LCCC ENGLISH DAILY
NEWS BULLETIN
January 11/2013
Bible Quotation for today/Witnesses
to Jesus
John 05/30-47: "I can do nothing on my own authority; I
judge only as God tells me, so my judgment is right, because I am not trying to
do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants. “If I testify on my own
behalf, what I say is not to be accepted as real proof. But there is
someone else who testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me
is true. 33 John is the one to whom you sent your messengers, and he spoke on
behalf of the truth. It is not that I must have a human witness; I say
this only in order that you may be saved. John was like a lamp, burning
and shining, and you were willing for a while to enjoy his light. 36 But I have
a witness on my behalf which is even greater than the witness that John gave:
what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf
and show that the Father has sent me. And the Father, who sent me, also
testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his face, 38 and
you do not keep his message in your hearts, for you do not believe in the one
whom he sent. You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you
will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me! Yet you
are not willing to come to me in order to have life. “I am not looking for human
praise. But I know what kind of people you are, and I know that you have
no love for God in your hearts. I have come with my Father's authority,
but you have not received me; when, however, someone comes with his own
authority, you will receive him. You like to receive praise from one
another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how,
then, can you believe me? Do not think, however, that I am the one who
will accuse you to my Father. Moses, in whom you have put your hope, is the very
one who will accuse you. If you had really believed Moses, you would have
believed me, because he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what
he wrote, how can you believe what I say?"
Latest analysis, editorials, studies,
reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
The confessions of
Hamas are a message to the Islamists/By Osman Mirghani/Asharq Alawsat/January
11/13
Islamic sukuk and the new constitution/By Abdel Monem Said/Asharq Alawsat/January
11/13
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous
Sources for January 11/13
48 Iranians Freed by Syria Rebels in Prisoner Swap
Assad firm in the saddle, permits Syrian, Turkish Iranian POWs swaps
Scuffle breaks out in Iraqi parliament as thousands protest
Syria slams West for rejecting Assad peace plan
Syria Ministers Assigned Tasks for Assad Plan
Brahimi Says Assad Plan for Syria 'One-Sided
Iranians freed in major prisoner swap in Syria
40 years of Assad family rule is too long: U.N.
envoy
Jihadists seize parts of Syria military airport: activists
Briton to be sentenced in weapons-to-Iran plot
Egypt president tries hand at Palestinian rivalry
India, Pakistan warn against escalation over border killings
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas exiled chief Khaled Meshaal Begin
Morsi-Sponsored Talks in Cairo
Snow Storm Set to Worsen as Schools Close for 3rd Straight Day In Lebanon
Storm Brings More Misery to Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Lebanese Cabinet Approves LL3 Billion Compensations to Storm Victims
Storm blankets most of Lebanon, claims more lives
Lebanon: MP: Labor Ministry aiding Syria in profiling of workers
Lebanese
Lawmakers debate electoral law for crucial 2013 elections
Poll reveals fears of Lebanon’s Christians
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat Holds Onto Taef Accord,
Dialogue to End Political Crisis
Death of homeless Abdullah in Beirut leads to relief campaign
Italian designer Roberto Cavalli opens luxury cafe in Downtown Beirut
Micheal Mouawad Says 'Ferzli Law' Encourages Sectarian Conflicts, Threatens
Lebanese Identity
Berri Satisfied with Parliamentary Electoral Subcommittee Discussions
Body of Woman Found in Garbage Dumpster in Tabarja
Snow Storm Set to Worsen as Schools Close for 3rd Straight
Day In Lebanon
Naharnet /A storm that has been lashing Lebanon since the weekend dropped snow
on the coast in northern areas, blocked major mountainous roads and forced the
closure of schools for a third day as the worst is yet to come.
The National News Agency said Wednesday that the snow reached the coast in the
northern town of Batroun. It also reached 400 meters above sea level in the
northern Akkar district.
Residents of the area which has been witnessing a power failure since Tuesday
rushed to buy diesel for heating.
Sahel Akkar, the town of Sheikh Zinad and the areas of al-Arida, Hekr al-Dahri
and Sammaqiyeh witnessed severe flooding after al-Istwan and al-Kabir rivers
burst their banks, causing severe damage to crops, the NNA said.
Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported that Civil Defense teams have halted
reopening mountainous roads that have been blocked by the snow after the storm
intensified. It also said that the Dahr al-Baidar road will be closed starting
6:00 p.m. Wednesday until 4:00 a.m. Thursday.
In southern Lebanon's Nabatiyeh governorate, the Beaufort Castle was decorated
in white as a thin layer of snow covered areas near the market town of Nabatiyeh.
Several mountainous roads were also blocked, NNA said. In Hasbaya also in the
South, the blizzard dumped two meters of snow on Mount Hermon as snow reached
areas 500 meters above sea level. Flood waters also heavily damaged agricultural
land after the Hasbani River burst its banks. Remaining in the South, the city
of Bint Jbeil and nearby areas were covered by a thin layer of snow, which fell
at altitudes of 580 meters.
The roads in the area remain accessible to cars despite a heavy fog enveloping
in the region.
Snow also covered Maroun al-Ras as efforts were underway to reopen the road that
connects the town to Bint Jbeil and Yaroun.
Forecasters say temperatures that reached 4 degrees Celsius on the coast will
continue to drop on Wednesday night when snowfall is expected as low as 200
meters above sea level.
Education Minister Hassan Diab ordered private and public schools to remain
closed nationwide on Thursday. Schools on Wednesday already remained closed for
a second straight day.
The Meteorology Department said the storm, which has claimed four lives and
paralyzed the country, will start to dissipate on Thursday morning.
A meteorologist at the Beirut airport reported 5.5 centimeters of rain in 24
hours.
Beirut and its suburbs also had a share of damages after al-Ghadir river burst
its banks and caused severe flooding in the southern suburb of Hay al-Sellom.
The floods invaded homes and shops, turning the streets into ponds and wreaking
havoc in the impoverished area.
The flooding has however subsided as Civil Defense teams worked hard throughout
the day to ease the flooding, but fears remain of any collapse in infrastructure
caused by the floods.
NNA says around 2,000 residential units and a large number of shops are built on
the river's banks. The level of water on the streets exceeded 50 centimeters on
Tuesday.
North of Beirut, the river in Antelias caused heavy material damage to houses
near its banks. The seaside road under the Nahr al-Kalb bridge was also blocked
after the level of the river's water rose.
In the Bekaa Valley and mainly in its west and in Rashaya, the storm dumped 50
centimeters of snow in towns 1,200 meters above sea level.
Several villages, including Ain Ata, Yanta and Deir al-Ashayer, were isolated
while other towns such as al-Srireh suffered damages from unrelenting rain water
that swamped the area.
Lebanese Cabinet Approves LL3 Billion Compensations to
Storm Victims
Naharnet/Prime Minister Najib Miqati hailed on Wednesday the efforts exerted by
the ministries and agencies to decrease the impact of the storm on the citizens
and properties after the cabinet approved LL3 billion to the citizens who were
affected by it. “Lebanon is witnessing a storm that holds a blessing despite the
inflicted damages,” Miqati said during a cabinet session at the Grand Serail. He
pointed out that several measures will be undertaken to take stock of the
damages caused by the storm that has been hitting Lebanon since the weekend. The
storm which entered on Wednesday its third day pounded Lebanon with fierce winds
and torrential rain causing severe power cuts in several areas, the obstruction
of a number of roads with snow and several landslides. The snow had also
isolated remote villages. A meteorologist at Beirut airport reported 5.5
centimeters (more than two inches) of rain in 24 hours. In the mountains above
the capital, 10 centimeters (nearly four inches) of snow fell as low as 400
meters (1,300 feet). Information Minister Walid al-Daouq, who read the
ministerial statement after the session, said that the Higher Relief Commission
will receive LL3 billion in compensations to those who were affected by the
storm.
The premier stressed that his cabinet is keen on confronting all the challenges
facing it and continuing its role until the end. “The upcoming parliamentary
elections will be held on time... We are open to all suggestions concerning the
electoral law that will be adopted as long as all parties reach consensus over
it,” Miqati said.
He welcomed the resumption of the electoral subcommittee meetings, saying that
the draft-law proposed by the cabinet achieves the basic needs and the
appropriate representation of the Lebanese people.
The cabinet's proposal is based on a proportional representation system with 13
medium-sized electoral districts. However, it has been totally rejected by the
March 14 opposition and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.
Rival MPs from the March 8 majority and the March 14 opposition kicked off on
Tuesday intense meetings as part of a parliamentary subcommittee tasked with
discussing the type of electoral system, the number and size of districts, and
the number of lawmakers. Among the proposals being examined for this year's
parliamentary elections are the Orthodox proposal and a draft-law suggested by
the March 14 alliance that divides Lebanon into 50 small districts based on a
winner-takes-all system. Many officials and politicians have said that the 1960
law that is based on a winner-takes-all system should be adopted with some
amendments if the subcommittee failed to reach an agreement on a new draft-law.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat Holds
Onto Taef Accord, Dialogue to End Political Crisis
Naharnet/ Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat described his
meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri as “excellent,” saying he is convinced that
dialogue and abiding by the Taef accord are the only solutions to end the
political deadlock in the country. “It is necessary to periodically meet with
Berri and discuss with him all the developments,” Jumblat said in comments to As
Safir newspaper on Wednesday.
Concerning discussions on a new electoral draft-law, the Druze leader pointed
out that “eventually, there's one constant matter that we all agree on, which is
the Taef accord.”
“Priority will always be the Taef... We reject any formula that targets it,”
Jumblat told the newspaper. The two officials held talks on Tuesday night in Ain
el-Tineh. According to An Nahar daily, the PSP chief also contacted on Tuesday
evening al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora. Sources close
to Jumblat told the newspaper that he would rather work for achieving a
breakthrough to the dispute between the political foes, than remain ineffective
amid the opposition's boycott of government-related activity. Jumblat launched
an initiative in November that focuses on the need for the return of all
political powers to dialogue, ending any boycott, and halting the tense media
exchanges between the rival factions. A PSP delegation has already met with
President Michel Suleiman, Berri, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and several other
party leaders to push forward Jumblat's initiative.
The sources voiced hope that the electoral subcommittee meetings wouldn't turn
into “electoral outbidding campaigns.” The subcommittee resumed its meetings on
Tuesday after the March 14 opposition agreed to Berri's proposal for its members
to reside in a hotel near the parliament building in downtown Beirut, as a
safety precaution. The subcommittee discussed several electoral draft-laws as
the political rivals lack consensus over whether to adopt a law based on
proportional representation or winner-takes-all systems.
48 Iranians Freed by Syria Rebels in Prisoner Swap
Naharnet/Forty-eight Iranians held hostage by Syrian rebels for five months
arrived in a Damascus hotel on Wednesday after being freed in a prisoner swap
for more than 2,000 regime prisoners.
The Iranians, described by Tehran as "pilgrims" by Tehran and by the rebels as
captured Revolutionary Guards members supporting Syrian forces, looked visibly
exhausted, with some weeping, an Agence France Presse correspondent reported.
They were embraced by waiting Iranian diplomats and given white lilies.
The prisoner exchange on Wednesday was the biggest to occur in Syria's 21-month
old conflict.
Several sources, including a rebel spokesman and Iranian officials, said it was
arranged through mediation by Turkey and Qatar.
The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement praising the efforts "by our
friend and brother Syria and the assistance of Qatar and Turkey in freeing the
pilgrims."
A Turkish aid group, the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), said it
spearheaded the swap of the Iranians for 2,139 detainees who had been prisoner
of President Bashar Assad's regime, most of whom were Syrians but also a few
foreigners including Turks."The negotiations involved us, Iran, the Syrian
authorities and the armed opposition. The Turkish authorities also played a
role, for which we are thankful. This has led to the release of 2,139
prisoners," IHH vice president Ezzat Shahin told reporters in a news conference
in the hotel.
Shahin said the exchange had been dangerous, as the Iranians were brought from
the Eastern Ghuta region near Damascus where there was "fighting and
bombing".None of the freed Iranians spoke to the media about their months-long
ordeal. Instead the Iranian ambassador to Damascus, Mohammed Reza Shibani, told
reporters that the group was kidnapped in southwestern Damascus in early August
as it traveled on the road linking the city's international airport with the
Sayyida Zainab district, where an important Shiite Muslim shrine is located.
He portrayed the Iranians as "pilgrims" who still wanted to see the shrine
before they left Syria.
The rebels who had captured them had accused some of them of being Iranian
Revolutionary Guards members sent to Syria on a "reconnaissance" mission. They
had shown the captives and military identification cards they had been carrying
in an online video. Shibani said the 48 freed men would stay for two days in the
Damascus hotel, where they would be examined by doctors, before making their way
back to Iran through arrangements still being worked out. The ambassador thanked
Syrian authorities for their "cooperation". "The talks were long and difficult.
We extend our congratulations to the Iranian people for the return of their
compatriots safe and sound to their homeland," he added. Shibani noted, however,
that "two Iranian engineers working for a power plant are still missing in
Syria," possibly referring to seven Iranians grabbed in December 2011 near the
central city of Homs, most of whom were released later.No details were given in
the media conference about the 2,139 regime prisoners in the swap. Agence France
Presse
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas exiled chief
Khaled Meshaal Begin Morsi-Sponsored Talks in Cairo
Naharnet /Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas exiled chief Khaled
Meshaal began talks in Cairo late on Wednesday on a stalled reconciliation deal.
It is the first meeting between Fatah leader Abbas and Meshaal, who heads the
Hamas movement that rules Gaza, in almost a year, and is aimed at ending years
of bitter rivalry between the two groups. On their visit to Cairo, the two
leaders are also holding separate meetings with Egypt's Islamist President
Mohamed Morsi. Agence France Presse
Assad firm in the saddle, permits Syrian, Turkish Iranian POWs swaps
DEBKAfile Special Report January 9, 2013/The three-way prisoner exchange of
thousands of Syrian, Turkish and Iranian prisoners Wednesday, Jan. 9, in
Damascus and four other Syrian cities marked a turning-point in the 22-month old
Syrian conflict which has cost upward of 60,000 lives. This was the first deal
the Assad regime and the rebels have agreed and carried through since March
2011. It was made possible by Bashar Assad’s confidence, in the face of Western
predictions of his imminent downfall, that his chances of survival had improved
against the forces determined to oust him, while Syrian rebel leaders grasped
they had better deal with the hated Syrian ruler for any hope of preserving any
of their war gains.
Altogether, the Assad regime released Syrian 2,130 civilians, including 73 women
and a number of foreigners, some of them Turks, and obtained the release of 48
Iranians held for six months by the rebel Free Syrian Army. The FSA claimed they
were Revolutionary Guards officers and men, while Tehran insisted they were
pilgrims visiting holy sites in Syria.
The prisoner exchange was organized by teams of the Turkish Muslim extremist IHH-Humanitarian
Relief Foundation.
debkafile's military and intelligence sources report, that the prisoner swap
marked a moment in the ongoing transition of the Syrian crisis from an
international issue with a say for the United States, Europe and some Persian
Gulf emirates, into a domestic contest, in which regional mediators - in this
case Qatar and Turkey - had a role to play. For now, the Obama administration
and NATO appear to have moved back from the military arena and left a clear
field to the management of Moscow, Tehran and Ankara.
Four steps marked this transition from the third week of December 2012:
1. On December 22, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the Syrian
government had “consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a
rebel onslaught and they are under control for the time being.” Lavrov did not
say who was in control of the weapons and why he thought they were out of danger
of falling into rebel hands.
2. The day before this announcement, US naval and air forces, piling up in
waters opposite Syria from the third week of November, were abruptly ordered to
pull back, a sign that the Obama administration had washed its hands of any
military intervention in Syria without publicly stating this.
3. In the first week of January, 2013, the Syrian army finally repulsed a major
Syrian rebel assault on Assad’s largest chemical weapons depot at the Al Safira
military complex near Aleppo.
In this engagement, too, the insurgents demonstrated they were capable only of
limited, local gains, but not up to capturing major targets such as major cities
and military sites. They were therefore not equal to vanquishing the army still
loyal to Bashar Assad.
4. The place of the departed US fleet in the eastern Mediterranean was gradually
filled by a large influx of Russian naval and marine forces. And so, when the
Syrian ruler rose to deliver a speech at the Damascus opera house Sunday, Jan.
6, he knew he could afford to flout the calls for him to step down and declare
he no longer takes dictation from the West. He knew that moored off the Syrian
coast were up to 20 Russian warships carrying more than 2,000 Russian marines -
on top of unwavering Iranian support for his regime.
The prisoner swap of Wednesday may usher in a lull in the fighting, some of
debkafile's military and intelligence sources believe – especially in
consideration of the exceptionally harsh winter conditions besetting the region.
During that time, the two warring sides may try and feel their way toward more
local or limited understandings as well as replenishing their military and
diplomatic resources – either for a final winning throw or to improve their
bargaining positions in future negotiations which were kicked off by the
prisoner swap.
For now, Assad is evidently here to stay. To remove him, the rebels will have to
reach him with an assassin’s bullet.
Islamic sukuk and the new constitution
By Abdel Monem Said/Asharq Alawsat
No sooner had the Egyptian constitution been adopted, than it was made clear
that modifying it was a real possibility. This is probably why even before the
constitutional referendum began, President Mohamed Mursi decided to have the
opposition and experts prepare a list of the articles they believed to be
defective and in need of revision by the legislature, then put to another
referendum.
Sukuk or Islamic bonds are issued by the Egyptian Finance Ministry, which
according to Article 4 of the Constitution needs to consult al-Azhar University,
which in turn would consult Article 2, which states that the principles of
Islamic law are the main source of legislation. These ‘principles’ are defined
in Article 219 as those in line with authorized Islamic schools of thought and
jurisprudence. Based on all this, and after consulting the Supreme Council for
Islamic Affairs and senior economic experts from al-Azhar, the final decision
was that these bonds do not comply with Islamic law.
The idea of Islamic bonds is not a new one, nor does this necessarily have an
Islamic frame of reference. Bonds are similar to deeds or stocks, in the sense
that they represent the value of a public asset. Dealing in bonds is beneficial
for the customer, who receives interest because the profit generated by each
bond is divided amongst its owners and for the community, particularly as bonds
create a saving fund that absorbs a percentage of public money into the market.
Bonds, therefore, reduce monetary demands and eliminate one of the main reasons
for state inflation. As for the public asset in whose name the bonds are issued,
whether we are talking about a factory or farm, this receives money that enables
it to expand and invest in new assets. Consequently, growth is achieved without
burdening the community or state.
Thus, the idea of bonds is beneficial for several parties, and is considered one
of the many ways in which all, or some, public assets can be privatized. This
worked perfectly in the Czech Republic, but failed miserably in Russia, because
in the second case all the money went to the rich. As for Egypt, the idea was
discussed a decade ago by then-Minister of Investment, Mahmoud Mohieldin, who
saw it as the best way to get rid of public sector companies that are either
losing money or nor generating enough profit for the state to support them. At
this time, there were 314 public sector companies in Egypt, which constituted 18
percent of the country’s public economy. Of these 314 companies, 149 were
privatized, either sold to one investor or the workers, or subject to an Initial
Public Offering. The remaining 165 companies remained as they were. The idea of
‘public bonds’ was seen as the solution, but the initiative was opposed by
several entities, including ones affiliated to the state. This state entity
retained its socialist character and rejected all sorts of privatization and the
capitalist transformation of the state. On the other hand, other entities were
staunch capitalists that believed the entire public sector in Egypt was on its
way to being dissolved as a percentage of total local revenue, so therefore
there was no point in creating futile disputes. The project eventually failed,
and the minister who initiated it resigned and took a senior position in the
World Bank.
This time, it is no longer ‘public bonds,’ rather we are witnessing ‘Islamic
bonds’ following the same trend. Those who are keen on implementing the project
in the Ministry of Finance possibly assumed that inserting the word ‘Islamic’
would render the idea legitimate, and offer a solution for a large part of
Egypt’s financial crisis through offering public assets in the form of bonds
that would provide funds to the rundown public treasury. The last thing the
ministry expected was for the objection to come from al-Azhar itself!
Al-Azhar’s objection came in an unexpected way, for it was based on two Islamic
rules: firstly, that it is not permitted, according to authorized Islamic
schools of thought, to sell public Islamic assets in the form of bonds; and
secondly, that foreigners might be able to buy public Egyptian assets of extreme
strategic importance, such as the Suez Canal, for which generations of Egyptians
sacrificed their lives.
I am not an expert in jurisprudence in order to judge the degree of the
project’s compliance with Islamic schools of thought, but there can be no doubt
that there is a problem. Egyptian assets are already dealt with via the
country’s stock market, and the problem is that they are very difficult to sell
due to the current circumstances being experienced in Egypt. What makes the
matter more complicated is that it is not known which religious matters al-Azhar
would be consulted on. What would have happened had the Ministry of Finance
overlooked al-Azhar’s advice? Following this, would it be possible for pious
Egyptians to still purchase bonds that have been labelled ‘illegitimate’ by
al-Azhar.
There are many questions. Most public assets that can now be sold in bonds did
not exist in the early Islamic era so no accurate comparison can be made in this
regard. We know that cattle and palm trees were private property, and pasture
and grass were public property. However it was probably different in the Nile
valley, and those of the Tigris and Euphrates, where agriculture and other forms
of crafts were practiced. In spite of this, the differences between one era and
another are huge, and perhaps the Egyptian Consultative Assembly will manage to
bridge the gap. When jurists study the matter thoroughly, they will either find
a way that makes the selling of Islamic bonds legitimate, or admit that it is
not worth the hassle. In any case, perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and
Justice Party are aware of the correct interpretation.
The confessions of Hamas are a message to the Islamists
By Osman Mirghani/Asharq Alawsat
Speaking before the Islamists and Democratic Governance Conference a few months
ago, Khaled Mishal, head of the Hamas political bureau, acknowledged there was a
difference between opposition and governance, between imagination and reality,
and between being a critic and a practitioner. He concluded that the Islamists
in general had to admit that governance was harder than they had first imagined,
and this applies to Hamas as well.
Two days ago Asharq Al-Awsat quoted another leading figure in Hamas
acknowledging that his movement has failed to “convince the street”, whilst
Fatah has succeeded despite what has been described as a leadership division. In
his published comments, Dr. Yahya Musa, deputy head of the Hamas parliamentary
bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, called upon the Hamas leadership to
take note of the large crowds who gathered a few days ago in Gaza to mark
Fatah’s 48th anniversary. He suggested that Hamas should pause for a moment to
review the gap between the foundations of the movement and the masses of the
Palestinian people, as he put it.
These are not the only examples of Hamas leaders acknowledging the difficult
experience of governance or mistakes committed by the movement. Others talked
about it after Hamas tried to govern for a year through the ballot box, then for
another five years or so after carrying out a coup against the Palestinian
Authority and expelling it from Gaza. That day Hamas became the second Islamist
group to monopolize governance via an armed group, after the Islamic Front in
Sudan which chose a military coup over democracy more than 23 years ago, and
still rules today with stringent security and repression after accumulating
mountains of mistakes and sins. It is true that Hamas tried to justify its coup
by claiming that it had been forced to do so, and this has been expressed by a
number of its leaders on several occasions, including Mishal. He summed up the
matter by saying that Hamas’ experience in the Gaza Strip was borne out of
necessity rather than normal conditions. He argued that his movement was forced
into the division [with the Palestinian Authority] and did not choose it,
claiming that it is not right for there to be an authority or government in the
West Bank and another one in Gaza, rather there must be one authority and one
government. However, the reality is that Hamas could not adapt to the pressures
of governance and its requirements, especially in light of the Oslo commitments,
so it decided to escape by masterminding a coup and monopolizing power over
Gaza. As is well known, the coup did not “solve” Hamas’ problems but rather
exacerbated them; it increased pressure on Hamas and worsened conditions for
Gaza and its people, and the Palestinian cause has suffered because of the state
of division and fragmentation.
Today, after other Islamic movements have come to power through elections and on
the back of the “Arab Spring” revolutions, the experiences of Sudan and Hamas
serve as a source of many lessons, whether for the Islamists eager to rule or
for their opponents who fear them and question the extent of their commitment to
democracy and its rules. In both cases [Sudan and Hamas] the Islamists movements
chose to carry out a coup over democracy and legitimacy, although their
calculations may have been different. They monopolized power and imposed their
approach and vision without the internal accountability, flexibility and
concessions required by democracy, and without having to comply with the
peaceful transfer of power through the ballot box if voters wanted a change in
the faces, methods or ideas. The Sudanese Brotherhood and Hamas both resorted to
the excuse of “being forced” [to seize power] in order to justify their
inability to adapt to democracy, just as “pressure” has become the peg to hang
any failure upon.
It is noteworthy that while Hamas leaders have sought to portray the rule of the
Islamists in Gaza as a “special case” that cannot be copied or considered an
example after the Arab Spring, the current leaders in Sudan have said that their
rule is “exemplary” and even tried to delude themselves that they inspired the
Arab Spring in the first place. The reality is that neither experience can be
regarded as an example but they both pose a problem for the Islamists who are
trying to convince the people of the Arab Spring states that they are democrats,
whilst their opponents view them with much doubt an suspicion, and others warn
that they are not committed to the peaceful and democratic transfer of power,
nor do they respect the views of others or accept differences of opinion.
Anyone observing the situation in the Arab Spring states, particularly Egypt,
would sense the gravity of the concerns felt by many in light of the ongoing
power struggle and the state of division and fragmentation, and how important it
is for the people to benefit from the experiences of the Brotherhood in Sudan
and Hamas in Gaza, in order to take lessons and learn from their mistakes. Yet
the Brotherhood in Egypt and their allies from other Islamic movements have
behaved as if they learned nothing from their own experience and the experience
of others, and therefore in a matter of a few months they lost their electoral
credit and sympathy that enabled them to win the legislative and presidential
elections, showing their true face and justifying the many who fear them. They
did not keep the promises they made to the people that they would not seek to
monopolize power. Furthermore, they maneuvered in order to pass their vision of
the constitution, showed extremely low tolerance by launching sharp attacks on
the media and the judiciary, intimidated protestors and dissidents, and resorted
to the excuses of pressure and conspiracies to justify their actions. In all
that the impression was cemented that the Islamists – perhaps by virtue of their
organizational upbringing based on the concept of blind obedience – cannot live
with the rules of democracy and the concepts of pluralism and respect for the
opinions of others.
Islamists in power cannot use the excuses of pressure or being forced to do
something. Hamas would be able to end the state of division, accept
reconciliation and return to the legitimacy of the ballot box and peaceful,
democratic governance if it was so inclined, and the Islamists of the
“salvation” regime in Sudan would be able to stop their repression and tyranny
and return the country to democratic rule if they so wanted. As for the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt, they need to reflect on Mishal’s words about governance
being more complicated than originally imagined.
It seems the more lessons there are, the less they are taken into account. Yet
if we would only heed the lessons of others then we would not suffer the crises
and problems that many countries in the region are witnessing today, with all
this blood being spilled purely so certain groups can cling onto power.