the U.S. policy establishment thinks about these issues:

“Election results notwithstanding, it seems clear that the vast majority of Egyptians as well as Tunisians seek economic progress and respect for human rights, and not a theocracy.”

Barry Rubin: U.S. Government and Media Cheer Muslim Brotherhood Regime in Egypt

U.S. Government and Media Cheer Muslim Brotherhood Regime in Egypt

A year ago we were told that Egypt was going to become a moderate democratic state ruled by hip Facebook kids. Now we are told that we should be grateful Egypt is going to become a moderate Islamist republic ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Western media and governments have made terrible mistakes that will destabilize the Middle East — even more — for the rest of our lives, oppress tens of millions of people, cause tens of thousands to flee their countries, and cause thousands to die.

Here is the prime example of that situation at this moment.

Barry Rubin: From Satire to Horror Reality Show: Radical Chic Conquers America

From Satire to Horror Reality Show: Radical Chic Conquers America

Homer: Hey! What's the problem here?
Lisa: We were fighting over which one of us loves you more.
Homer (touched): You were? (sniff) Aww. Well, go ahead.
Bart (pushing Lisa): You love him more!
Lisa (pushing Bart) No, you do!
Bart: No, I don't!
Lisa: Yes, you do!
--The Simpsons, "There's No Disgrace Like Home" episode

By Barry Rubin

In a recent article, Bruce Bawer reminds us of Tom Wolfe's famous 1970 article ridiculing the Park Avenue penthouse party of Leonard Bernstein, where various stars from stage, screen, and television came together to celebrate the Black Panther Party. 

Baswer compares that party to recent event at the Jewish Community Center in New York about combating “Islamophobia” in a way that whitewashes the real threat posed by revolutionary Islamism. In each case, well-to-do people thinking of themselves as highly virtuous and showing their "love" for freedom and tolerance are being manipulated by a political movement that would destroy them, as well as the United States more generally. 

Bawer’s piece is excellent. But on reading it I realized that he was thinking too small. The true contemporary parallel to the Bernstein party is not to some event of a few hundred people on Manhattan’s West Side it is to all of America. 

At the 1970 party, the Panthers’ representatives complained that they were being stigmatized as criminals when, as Bawer summarized it, they were really ”a peaceable group whose real concerns were indicated by the clinics and children’s breakfast programs.”

The Middle East Media Sampler 2/27/2012: Iran vs Turkey

From DG:

1) Brotherhood aids SCAF

This is something I've written about before. It's nice to see someone else mention it explicitly. An analysis in MEMRI is titled, Crisis between Egypt, U.S. Deepens over American Funding to Civil Society Organizations – Part II: The Islamists Join the Government/SCAF Campaign against the U.S.:

In February 2012, the anti-U.S. campaign was joined by Egypt's Islamists. Though they had previously made it a point to avoid any direct dispute with the U.S., as Egypt's conflict with the latter intensified they could no longer remain on the fence. Senior officials in the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) Freedom and Justice party, for example, warned that any cuts in U.S. aid would be met with a review of Egypt's peace agreement with Israel, as U.S. aid was a condition of the agreement. Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, deputy to MB General Guide Muhammad Badi', claimed that U.S. Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson was striving to incite fitna (civil strife) in Egypt, just as she had committed crimes in Pakistan. He added that Egypt had no need for U.S. aid, which he described as tainted and as an impediment to a free Egypt.

Likewise, Egypt's Salafi circles could no longer remain neutral on the issue. Salafi Sheikh Muhammad Hassan, formerly close to Mubarak and currently to the SCAF, launched an initiative to raise donations for the purpose of helping support Egypt's economy so that it would not have to rely on U.S. aid. The initiative won avid support among the Egyptian public; Egyptian businesses, both large and small; Egyptian businessmen and workers, who contributed portions of their salary; Egyptian banks, which paid their taxes early; and even prisoners.[8] The initiative was even taken up by the sheikh of Al-Azhar.[9]

Barry Rubin, for a while, has been writing that the Islamists, despite Western claims otherwise, has been working with the military to stifle dissent. The Muslim Brotherhood's support of the military crackdown on NGO's is the latest (and perhaps most blatant) example of this alliance.

2) Iran isolated

The Middle East Sampler 2/6/12: Muslim Brotherhood's Mixed Message On The West

From DG:

1) Muslim Brotherhood: West must help Egypt; Opposition: Western help is killing us 

The Washington Post reports Muslim Brotherhood official says West is neglecting Egypt:

Khairat El-Shater, deputy supreme guide of the Islamist movement that controls half the Egyptian parliament, said this week that the United States and Europe are neglecting Egypt at their peril a year after a popular uprising deposed a key U.S. ally in former president Hosni Mubarak. 

Obama Hearts The Muslim Brotherhood--And The New York Times Leaps To The Defense

The Obama administration has decided to come out of the closet and admit how much the US hearts the Muslim Brotherhood:

The shift is, on one level, an acknowledgment of the new political reality here, and indeed around the region, as Islamist groups come to power. Having won nearly half the seats contested in the first two rounds of the country’s legislative elections, the Brotherhood on Tuesday entered the third and final round with a chance to extend its lead to a clear majority as the vote moved into districts long considered strongholds.

The reversal also reflects the administration’s growing acceptance of the Brotherhood’s repeated assurances that its lawmakers want to build a modern democracy that will respect individual freedoms, free markets and international commitments, including Egypt’s treaty with Israel.

That is how New York Times puts it.

I can understand the necessity of acknowledging the power of the Muslim Brotherhood, just as it was necessary to acknowledge Mubarak as the leader of the world's largest Muslim country, Egypt.

The acceptance of the Muslim Brotherhood is, however, another matter.

Barry Rubin: Such a “Great” Idea It Can Now Be Proclaimed But Not Criticized: Obama Supports the Muslim Brotherhood

Such a “Great” Idea It Can Now Be Proclaimed But Not Criticized: Obama Supports the Muslim Brotherhood

By Barry Rubin


Not only is the Obama Administration, as I’ve written for the last year, favoring radical Islamist forces–despite the fact that these are anti-Western, pro-terrorism, building dictatorships, and openly antisemitic and anti-Christian–but now even the establishment media is admitting it.

A friend of mine said, “Oh, they are probably saying that the Brotherhood is sounding radical publicly but privately reassuring U.S. officials that they are moderate.”

“No,” I replied. “That’s the old way of doing things when it was important to be, or at least to pretend to be, somewhat balanced. Now they say that the Brotherhood sounds moderate both publicly–ignoring all evidence to the contrary–and privately. Those who disagree are merely Republicans trying to defeat Obama in the election, and so should be ignored. The mass media today in such matters is worse than our worst nightmares of a decade ago.”

And so for the first time in U.S. history an American government, to the applause of the vast majority of the mass media, is backing an anti-American authoritarian movement. Here’s how the New York Times explains it:

“The Obama administration has begun to reverse decades of mistrust and hostility as it seeks to forge closer ties with an organization [the Muslim Brotherhood] once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests.”

US Assurances The Muslim Brotherhood Will Respect Peace With Israel Are Worthless

In a press briefing on Thursday, January 5, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland assured the press the Obama administration had the Muslim Brotherhood assurance on peace with Israel:

QUESTION: Okay. We have the deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood in an interview with Al Hayat saying that they don’t regard the peace treaty with Israel as binding, that they didn’t sign it, and if they come to power, they might put it to a referendum. Do you have any reaction to that? Are you – is this something that you’re trying to seek more clarification on from them?

MS. NULAND: Well, we’ve seen this press report. I would say that it is one member of the MB. We have had other assurances from the party with regard to their commitment not only to universal human rights, but to the international obligations that the Government of Egypt has undertaken. As we’ve said again and again, not only with regard to Egypt but with regard to other states in that region in transition, we expect that legitimate parties will not only support universal human rights, but will also (inaudible) continue to support international obligations made by their governments.