Muslim Brotherhood
I went to a lecture by Mohamed al Mahdi Akef, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. He spoke for about two hours, but never really said anything.
The lecture, followed by question and answer, was on campus. I hadn't seen it advertised anywhere on campus - they usually try to keep a relatively low profile for political events - I'll probably receive an email tomorrow inviting me to it. We got there about 15 minutes before it began and got some of the last seats and the last pairs of English translation headphones.
Going to see the head of the Muslim Brotherhood speak, I was expecting an Ayatollah Khomeini like figure, in full robes and beard. Instead, was a little bald man in a charcoal gray suit - I assumed he was a professor moderating the event until he began speaking.
Akef (I'm not really sure which of his names to use, so I'll be American and just use his last one) began speaking. He spoke in Arabic - I had simultaneous translation, but not by the best translator on Earth.
The European politicians are supposed to be bad about talking in circles endlessly about nothing, but Akef could beat almost any of them at that game. Because he realized that he was talking to a less than receptive crowd (the audience was composed of a sample of the AUC community: professors and international students - not many Egyptian students attended) he had to avoid certain subjects.
During the question and answer period, he kept getting questions such as:
“What would the Muslim Brotherhood do with respect to Egypt's peace treaty with Israel if it gained power?”
He responded with (shortened from a 5 minute ramble) “It's always wise to review foreign policy occasionally, so our experts would review it and determine if it best suits our current interests.”
“What would the role of non-Muslims and women be in a MB controlled Egypt?”
“Well, we would consult scripture. Non-Muslims would not be discriminated against. They could practice religion in their homes, just not in public. We recognize that there are Christians in Egypt. We would not force them to convert. They could have their religion, they just must respect the rule of Islam, since Egypt is an Islamic country.”
“What about cases of Muslims who convert away from Islam?”
“The Koran says 'If a Muslim claims to no longer be Muslim, kill him.”
The lecture, followed by question and answer, was on campus. I hadn't seen it advertised anywhere on campus - they usually try to keep a relatively low profile for political events - I'll probably receive an email tomorrow inviting me to it. We got there about 15 minutes before it began and got some of the last seats and the last pairs of English translation headphones.
Going to see the head of the Muslim Brotherhood speak, I was expecting an Ayatollah Khomeini like figure, in full robes and beard. Instead, was a little bald man in a charcoal gray suit - I assumed he was a professor moderating the event until he began speaking.
Akef (I'm not really sure which of his names to use, so I'll be American and just use his last one) began speaking. He spoke in Arabic - I had simultaneous translation, but not by the best translator on Earth.
The European politicians are supposed to be bad about talking in circles endlessly about nothing, but Akef could beat almost any of them at that game. Because he realized that he was talking to a less than receptive crowd (the audience was composed of a sample of the AUC community: professors and international students - not many Egyptian students attended) he had to avoid certain subjects.
During the question and answer period, he kept getting questions such as:
“What would the Muslim Brotherhood do with respect to Egypt's peace treaty with Israel if it gained power?”
He responded with (shortened from a 5 minute ramble) “It's always wise to review foreign policy occasionally, so our experts would review it and determine if it best suits our current interests.”
“What would the role of non-Muslims and women be in a MB controlled Egypt?”
“Well, we would consult scripture. Non-Muslims would not be discriminated against. They could practice religion in their homes, just not in public. We recognize that there are Christians in Egypt. We would not force them to convert. They could have their religion, they just must respect the rule of Islam, since Egypt is an Islamic country.”
“What about cases of Muslims who convert away from Islam?”
“The Koran says 'If a Muslim claims to no longer be Muslim, kill him.”
posted by David at 3:11 PM
2 Comments:
At least he's clear on that last point.
AUC seems very similar to AA&M in many respects...
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