How would Americans feel if the New York Times gave Al-Qaeda-affiliate a platform to spread his lies and to have the nerve to claim that he is not a terrorist?
The New York Times allowed Gehad El Hadad, a Muslim Brotherhood member who is accused of inciting violence and murder to write an op-ed full of nothing but blatant lies. Mr El Hadad is describing the Muslim Brotherhood as if it was a peaceful organization innocent from all accusations of terror. He wrote: “We are not terrorists. The Muslim Brotherhood’s philosophy is inspired by an understanding of Islam that emphasizes the values of social justice, equality and the rule of law”.
As an Egyptian, I can say that this was the understanding many Egyptians had for a long time. The Brotherhood always claimed to be the voice of justice and moderation whose only goal was to serve the Egyptians. That’s why many Egyptians voted for Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood senior member, and he managed to win the presidency on 24 June 2012. But the victory of the Brotherhood in the elections came to uncover their true nature.
Morsi’s presidency started by breaking his own promises to the Egyptians, he promised to appoint a female vice president, and a Coptic Christian deputy but he didn’t. Then he wanted to make himself an undisputed dictator when in November 2012 Morsi issued a constitutional declaration granting him unlimited powers and the power to legislate without judicial oversight or review of his acts.
In June 2013 we felt a slap on our faces when Morsi appointed hardline Islamist,who was a member of Gamaa Islamiya to govern Luxor, a tourist city in which militants associated with the group killed 58 tourists in 1997.
Gradually we started feeling that our own identity became threatened under the Brotherhood administration. Given its long rich history, Egypt enjoys a formidable cultural mix that encompasses Pharaonic, Roman, Christian, Jewish and Islamic identities all in one. This unique identity started changing when we elected a member of the Muslim Brotherhood to be our president. We thought that there is only one Islam, but we discovered that the Brotherhood had its own version of Islam and how things should be. Extremist Islamists were given the space to incite violence against minorities and anyone who was different. Morsi himself witnessed as extremist clerics incited violence against Shiite Muslims describing them as “filthy” and “nonbelievers who must be killed”. Days later 4 Shiite men were killed. Christians were feeling unprecedentedly threatened since Morsi took office, forcing Coptic Pope Tawadros to criticize the Brotherhood administration, especially after deadly violence around the Coptic St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo.
With each passing day Morsi extremist supporters became empowered because they knew they had an ally in him. Religion got mixed in politics as extremists clerics used it as a tool to support Morsi. One cleric said that Egyptians should celebrate that Morsi was a bearded president who prays! And when Morsi failed to fulfill the first 100 days promises, a cleric justified that by saying that Prophet Mohammed did not achieve anything in his first 100 days as well!
This poisonous rhetoric made his supporters see that opposing Morsi was like opposing god, that’s why a pro-Morsi called my sister an infidel just because she said she was supporting Morsi’s ouster.
Many demonstrations took place during Morsi’s presidency all over Egypt, not because the government institutions were “conspiring” against him as Mr El Haddad is claiming but because of Morsi’s own actions. Egyptians from all walks of life saw that Morsi has lost his legitimacy. Many protesters lost their lives in the demonstrations, but this only fueled the growing anger. Tamrod movement collected 22 million signatures asking for Morsi resignation. However, Morsi remained defiant and pledged to protect his “legitimacy” with his life. He forgot that his legitimacy was given by the very people he was threatening in his speeches.
Protesters opposing Morsi gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo
With The fall of Morsi Egyptians witnessed the rise of terrorism. Mohamed El Beltagy, a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, appeared on Al-Jazeera saying that militant attacks in Sinai Peninsula will continue until Morsi returns to office. A Pro-Morsi vowed to suicide bomb those who oppose Morsi and to set Christians on fire!
These vows came true and we started suffering from terror attacks in Egypt since the fall of Morsi. News about “bombs” in our streets was becoming a daily norm. Civilians, policemen, soldiers were falling victims to terrorism every day. In June 2015, Egypt’s top prosecutor was assassinated when a bomb targeted his convoy.
The Brotherhood has a long history of violence. The assassination of the prime minister of Egypt Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha by a Brotherhood member in 1948 and the attempt to murder late president Gamal Abd al-Nasser in 1954 are incidents not to be forgotten.
So Mr El Haddad, the Muslim Brotherhood is a terror organization, we learned this the hard way and the list of victims can witness.