Egypt -- Libya -- Islam

The events in Egypt and Libya taking place today may determine the future of the Middle East for years to come. More importantly these events may affect Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, and most certainly the radical Islamists. Will Islam and Sharia Law become the dominant force in the Middle East or will the more moderate Muslims prevail and turn toward modernism and the world at large? IRAN Perhaps Iran holds the key to any peace in the Middle East. It is a government dominated by a group of radical Shi’ite Clerics posing as a legitimate government. They are funding most of the violence endemic in the Arab World. They are working on the development of an atomic bomb and have already developed the means to deliver that bomb to Israel as well as Eastern Europe. The question is “will Iran use their nuclear capability to attack Israel?” I think this is unlikely because it would lead to the downfall of the current government and end the clerical dominance. Would Iran quietly provide the nuclear weapons to their Hezbollah alter ego? This also is unlikely because the relationship between Iran and Hezbollah is no secret. Would they offer nuclear weapons to Palestine in order to assist the Palestinians in their pathetic war against Israel? This might be a possibility if the radical Islamists truly want to destroy Israel. PALESTINE The first question is “Is Palestine a real nation or is it an imaginary country like Afghanistan? The Arab world pays a lot of lip service to the Palestinian “cause” but after more than 60 years of rhetoric no Arab country seems to provide the Palestinians any substantive support nor has the erstwhile government ever shown any control over the factions ruling and dividing them. True – someone is paying for the weapons used by the Palestinians but either the Palestinians don’t have enough men to use all of the weapons or there simply isn’t enough armament to effectively attack Israel. Either way it appears that the Palestinian problem is nothing more than a way for the Arab world to rally around a cause without getting too involved. As the events in Egypt, Libya, and Syria unfold the question becomes “will the emerging Arab governments opt for a peaceful co-existence with Israel and the world or will they intensify their attacks on Israel and the West? The answer to that question might lie with Saudi Arabia. SAUDI ARABIA This may be the most schizophrenic country in the world. It is a monarchy on the one hand but a theocracy on the other. There is the royal family who are westernized (ignore their traditional dress) and realize their fate may lie with the Western Powers because of their economic dependence. At the same time the Royal family is not totally confident in the support of the people and are afraid of Iran and it’s religious influence over the Saudi people. The Saudi’s are the guardians of the most sacred places in Islam, practice Sharia Law, and are expected to be the model of an Islamic state. So publicly the Saudi’s are opposed to Israel while it has been rumored for years that privately they don’t care about Israel, which raises the question of how will they react to the events in Egypt and Libya. EGYPT The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in the 1920’s as a semi-secret organization with the objective of establishing Islam as the governing authority in the Arab world. They have been opposed and outlawed ever since – at least until the recent elections in Egypt, where they received 51% of the vote. The Egyptian Military does not support the Muslim Brotherhood and has worked with the Egyptian Judicial arm to weaken the constitution and the power of the President. The military dissolved the Egyptian parliament but the new President Morsi in an act of defiance convened it and then adjourned it before the Military could act. This was clearly intended to challenge the Military. On the positive side Morsi has promised to include Christians and women in his government and has promised to govern for all Egyptians. As his first foreign visit he is visiting Saudi Arabia. This is an important visit because how the Saudi Arabian government receives him is important. They could influence him to establish a modus Vivendi with Israel, rein in the Palestinians (who rely on arms coming in from Egypt), lean toward the West and not Iran, or any combination of these. But Egypt and Saudi Arabia cannot ignore the events in Libya either and what happens there could influence what happens in Egypt. LIBYA The Libyans have over thrown Gaddafi whose government was at least nominally Islamic. The question now is will Libya become an Islamic government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood or will it lean toward the West and modernism? The recent elections in Libya have been indeterminate with the more secular National Forces Alliance headed my Mahmoud Jibril claiming victory while the Islamist Justice and Construction Party claims that it will ultimately prevail. This claim is based on the rather complicated political structure which prevents either party from gaining an absolute majority of the Parliament. Mohammed Sawan believes the independent votes in the Parliament will go to the Muslim Brotherhood giving them control of the government. At least some of the Independent parties fear the Muslim Brotherhood and see it as allied with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Other independents are opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood for fear that they would close off Libya from the West and install a conservative Islamic government. The Independent candidate stated that he had rebuffed offers from Justice and Construction Party (Muslim Brotherhood) because "Libyans are ready to experience democracy and only educated liberals with a world view can bring it." SYRIA Syria has yet to come into play due to the de facto civil war raging. The existing government is heavily supported by Iran, shelters Hezbollah, and tacitly opposes Israel. Precisely who the forces opposing the Syrian government are is uncertain. The Iraqi’s have warned that Al Qaeda troops are pouring into Syria from Iraq. If this is true it doesn’t bode well for Syria’s future. If the opposition prevails they could follow Libya and turn westward or they could establish an Islamic state with an anti-west position.

Oil and Energy 2012

Our dear friends in OPEC have had the world and the US in particular in stranglehold since the 1970’s but they may have finally overplayed their hand. Actually, it isn’t just their greed that may bring them down but the greed of Wall Street Speculators who drove the price of a barrel of oil to an unprecedented $147 / barrel. The price of oil has fallen from that ridiculous high and in all likelihood will continue to fall and some forecasters are predicting $65 / barrel by 2010.

How is this possible? Several things seem to be driving the price of oil down and the slide seems to have begun on a rumor that the US Government was launching an investigation into oil speculation. Note that this was just a rumor but that was enough to drive the speculators into a selling frenzy which drove the price down. If the demand for oil worldwide was rising then the speculators would not have had such an impact when they sold, but the reality seems to be that the oil supply was meeting – if not exceeding – world demand. In effect the speculators were driving the price of oil up to artificial highs. This created a worldwide scare and reaction as the usual left wing politicians got on their demagogic bandwagon and began calling for punishing the Oil Companies for their obscene profits, when in actual fact the oil companies had lower profits than almost any other large company. But the critical point here is that the speculators created a scare and OPEC could not correct it because they were already producing more oil than the demand and that scare may have far reaching consequences.

Although the price of oil may fluctuate in the near term the long range trend will most likely be down as the dollar strengthens against the Euro and other world currencies. This fluctuation according to some analysts will center on the $100 / bbl mark but once that barrier is breached the slide will be steep and within six months the price of a barrel will be $65 or less. But all of this could be attributed to the usual swings in every commodities market, except this time it seems that maybe the realization that oil is a finite resource and an alternative must be found has gotten some traction with consumers. In fact it seems this scare may have actually shocked consumers to the point where they may actually take energy conservation seriously. Auto companies are sharply focused on hybrids and electric cars but more importantly consumers seem to have rediscovered public transportation and the logic in turning off lights when not needed. The day of the SUV seems to be ending as consumers are looking for ways to reduce the cost they pay for gasoline and as this trend grows it drives down demand which in turn drives down price, so the return of low priced (relatively) gasoline may be in the near future and certainly by 2012.

If this trend to develop alternative energy sources and reduce our alliance on oil and oil based products is sustained it will have far reaching consequences. Perhaps the greatest impact will be on the oil producing countries in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the other Arab countries. These countries have failed to establish any sort of economic base other than oil and they have squandered the billions in revenue they have received on palaces and luxuries. The result is that if their oil revenues decline they really have no way of offsetting the decline. Worse they cannot rely on tourism due to their religious fanaticism and draconian laws. Furthermore they have become highly dependent on foreign workers and if these imported workers leave the over indulged citizens will be unable or unwilling to take up the slack.

Naturally the attitude among many as they see OPEC choking on an oil glut and declining revenues, will be that it is well deserved. Well deserved it may be but if this happens it could have far reaching consequences. Saudi Arabia and the oil producing Islamic countries are all highly unstable and any dramatic decline in revenues that impacts their social programs could trigger massive political change. Certainly the House of Saud could fall and would be replaced by an Islamic government similar to Iran’s, but other governments currently friendly to the west could also fall. This would create chaos in the oil markets but it would also provide massive amounts of cash to various terrorist organizations.

But not all oil producing countries are Islamic and countries like Canada, UK, Russia, etc, would not be greatly affected but some of the poorer countries like those in Africa might weather the storm politically but socially the impact could be devastating. These countries do not have the infrastructures or solid economic base that would allow them to compensate for reduced revenues. In these countries the impact could be reflected in even greater unemployment and reduce the standard of living from its already low level.

So while the price of oil and gas may decline as alternative fuel sources come on the market, the impact may not be all positive.

Middle East Policies

Recently we were treated to one of the most idiotic speeches by President Bush that he has delivered in his presidency and that is going some. Once again he mounted his horse and promised to bring “democracy” to the Middle East as if these people were longing for a representative government and the freedoms enjoyed in the West. The fact that he actually delivered this speech rests entirely on his shoulders but ultimately it is the fault of the State Department. The State Department has been monopolized by the East Coast intelligentsia practically since its inception and in sprite of the highly vaunted quality of education delivered by the Ivy League their alumni have never been strong on history – especially history of the Middle East. It’s as if the Ottoman Empire never existed.

Virtually all of the current Islamic States were ruled by the Ottomans for 400 years. During this period there was no Renaissance, no Reformation, no Industrial Revolution, or steady improvement in medicine, hygiene, public health, or education. But the Ottomans maintained peace and order during this entire time because the Ottomans would not tolerate any challenge to their authority and the punishments they inflicted on any challenger were draconian. Then the Ottomans – thanks to the bumbling of Winston Churchill – sided with the Kaiser and their empire was dismantled by the French and British. It has never known a peaceful moment since then. The Western Democracies have never understood nor even attempted to understand the people or their motivations in the Middle East. Instead the drive has been to westernize them and to create freely elected democratic governments that were independent of the Mosque. This policy has consistently failed with the only exception being Turkey but that was reformed from within by Kemal Attaturk and was not accomplished by the Western Powers. This failed policy of westernization continues today as is evidenced by President Bush’s speech and the American Foreign Policy relative to Iraq.

The British and French and now the Americans arrogantly assume that because the Islamic States are consistently mired in poverty, ignorance, and squalor they are desperate to become westernized. Well when the Ottoman Empire was dismantled Iraq was a constitutional monarchy until 1958 when the Army overthrew the monarchy in a very bloody coup. Prior to this coup the “democratic” government conducted genocide against the Assyrians and the Jews. The Shiites were suppressed as well. The brutality of this regime rivaled that of Saddam Hussein and it was all done under a democratic government, but not one where all were created equal or given equal protection under the law. All of this is on the historical record – a record our State Department and all of those Alumni from all of those fancy colleges seem to have neglected to read. The liberal media as well as all of those well meaning politicians had assumed that the Iraqi’s were longing for a democratic government, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, and an elected parliament. What they neglected to consider was what happened when the British introduced those democratic institutions in 1920, which was exactly what happened after the Bush Administration re-introduced them in 2005. What happened then is what is happening now – civil war, massacres, and an unreliable military that merrily participates in the internecine warfare. This is the background that permeates the Middle East and it is against this background that President Bush calls for the installation of democratically elected western style governments. The fallacy of this policy is obvious or should be obvious and certainly the various Sheiks, Emirs, Monarchs, and Presidents for Life know that this is not in their best interest.

Governments throughout the Middle East are dictatorships, monarchies, or some similar absolutist government and all of them are driven by Islam no matter how secular they may appear. While Iran and Egypt are ancient countries the rest are artificial creations of the west. The separation of church and state so common in the west is unheard of in the world of Islam where governments are subservient to the religious leaders and no where is this more apparent than in Iran and Iraq today. The time has long past for America and the Western powers to cease their insistence that the Middle East adopt western values and conduct themselves and their affairs along western lines. There is no history of democratic governments or even processes in these countries and those governments that are stable are authoritarian.

This is not a call for America to establish a military government similar to what was done in Japan in 1945. It is too late for that but this constant drumbeat for the creation of freely elected governments must cease. The more America, the western media, and the liberal establishment press for this unrealistic objective the more idiotic we seem and the harder it is for our friends in the area – and there are some – to take us seriously. Our foreign policy needs to be revamped to accept the reality that many of these countries were better off under the absolute authority of the Ottomans. It should seem apparent to any educated westerner that the Islamic countries have no desire to become westernized or democracies. They were happy in the seventh century and they were happy under the Ottomans, but the west wanted their oil and in order to get it they felt it was necessary to modernize the Middle East. This modernization has been resisted by Islam for 500 years and is resisting now, unfortunately Pandora’s Box was opened with the fall of the Ottomans and now we are left with result and no solution in sight.

The Muslim Brotherhood

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
Recently I was asked about the veracity of an article that cited connections between Nazi Germany, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Qaeda. The contents of this article seemed so outrageous that it couldn’t be true – or so I thought. I was particularly struck by the allegation that Adolf Hitler had formed a Waffen SS Division composed exclusively of Muslims. Surprisingly this turned out to be true and in reality there were two divisions who fought Tito in Yugoslavia. As an interesting sidelight Bernard Lewis in his book “The Middle East” covers the rather cozy relationship the Arabs had with Nazi Germany without once mentioning the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a highly secret society whose actual membership is closely guarded.

Background
The "Al-Ikhwan Al-Moslemoon" (Muslim Brotherhood) was founded in 1928 as a movement in Egypt. But soon after it began to have several branches outside Egypt and began spreading the principal Islamic idea that Islam is "Creed and state, book and sword, and a way of life" These principles were not common among many Muslim "scholars" who believed that Islam is restricted within the walls of the mosque. Members of the Brotherhood were banned and tortured in most of the Muslim countries but the movement continued to grow under the leadership of Hassan Al-Banna. The Brotherhood now has branches in over 70 countries all over the world – including the United States. The movement is organizationally flexible meaning that the Brotherhood works under multiple names – including Hamas, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Islamic Jihad, and virtually every known terrorist organization. However, all of the Brotherhood groups, in all countries are characterized by a common set of principles, which seem innocuous enough but buried within these principles and guidelines we find:

Political Activism: By putting political programs for "Islamising" government in different countries (after realistic studies), and establishing these programs thru the convenient ways which do not conflict with Islam

Building the Muslim state.
Building the Khilafa (basically a shape of unity between the Islamic states).
Mastering the world with Islam

I think these items really announce the true intentions of the Brotherhood more than the high flown phrases that surround them but if you still have any doubts this is the announced theme for the Brotherhood
· Allah is our objective.
· The messenger is our leader.
· Quran is our law.
· Jihad is our way.
· Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.

It is virtually impossible for anyone raised in the Judeo-Christian ethos to comprehend these principles. The problem is that many Westerners will see these and not see any difference between them and a Christian or Jew trying to live by their religious principles. Unfortunately these are not parallel philosophies because under the “law” and the “Qur’an” killing infidels – meaning non-Muslims is expected.

The Muslim Brotherhood believes (http://www.ummah.org.uk/ikhwan/) that they must prepare a country or society for accepting Islamic Law prior to taking over the government because taking over a “corrupt” (meaning non-Muslim) government poses a great risk to the Brotherhood. They believe that Muslims should be trained to administer all aspects of a government and society but they should rule “Islamically”. I think we witnessed what this means when we saw the Brotherhood in action as the Taliban. It is worth noting that the Brotherhood professes to not want power themselves but they support any leader who wants to establish a TRUE Islamic government (Think Mullah Omar).

Achievements
During WW II everyone was amazed at how Heinrich Himmler was able to get so many people to accept his propaganda as true. He stated quite openly that if the lie was big enough and told often enough many people would believe it. We see this in the various conspiracy theories that abound but for the most part these are harmless but when you look at the Muslim community you see the concept of the “Big Lie” in its highly developed state. For example this quote;

Throughout their history, the ikhwan (aka Brotherhood) have had many accomplishments. However, their philosophy is that they prefer action and work over words and propaganda. The ikhwan have played and continue to play a major role in the struggle to liberate Muslims lands. The ikhwan's bravery in the 1948 Palestine war has been recorded by all sides. The total number of volunteers from the ikhwan in 1948 numbered 10,000 from Egypt, Syria and other countries. In addition to participating in the battle to liberate Palestine, they served to raise the consciousness of Muslims all over the Islamic World and restore to them the spirit of struggle and dignity. The ikhwan have played a role in liberating Muslim lands from colonialist powers in almost every Muslim country. The ikhwan were active amongst Muslims in Central Asian Muslim republics since the '70s, and their involvement can be seen recently in such republics as Tajikistan. More recently they had a major role in the struggle for Afghanistan and Kashmir.

Notice that nothing is said about the failures of Arab attacks on Israel in every single instance or how the Israeli’s crushed the combined Muslim Armies and would have occupied all of Egypt had it not been for the Americans. This is very typical of how the Brotherhood operates. It convinces the ignorant tribesmen that constitute most of the Muslim countries that they are winning, thus these crushing defeats are shown here as triumphs. It would seem that any thinking person would see through these blatant lies but the Brotherhood is more subtle than that. They are using our very laws and freedoms against us. Anytime the US Government attempts to stymie the Brotherhood there is an immediate outcry about racism and racial profiling. These attacks on our government are aided and abetted by the ACLU and the Press who are so blinded by political correctness that they fail to see the dangers. But while the danger is very real in the United States, Canada is not only under attack but are losing. If fact Canada may be so far gone that it may be impossible to reverse their slide into an Islamic state.

The Muslim Brotherhood and Canada
The Muslim Brotherhood in Canada is right on schedule in their drive to control the government and convert Canada into an Islamic State. Overblown rhetoric you think – think again and consider these events in terms of a global strategy. (http://www.shariahprogram.ca/)

Muslims are currently demanding uncensored Al Jazeera on Canadian Dish Services
Muslims are demanding shariah law for Muslims
The Canadian Government is considering the implementation of a separate Islamic Court
The Saudi Government is funding the web site http:www.shariahprogram.ca, which is spreading Wahabbism throughout Canada
CAIR states that Canada needs Quranic Law to be humane and just.
CAIR now endorses the Hijab since the Canadian Civil Liberties Board is now headed by a Muslim
Canadian Universities must have prayer rooms and Muslims must be seen by Muslim Doctors
Schools must have Halal menus
The Muslim Brotherhood now brags that the Muslims now have the largest prison population in Canada (does this sound familiar)

The Al Quaeda and Osama bin Laden have made it clear that the Christian Nation of Canada is guilty for the high standard of living found in the West while Islamic countries suffer. Canada has no military and so is quite vulnerable to a takeover from within. This is especially easy because Canada is very left leaning whose politicians spend most of their time and effort attacking the US and denigrating President Bush.

The Muslim Brotherhood and America
This quasi-secret society is active in America and is largely unknown to many Muslims. Bernard Lewis who is a leading authority on Islam and has written various books on the topic makes no mention of the Muslim Brotherhood. The conclusion must be that either he is a member of the Brotherhood or oblivious to it. This Brotherhood is active in America but not all Muslims support it and it has become a divisive force within the Islamic Community. The basic tenet of the Brotherhood is that “Muslims come first, not humans come first”. Since many Muslims in this country were born here they don’t accept this radical viewpoint but many do. The separation of Church and State is fundamental to American Government the Muslim Brotherhood preaches that religion and politics can’t be separated and that all governments should be Islamic. In order to achieve this they teach martyrdom and jihad. Increasingly the Mosques in America are being infiltrated and taken over by the Brotherhood.

Once you understand the goals and objectives of the Muslim Brotherhood and recognize their fundamental beliefs then it is easy to see how they can see murdering innocent children as well as any infidel or Muslim who gets in their way, can be justified. We are engaged in a global war one that is rooted in religion and one that we are losing. We are losing because we are free and tolerant while our enemy is not. It is time we wake up because we are losing. Spain is already lost, France is on the downward slope as is Canada.