Turmoil and Treachery in the Land of the Pharaohs/Part 3
| By: John G. Weldon; ©2011 |
| Egypt has the 10th largest standing army in the world, controls the vital Suez Canal and has been a critical ally to the US in the War on Terror and in other areas. And it was the first Arab nation to recognize Israel’s national sovereignty and right to exist. |
No one should underestimate the extent of anti-Americanism in Egypt or elsewhere in the Muslim world, and it seems to be on the rise. For example, “A Pew Global Attitudes poll from June [2010] showed just how little regard Egyptians have for the United States and our ways. According to that poll, a mere 17 percent of Egyptians view the U.S. favorably, while 59 percent hold positive views of Islamists. Half view the radical Palestinian terror group Hamas favorably. And 20 percent even favor al-Qaida — sadly, making this terrorist organization more popular in Egypt than the U.S. is.”[1]
This anti-Americanism potentially presents a Pandora’s box of problems for the US. It stems largely from e.g., our historic support for the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and what is falsely perceived as “attacks” on Islam/Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless, if almost 2/3 of Egyptians hold Islamism favorably, that’s good news for the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda.
The Obama administration, while it has threaded the needle in some cases, unfortunately, isn’t helping the current situation in Egypt especially far as the radical, Islamist Muslim Brotherhood is concerned. For example, it can be argued that President Obama has opened the door to some extent for an actual Islamist regime in Egypt. How? First, it should be remembered that because Egypt is a Muslim nation, the idea of a true democratic secular Egypt is largely a myth believed by those with more or less romantic tendencies. And regardless, polls indicate that most Egyptians want an Islamic caliphate and strict Sharia law. (And President Obama seemingly didn’t lift a finger to help with the recent Iranian demonstrators against the fanatical Iranian Shiite mullahs who want to destroy the world. One wonders why; for historic and other reasons, the Iranian people are much more open to democracy than the Egyptians.[2])
But in essence, president Obama mishandled Egypt for two years and is now stuck with a crisis he is having difficulty responding to as well he could potentially. In 2010 the US government already knew Egypt was ripe for instability but never acted upon it. Obama embarrassed Mubarak and said in public what he should have said in private and made himself look ineffective. Obama’s weakness and lack of clarity or even sometimes seeming confusion haven’t been helpful. Again, if the US doesn’t do this right it will rue the day which is why Obama’s supporting the Muslim Brotherhood is so foolish.
In essence, I tend to doubt we are witnessing a “pro-democracy” movement in Egypt, at least not one of any ultimate significance, because Islam [The Facts on Islam/ programs] is basically anti-democratic by nature. As an extensive website site of former Muslims, FaithFreedon.org observes, “Islamic law is incompatible with democracy…. There is no room for a secular political system in which all people are treated as equals.”[3] If it should turn out to be largely a protest in support of freedom and democracy, then it is a protest by Muslims who are not taking the Quran and Sharia literally, which is unlikely, given the Mullahs support for the MB, and the polling cited earlier.) Thus, what we are really witnessing is an anti-government movement because the people are economically desperate, and that is always dangerous because it opens the doors to, potentially, some very unlovely things. For example, the people of Germany would never have voted Hitler to power apart from dire economic conditions and thus the Nazi Holocaust would never have occurred.
Yet, almost unbelievably, the Obama administration apparently wants to see the radical Egyptian Brotherhood actually attain more power. This harkens back to the liberal naïveté of President Jimmy Carter and his disastrous administration, whose misreading of the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran helped him come to power, cementing the reality of the nightmare of modern Iran for the world. This was achieved by falsely thinking the Ayatollah Khomeini was a moderate and not a radical, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
Unfortunately, if American foreign-policy over the last generation has been characterized by anything it is been characterized (somehow, even after WWII) by an unwillingness to accept the reality of evil in the world and a naïveté toward Islam — e.g., such an attitude seems as responsible for 9/11 as anything, because we had ample warning of the attack, but chose to ignore it, thinking such destruction was simply impossible. One cannot react to what one is convinced will never happen. It’s the same with Iran; many think we can live with a nuclear Iran and that Iran would never use nuclear weapons against Israel, despite virtually certain evidence to the contrary.
But returning to the present tinderbox, as Dr. Charles Krauthammer observed a few days ago of the Obama administration’s support for the radical Egyptian Brotherhood in a coalition government, “Why in God’s name would the United States have been unilaterally raising the issue, and suggesting it, and encouraging it, and legitimizing it when it’s unnecessary?”[4] But many don’t find this particularly surprising, since it is not exactly out of step with similar actions taken by a radical Obama administration. For example, Obama’s appointing of Islamist Muslims to positions of power within the US government itself. Where on earth does that come from? It comes from his worldview that, to varying degrees, is pro-Muslim, anti-Israel and post-American, i.e., ruling America as much or more in the alleged interest of the world than in the interest of America herself. Some would say president Obama is even anti-American, and considered from the perspective of a traditional America, this seems difficult to deny.
The real battle here isn’t between Islam and democracy, but between Islam and human freedom. People yearn for freedom because God is the ultimately free Being and because we are all made in His image, hence we desire freedom innately; it is inbred, like our conscience, another aspect to our being made in God’s mage (Cf. Romans Ch. 2). Islam, unfortunately, isn’t just anti-democratic, worse it is anti-freedom, something history and modern Islam prove all too clearly. This is why Islam is not fundamentally a religion hijacked by terrorists; it’s rather a people hijacked by a religious/political totalitarian ideology. And this is why prayer for our Muslim friends and acquaintances, for missionaries and for more Muslim evangelism is so important. We must also remember to pray for the Christians in Egypt who, in the chaos, are being persecuted and murdered by Muslim radicals.
As to peace or violence, Islam has had periods of both historically and it largely depends on which verses in the Koran are being emphasized, particularly by the mullahs, because both peace and jihad are taught. If one does not interpret the Koran so literally – particularly its globalist and jihad verses – one ends up with a more peaceful Islam. The problem is that while you can get either peace or violence from the Quran, both occur in the context of oppressive Sharia law, which by definition persecutes and subjugates non-Muslim religion, as happens throughout the world of Islam today. Further, there is no doubt that Islam (for the most part), like Marxism, is an expansionist religion; it seeks global domination – that is why it expanded through war and conquest from Arabia in Mohammed’s time and how it has often acted historically. To be sure, there was a time when Islam almost conquered and destroyed Christianity and today there are currently some 20-30 wars in the world with Muslims fighting non-Muslims (as in their recent slaughtering of some 2 million Sudanese Christians) or even fighting other Muslims.
If Islam were really a religion of peace, it would be similar to religions that are generally peaceful such as Buddhism, Christianity, Baha’i or Judaism and which have none of these characteristics displayed historically and today. (It is good to remember that it was Islam who started the Crusades, not the Christians who were defending themselves. (See: Robert Spencer of JihadWatch.org, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades.) As Spencer argues correctly in the book and as we see at JihadWatch.org, Islam promotes an aggressive jihad that toward non-Muslims rejects equality, human dignity, human rights and freedom, and that this is a reality that has been present throughout the history of Islam. It isn’t politically correct, but that’s not the question; the question is, it is true? (See “Islam 101” at: www.jihadwatch.org/islam-101.html)
Thus, the Egyptian Brotherhood is hardly a friend whom America can work with, as the Administration naively seems to think; rather in the true words of Frank Gaffney, “The Muslim Brotherhood is the enemy.” For example he points out that far too many leaders in America — in government, the media, academia, financial institutions and even in religious circles — are naïvely accepting the Muslim Brotherhood’s false claims as to their own benevolence, and that the cultivation and co-opting of American leaders by the Muslim Brotherhood has been going on for some time. Accordingly: “As the Center for Security Policy’s new, best-selling Team B II report entitled, Shariah: The Threat to America found: ‘It is now public knowledge that nearly every major Muslim organization in the United States is actually controlled by the MB or a derivative organization. Consequently, most of the Muslim-American groups of any prominence in America are now known to be, as a matter of fact, hostile to the United States and its Constitution.’”[5]
Accordingly, almost all of these Muslim groups have had America in their sights for some time, yet somehow America has been blissfully napping, e.g., “For nearly fifty years the Muslim Brotherhood has been working hard to spread its dangerous tentacles throughout American society.”[6]
Again, should Egypt ever become radicalized, and should Jordan fall, Israel becomes surrounded by hostile neighbors facing a potential 9-front war, including three internal enemies, all of whom wish to see Israel destroyed and the West brought down. If Israel isn’t sitting on a volcano now, it will be then, and perhaps the world as well. Not that surprisingly, a poll just released indicated that 92% of Egyptians consider the Jews their enemy; hardly a good omen for the peace accords, or a new Administration.
As Christians we need to be in prayer for Egypt and her citizens, praying for the salvation of the dear Muslim people, millions of whom are already turning to Christ globally, and also praying that God will use this enormous pressure and threat to Israel to lead His people to eternal salvation through faith in their Messiah, Jesus Christ.
If war breaks out again between Israel and the Arabs, it is just possible this could become the war of Psalm 83, and at that point it seems we have a whole new Middle East (See: Bill Salis, Isralestine: The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East.)
In the meantime Wiki leaks has just released more documents indicating that rogue states (Iran, North Korea, Syria) are increasing efforts to obtain biological and chemical weapons to unleash upon the West (placing millions of lives at risk), and that jihad groups like al-Qaeda also aren’t far from obtaining chemical and biological weapons to unleash upon the West.[7] Further, that growing tensions in the Middle East and Asia have the “direct potential” to bring about nuclear war, in part due to the increase in the nuclear arms race (fueled by Iran, etc.), placing billions of lives at risk.[8]
Looked back upon, President Obama and his administrations’ policies may have “broken Egypt,” or by God’s mercy, we may have been spared an eventual Islamist regime. But if the former, who now will own it? And what will be the outcome? Before long we will know.
We live in truly perilous times, and we haven’t even discussed the economy. But these are also times of great promise for global evangelism, the spreading of the gospel, and the maturing of individual Christians and the Church generally which, in many places, needs to secure biblical priorities and stop flirting with the world, the flesh and the devil. The truth is that the Muslim religion has some strong logical weaknesses which can powerfully open the doors for the gospel as Dr. John Ankerberg and I pointed out in The Facts on Islam. And, as amazing as it may seem to some, large numbers of Muslims continue to come to personal faith in Jesus Christ today as a result of supernatural dreams and visions. God is clearly working in both the Islamic and Jewish communities today, for more members of these faiths are coming to Christ than ever, or so it seems.
When Jesus taught the following, He taught the truth because, as He claimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Acts 4:12, emphasis added) In all of human history, only Jesus Christ has offered genuine proof of his startling personal claims by physically from the dead. His resurrection proves He was indeed God incarnate, and as God incarnate His words carry absolute authority. Thus, he logically declared: “And this is the way to have eternal life — to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” (NLT) and, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
The biggest comfort in this world, particularly in times of high distress isn’t money, or happiness, or pleasure, or fame, or security, or power – or anything else that we can find on earth. The greatest comfort is knowingthat when we die we will absolutely go to heaven forever with a God who loves us more than we can possibly imagine. And to also know that it is possible to begin such a relationship with God right now, even today. God is always there and He knows us perfectly; there’s not a single thing that we can hide from His awareness, and yet still He loves us immeasurably.
If we confess our sinfulness and turn to His Son in repentance from sin and faith toward Christ, God promises that He will grant us the perfect and free gift of eternal life. He also promises that this gift is a present possession, and that it can never be taken away (John 10: 27-30; Romans 8: 28-38). As the apostle John concluded, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13, emphasis added) And as Jesus Himself emphasized, “Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” (John 5: 47, emphasis added)
Notes
- ↑ “Opinion: Will Egyptians ever like us?” AoL News, February 3, 2011; http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/03/opinion-will-egyptians-ever-like-us/
- ↑ Amil Imani [www.amilimani.com],”Islam on a Collision Course,” February 4, 2011;http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.8615/pub_detail.asp)
- ↑ See: “Democracy and Islam,” not that it’s necessarily impossible theoretically to have a more or less democratic Muslim nation, it’s just incredibly difficult practically because the truer one is to Islamic teaching in the Qurran and Sharia law, the less democratic one becomes; at some point there is no more Islam.
- ↑ Hannity TV Show, February 1, 2011
- ↑ Frank Gaffney, January 30, 2011, “The Muslim brotherhood is the Enemy,”;http://bigpeace.com/fgaffney/2011/01/30/the-muslim-brotherhood-is-the-enemy/; citing Shariah: The Threat to America (Center for Security Policy, 2010), 370 pp.
- ↑ “Brigitte Gabriel Discusses Muslim Brotherhood Threat in Egypt,” subscriber e-mail, February 1, 2011
- ↑ Heidi Blake, and Christopher Hope, “WikiLeaks: al-Qaeda ‘is planning a dirty bomb'” The Telegraph February 2, 2011; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8296956/WikiLeaks-al-Qaeda-is-planning-a-dirty-bomb.html)
- ↑ Heidi Blake, “WikiLeaks: tension in the Middle East and Asia has ‘direct potential’ to lead to nuclear war,” The Telegraph, February 2, 2011; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8298427/WikiLeaks-tension-in-the-Middle-East-and-Asia-has-direct-potential-to-lead-to-nuclear-war.html
