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May 08, 2012
Where’s the Coverage? Egyptian Presidential Campaign Rally Vows to March on Jerusalem
At a rally to kick off the presidential campaign of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Mursi in Egypt, the cleric introducing the candidate declared the aim of forming a Muslim caliphate, "The United States of the Arabs," the capital of which will be Jerusalem. The event was broadcast on Egyptian television station Al-Nas TV on May 1, 2012 and a portion of it has been translated and posted online by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
In the video, also posted on YouTube, Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi introduces Mursi by saying:
We can see how the dream of the Islamic Caliphate is being realized, Allah willing, by Dr. Muhammad Mursi and his brothers, his supporters, and his political party. We can see how the great dream, shared by us all -- that of the United States of the Arabs... The United States of the Arabs will be restored, Allah willing. The United States of the Arabs will be restored by this man and his supporters.The capital of the Caliphate - the capital of the United States of the Arabs - will be Jerusalem, Allah willing.
… Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca, or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing. Our cry shall be: "Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem." Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
The MC of the event leads the crowd in chants of, "Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow" and "Allah Akbar." He then sings a song:
Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas…
Forget about the whole world, forget about all the conferences.
Brandish your weapons... Say your prayers...
Brandish your weapons... Say your prayers...
And pray to the Lord.
From the eyes of all Jews...
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom...
Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
Later in the rally, Higazi continues:
Indeed, all the lovers of martyrdom are Hamas. I say from this podium, from Al-Mahalla, from the heart of the Delta, the heart of Egypt, so that the whole world may hear.We say it loud and clear: Yes, Jerusalem is our goal. We shall pray in Jerusalem, or else we shall die as martyrs on its threshold.
Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Muhammad Mursi is the official candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the political party that won the most seats in the recent Egyptian parliamentary elections, nearly half, and took the speakership. This is the political party that recently sent a delegation to meet with White House officials. This is also the political party that led the Egyptian parliament to issue a report declaring Israel Egypt’s "number one enemy."
Even though Egyptian presidential elections are a mere two weeks away, the media is paying little attention to this bellicose and threatening rally. While the Washington Post mentioned the campaign, the newspaper did not cover the rally or its overt calls for the invasion of Israel.
Egypt is ostensibly an ally of the United States and we send billions of taxpayer dollars in aid there. The campaign kickoff rally for the majority party’s presidential candidate became a celebration of violence and an outright threat to Israel, America’s only stable democratic ally in the region. Is this not worthy of the attention of the media?
Where’s the coverage?
Posted by SC at May 8, 2012 09:45 AM
Comments
Imagine if an Israeli leader said something like this, where going to invade Egypt and Syria and take over Cairo and Damascus, it wont be front page news on all the papers.
Jodi Rudoren, Thomas Friedman and Peter Beinart would immediately call for a world wide sanctions against Israel.
Desmund Tutu, Jimmy Carter, the BBC and the Guaridians would be putting out editorials calling for world wide action to stop Israel.
Posted by: Barry Meridian at May 8, 2012 12:12 PM
Why? because Egyptians are unhappy with their lives and they have been to taught to blame all their troubles, frustrations, disappointments on the Jews. It is taught in the schools, mosques, and their media. They breath it and they believe it. If anyone bothers to ask these Egyptians how the Jews are to blame, they are offered the most bizarre paranoid delusions about Israel.
When you have a society where Mein Kampf is a best seller, the Elders of Zion is believed by Egyptians to be true, Mossad Sharks are killing Egyptian tourists and Jews are causing infertility in Egyptians, should we be shocked we have Islamo facists calling for the slaughter of Israeli civilians.
Posted by: Dan Wilson at May 8, 2012 12:36 PM
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