Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi made international headlines this week as he appointed Adel Al Khayat
as governor of Luxor, an ancient Egyptian city that is key tourist destination.The problem with Mr. Khayat? He just happens to lead the “political” arm of a terrorist organization that massacred tourists in Luxor in 1997. The details of the attack are beyond grisly, with many of the dead disemboweled and notes “praising Islam” placed inside their mutilated bodies.
When it comes to the Middle East, we have proven to be the worst of friends and the best of enemies.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported
on the rise of blasphemy prosecutions since Morsi ascended to power.[pullquote]
In recent cases, Egyptian courts have sentenced a writer to 5 years in prison for allegedly promoting atheism, sentenced a lawyer to a year in prison for allegedly insulting Islam in a private conversation, and fined a Christian schoolteacher $14,000 for allegedly insulting Muhammed in her classroom.
These recent revelations pile on top of the “old” news, including violations of the peace treaty with Israel, failing to protect our American embassy from attacks, and launching systematic crackdowns on Egypt’s Coptic Christian community.
Against this backdrop of Shariah and jihad – and hidden behind the blanket news coverage of the Obama administration’s other scandals – the White House has decided to increase its financial support for the Muslim Brotherhood, quietly clearing the way for the U.S. to give Egypt $1.3 billion in military aid.
On May 10, the very day that Lois Lerner issued her contrived apology for the IRS targeting conservative groups, Secretary of State John Kerry formally waived
– on national security grounds – statutory requirements that he certify
that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood government was “implementing policies
to protect freedom of expression, association, and religion, and due
process of law” before providing any further American military aid.Think about this for a moment: The Obama administration threw the Mubarak regime (for all its flaws, a stalwart American ally that kept peace with Israel) under the bus ostensibly because of its human rights violations but is waiving human rights conditions to prop up a more brutal jihadist government.
Let’s not forget the motto
of the Muslim Brotherhood: "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our
leader. The Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of
Allah is our highest hope."That is the organization that we are empowering – that we are arming – at American taxpayer expense.
In the coming days and weeks, secular and Christian opposition leaders are planning nationwide protests
against a Morsi regime that has proven competent at implementing Shariah law but not at running an economy.Morsi’s jihadist allies plan a crackdown, and if and when they succeed, you may see the terrible sight of American-made and taxpayer-purchased tanks and other armored vehicles literally crushing the Christian opposition.
The saying goes that there is “no better friend and no worse enemy” than a United States Marine.
The Obama administration has turned this on its head. -- When it comes to the Middle East, we have proven to be the worst of friends and the best of enemies.
We sat on our hands during Iran’s Green Revolution, when the Mullahs were briefly in danger of being overthrown.
We similarly sat on our hands in the early days of the Syrian uprising against the brutal, Iran-allied Assad regime, before jihadists had taken over the Syrian opposition.
But we acted quickly to support the Egyptian uprising, tossing aside a longtime ally.
Across the Middle East, jihad is ascendant. The Mullahs remain comfortably in power in Iran (busy building a bomb), Syria’s opposition is dominated by Al Qaeda-affiliated militias, and Egypt is firmly in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
And now we’re arming Egypt and considering arming jihadist rebels in Syria.
The Obama administration is doubling down on failure – at the expense of Egyptian Christians and the American taxpayer.
Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ
). Follow him on Twitter@JaySekulow.
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