Is this man the next president of Egypt?

Observers interested in learning the dynamics of the upcoming elections in Egypt should pay attention to the candidacy of Mohammed Salim al-Awa. Al-Awa, who previously served as Secretary General of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, an Islamist think-tank, has plans for Egypt and they are not good. He wants to tear up the Camp David treaty with Israel. He wants to support terrorist organizations that attack Israel and wants to form an alliance with Iran.

He described his plans during a recent speech at Alexandria University in March. An excerpt of his video is available on Youtube in a video that was uploaded on March 10, 2011. (The following summary is a rough translation of al-Awa’s speech, which was given in Arabic.)

During the course of his speech, which was punctuated by applause, al-Awa portrayed the Camp David Treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979 as merely a hudna or ceasefire. He begged the Egyptian people to cancel the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979.

“We need a normal relationship with Israel,” he told the audience. “As an enemy with a hudna between us.”

Clearly, this language needs some parsing. On one hand, al-Awa declares that he wants to have a “normal relationship with Israel.” But then in the next breath he declares Israel an enemy of Egypt.

Subsequently, al-Awa states that an “enemy with a hudna is not a friend… is not someone we care about. This is just a hudna.”

Al-Awa then declares that there has not bee one treaty in the history of mankind that has not been ripped up. He then states “I’m warning you Egyptians, don’t let the Zionists rip up the agreement before you.”

Later in his speech, he states that he wants to put Israel “in her right place, as an enemy of Arabs, Islam and Egypt.”

Al-Awa also declared that he wants Egypt to have a normal relationship with all the resistance movements. He then listed them by name. Included in this list were Hamas and Hezbollah. He also declared that Egypt should serve as a base of support and protection for groups that attack Israel.

“We are the house,” Al-Awa said. “We are the house that all the resistance must come out of. We are the cave. We are the cave. If they get caught, they come to us.”

He also stated that Egypt should provide money and weapons to groups that attack Israel.

“Hosni Mubarak prevented Egypt from doing these duties,” he said. “The relationship with Israel prevented us from doing these things.”

He also appeals to the young people of Egypt to demand that Egypt establish a “healthy relationship” with the resistance movements that fight against Zionism.

Apparently referring to ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s efforts to keep a lid on terrorism, al-Awa said that making an enemy of someone who is trying to defend you is the behavior of someone who has something loose in their head.

Al-Awa also calls for the establishment of normal relations with Iran.

“We need a normal relationship with Iran my brothers and sisters. Iran is not an enemy of us,” he said. “Iran is not a Jewish state. […] They have the culture. They have the civilization and Islam. They are trying to spread their culture, civilization and Islam.”

Egypt shares the same values and has the same goals as Iran, al-Awa told the audience.

“We’re trying to spread our culture our civilization and Islam,” he said, adding that instead of blaming others [Iran], Egypt should follow its example.

“The Iranian plan [for the Middle East] is an Egyptian plan, is an Islamic plan that unites, does not separate people with phony excuses,” he said. “My brother and sisters, these plans are for the Egyptian population. … It came out of this nation and now its coming back to us. If we do not do this plan, this region will be shredded to pieces like the Americans wanted to do.”

Another Presidential candidate, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who is popular amongst young people in Egypt has stated he is willing to abandon his campaign to make way for Al-Awa.

In another speech, al-Awa expressed a desire to put Jews living in Israel into settlements under Muslim control. Under al-Awa’s plan, Jews would not be able to leave these settlements without permission.

Is anyone listening?