Egypt Cracks Down on Islamic Veil

[CDNBear]

From the Arab Press
Sunday, January 28, 2007 Egypt Cracks Down on Islamic Veil
With more and more Moslem women wearing the full face veil (or niqab), a strident debate has broken out in Egypt: Is the covering required by Islam for modesty—or a dangerous sign of political extremism? The Egyptian government, which sees Islamic militancy as its greatest threat, launched a campaign against the veils.

“THE NIQAB VOGUE: AN IMPORTED INNOVATION, USED BY THE POLITICAL EXTREMISTS,” read the banner headline of the pro-government weekly Al Mussawar. “Our new battle is against the niqab,” wrote Islamic affairs expert Mohammed Fatouh in another government-owned weekly, Rose el-Youssef.

Columnist Salama Ahmed Salama, writing in Egypt’s biggest government daily, Al-Ahram, went even further: “It expresses an extremist attitude...Wearing the niqab is as outrageous as wearing a bathing suit or pajamas to the office.” The niqab, a full facial veil that leaves only a slit for the eyes, has grown in popularity in recent years across the Arab world, along with the spread of Islamic fundamentalism. The dispute highlights the growing struggle between secular governments and Islamic opposition groups.

Moslem clerics are divided over the veil. Some say it is merely a custom dating back to tribal, nomadic societies living in the Arabian desert before Islam began. Others say it is required, pointing to this verse from the Koran: “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies.”


http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=129&view=item&idx=1249

 

[karra]

Others say it is required, pointing to this verse from the Koran: “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies.”

Yup, just gotta love those who continue to believe it a literal translation - keep their woemen suppressed - behead the infidel - establish Sharia law in Ontario - watch out! - and know for whom the bell tolls. . . .

 

[earth_as_one]

The point I get from this story is that even thought Egypt has a Muslim majority, it also has its share of bigots. I hope that Canada does not become more like Egypt:

Amnesty International 2006 Annual Report - Egypt

Ninety people were killed and more than 100 injured in bomb attacks in Cairo in April and Sharm el-Sheikh in July. Scores of people were arrested in connection with the attacks and at least 14 people, including several police officers, were killed in shoot-outs between police and alleged suspects. Peaceful demonstrations calling for political reform were violently dispersed. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continued to operate under a restrictive law introduced in 2002. Hundreds of members of the banned Muslim Brothers organization were arrested; scores of them remained held awaiting trial at the end of the year. Thousands of suspected supporters of banned Islamist groups, including possible prisoners of conscience, remained in detention without charge or trial; some had been held for years. Torture and ill-treatment in detention continued to be systematic. Deaths in custody were reported. In the majority of torture cases, the perpetrators were not brought to justice. At least two people were sentenced to death; no executions were known to have taken place. The nationwide state of emergency imposed in 1981 remained in force despite calls by human rights groups and others for it to be lifted...

http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/egy-summary-eng

Thankfully I live in Canada where the choice to wear a veil is a religious freedom, a form of free speech and expression of culture. In Canada these things are protected by our charter of human rights and multi-culturalism.

A burka isn't that different than wearing a Christian cross or a nun's habit.

Banning the hijab or burqa in public because it is a Muslim custom would be a form of religious discrimination. I don't see anyone demanding that Nun's habits be banned.

But even our charter of rights and freedoms have limits when it come to personal and public safety. Religious object in specific situations can be banned if it is a real public or personal safety hazard.

For example, neither burqas nor habits should be worn while driving a motorcycle.

If Canada is to remain a tolerant society, then Canadians must defend the rights of Muslims to practice their faith and customs. We should be as tolerant and respectful of Islam as we are of other religions. We should take pride in our core values of freedom and religious tolerance.

One false argument for the ban of veils, is that it is a communication barrier. While that may be true, its also beside the point. I know I personally find it difficult to read someone's expressions or understand a person based only on their eyes. But that's my problem, not the problem of the person wearing a burqa. I would also find it difficult to understand someone who spoke only Greek. Should Canada pass laws requiring everyone to speak French and English or face fines and imprisonment? Unlike freedom of expression or freedom of religion, good communication is not a charter right.

I am proud that Canada is a tolerant society where religious freedom and freedom of expression is above the intolerant views of Muslim hating bigots.

By the way I am agnostic/secular. Even though I don't subscribe to any organized religion, I fully support other Canadians' right to practice their faith without interference from intolerant bigots.

 

[CDNBear]

Interesting take earth, as always, but the reason I posted this story is...

1) Egypt is pretty much a Muslim Nation, so I found it odd that they find issue with the veil as a form of religous expression.
2) If a Muslim Nation takes issue with it, then really, what does that say about those that have made this piece of clothe a relgous affectation and a suicidal political bombshell?

I truly find it hard to believe that it is based on religous bigotry as you have asserted, I find it more plausable that it is based on keeping an interpretation of the Quran under control, as it seems to be causing strife, even within the Muslim world.

 

[earth_as_one]

Egypt is also a brutal American supported dictorship.

$50 billion later, taking stock of US aid to Egypt

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with President Bush Sunday in Crawford, Texas.

By Charles Levinson | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor


CAIRO – Amid fresh fighting by US forces in Iraq, Sunday's meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and President Bush at his Texas ranch serves as a reminder of America's deep involvement in this other key Arab nation.

Aid is central to Washington's relationship with Cairo. The US has provided Egypt with $1.3 billion a year in military aid since 1979, and an average of $815 million a year in economic assistance. All told, Egypt has received over $50 billion in US largesse since 1975.

The money is seen as bolstering Egypt's stability, support for US policies in the region, US access to the Suez Canal, and peace with Israel. But some critics question the aid's effectiveness in spurring economic and democratic development in the Arab world's most populous country - a higher US priority after Sept. 11, 2001.

"Aid offers an easy way out for Egypt to avoid reform," says Edward Walker, the US ambassador to Egypt from 1994 to 1998. "They use the money to support antiquated programs and to resist reforms."...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0412/p07s01-wome.html

...The peace treaty was signed sixteen months after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's visit to Israel in 1978 after intense negotiation. Even after the landmark Camp David agreements, there was no certainty that a treaty would be signed. Egypt was under intense pressure from Arab countries not to sign a separate peace treaty. Prime Minister of Israel Menahem Begin was refusing to allow any framework for realistic negotiations about Palestinian independence for autonomy...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel-Egypt_Peace_Treaty

...In late-February 2005, Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952 movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Egypt

Yet another shining example of American style democracy. Maybe one day, Iraq will be as democratic as Egypt.

Today Egypt is so democratic, Mubarak could make every Egyptian wear underwear as outerwear if he so decreed. But at least Egypians are aware they have an illusion of choice rather than a choice.

But if you look at this from Mubarak's viewpoint, he has it made. As dictator, he gets to make the rules. If he wants to own something, he just passes a law, or gets one of his minions, I mean ministers to intervene

...Mubarak's Wealth

Little information is available on Gamal Mubarak's wealth but he is known to have established a private investment company with a capital of $100 million. [19] An example of influence peddling was provided in the recent issue of Rose El-Youssef involving the sale of B.M.W in Egypt. The owners, the Abu-Al-Futuh family and their partners, were asking 200 million Egyptian pounds (approximately $40 million). The buyers offered 140 million, and when the sellers refused to go below 160 million pounds, the Minister of Industry and Technology, D. Ali Al-Sa'idi, intervened, and the sellers accepted the offer of 140 million pounds. The buyers of the company were Qatari individuals (with 80 percent interest), a German company (with 15 percent), and Gamal Mubarak (with the remaining 5 percent), who has also assumed the role of chief executive of the new company, renamed as "Bavari Egypt . " [20] The intervention of the minister in a commercial transaction speaks for itself...

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=ia&ID=IA14103

Plus he gets billions in bribe money and access to technology for not complaining about the smoke from burning Palestinian homes along his border...

Americans and Israelis don't want a democratic Egypt. A democratic Egypt might decline the bribe.

BTW, if you wonder how Egyptians feel about America's generous foreign aid, consider, one of the 9/11 hijackers came from Egypt:

...All the suspected hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon or Egypt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizers_of_the_September_11,_2001_attacks

 

[CDNBear]

Why must these discussion always come down to your conspiracy theories of Zionism and US involvement.

I highly doubt that Egypt is going to change it's religious views because of the States. Nothing you have posted has proven otherwise.

Has it ever occured to you, that perhaps, Many Muslims see that some sects of their faith have been twisted by selfserving Imams or what have you, to further their personal interpretation of the Quran?

I think personally, your constant blaming of US and Zionist conspiracies, is demeaning to the people that you seemly wish to support. You remove any accountablity, responsiblity, and replace it with accusation of puppetry and conspiracy theories. Just maybe, the Muslims of Egyp, the Moderate Governments made up of Muslims in many ME'rn Nations, see that their are those that would twist what is a beautiful faith, into a sword to enslave as many as they can, by any means necessary? But with your condemnation of there ablity to see such, they must be vaccuous pupets hell bent on destroying their own faith. Not everyone, nor every government is as willing to ***** itself out as the US is.

 

[earth_as_one]

No doubt a small minority of Muslims have a twisted interpretation of their faith. But personally I can't think of a relgion without fanatics. Can you?

The majority of Muslims, like the majority of Jews, Christians, Hindus, Druids... support peace and tolerance.

...In the name of God, The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet you with the traditional Islamic greeting, 'Assalamu Alaikum', (Peace be upon you), this greeting represents the sincere effort of the faithful to spread love and tolerance among all people, whatever their language, belief, or social system.

Common misconceptions about Islam and Religious Tolerance

I would like first to begin by dispelling some of the misconceptions that have clouded the understanding of many Christians and westerners alike concerning Islam. Many believe that Islam was spread by the sword, and that Islam is synonymous with oppression, coercion and the denial of basic rights and freedoms. Furthermore, many western nations equate Islam with intolerance and extremism. Even well-educated non-Muslim thinkers, politicians, and clergymen, have persisted in clinging to this negative and erroneous image. It is this stereotype that must be removed by presenting a clear and truthful image of Islam to western people.

Islam urges all people to examine an issue thoroughly before coming to a conclusion or forming a belief. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

O believers: if a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done. T.Q., Sura 49, verse 6.

Islam and the Spirit of Religious Tolerance
As monotheism is the foundation of Islam, so tolerance is one of its most outstanding characteristics. Islam literally means both submission to Allah and peace. Religious tolerance has always been a necessary law of life which cannot be neglected except at great hazard to human society. Let me offer, my dear brothers and sisters, just a few examples of the spirit of tolerance which lies at the very heart of the Islamic faith

First: Islam makes it absolutely clear that all humanity is but one great family....

...Fifth: Islam unequivocally affirms the right of each individual to freedom of thought and religion...

http://www.kuftaro.org/english/WOT/Islam_and_Religious_Tolerance.htm

Translate it a little differently and it could pass for something the Pope might say. By the way, Popes were behind the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, jailing Galileo, so no one is infallible....

Regarding Egypt's absolute dictator and his bribe money, $50 billion dollars can buy a lot of stuff...

If Mubarak ever lost access to American cash and toys, Egypt would explode. Saudi Arabia is just as unstable. Given ballooning American debt, I doubt the gravy trains will run forever.

Its not a conspiracy, B. Its a mega trend.

 

[CDNBear]

So are you suggesting that the US should allow Egypt to explode, and allow the fundamentalists to take over.

In life there are necessary evils, to maitain order and keep the trains running on time.

btw, I'm not Christian, so posting evidence of fundamentalism in Christianity, only reminds me of things I have stated many times myself.

 

[earth_as_one]

Egypt should evolve toward a more free and fair society deliberately and gradually. Revolutions are seldom peaceful or predictable.

The first step is to begin weening Egypt off American bribe money and guns. Once Mubarak sees his position is untenable, he should be encouraged to retire and allow free and fair elections elections in exchange for amnesty.

Elected representatives should gradually replace Mubarak appointees over a period of years. As the power shifts in Egypt so will its internal and foreign policies.

I disagree that evil is necessary or that trains are more important than freedom and justice. The status quo is inherently unstable. Propping up Mubarak will inevitably lead to an Islamic revolution. If Egyptians liberate themselves by force, heavily armed extremists will most likely gain control. If Egyptians are allowed to liberate themselves peacefully through a series of elections over time, then politicians, civil servants and academics will most likely gain control.

 

[CDNBear]

Egypt should evolve toward a more free and fair society deliberately and gradually. Revolutions are seldom peaceful or predictable.

The first step is to begin weening Egypt off American bribe money and guns. Once Mubarak sees his position is untenable, he should be encouraged to retire and allow free and fair elections elections in exchange for amnesty.

Elected representatives should gradually replace Mubarak appointees over a period of years. As the power shifts in Egypt so will its internal and foreign policies.

I disagree that evil is necessary or that trains are more important than freedom and justice. The status quo is inherently unstable. Propping up Mubarak will inevitably lead to an Islamic revolution. If Egyptians liberate themselves by force, heavily armed extremists will most likely gain control. If Egyptians are allowed to liberate themselves peacefully through a series of elections over time, then politicians, civil servants and academics will most likely gain control.

Oddly enough I just googled Egypts Military, there is a whole lot of Russian made guns, but not a lot of US artilery.

I think you missed the point of the necessary evils, Take for instance Iraq. Saddam was an evil man, but you could walk the streets under him. I don't think any democratice government in that country is going to get it to function. But then again, you did say given time, but then again those at ground zero might like some peace now.

 

[earth_as_one]

The Americans did not bring peace or prosperity to Iraq and that was never their intention. That was about taking control of Iraq's oil wealth for the benefit of Bush's friends in the oil industry and to remove a regime hostile toward Israel. American taxpayers are on the hook for the bill and millions of Iraqis were collateral damage.

Egypt got most of its military hardware from the USSR (Russia) up until it started taking bribes from the US. Then it switched to mostly American hardware.

Military of Egypt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...Currently, the backbone of the EAF is the F-16...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Egypt

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
August 2006

...NATIONAL SECURITY

Egypt's armed forces, among the largest in the region, include the army, air defense, air force, and navy. The armed forces inventory includes equipment from the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and China. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern American, French, and British equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt. To bolster stability and moderation in the region, Egypt has provided military assistance and training to a number of African and Arab states. Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner of the United States....

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm

...From the Camp David peace accords in 1978 until 2000 (the latest year for which figures are available), the United States has subsidized Egypt's armed forces with over $38 billion worth of aid. Egypt receives about $2 billion annually--$1.3 billion in foreign military financing and about $815 million in economic support fund assistance --making it the second largest regular recipient of conventional U.S. military and economic aid, after Israel. In 1990, the United States also forgave $7.1 billion in past Egyptian military debt in return for Egypt's support of Operation Desert Shield. In addition, Egypt receives excess defense articles worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the Pentagon....

http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/egypt.htm

Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US

By David R. Francis | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person.
This is an estimate by Thomas Stauffer, a consulting economist in Washington. For decades, his analyses of the Middle East scene have made him a frequent thorn in the side of the Israel lobby.

For the first time in many years, Mr. Stauffer has tallied the total cost to the US of its backing of Israel in its drawn-out, violent dispute with the Palestinians. So far, he figures, the bill adds up to more than twice the cost of the Vietnam War.

And now Israel wants more. In a meeting at the White House late last month, Israeli officials made a pitch for $4 billion in additional military aid to defray the rising costs of dealing with the intifada and suicide bombings. They also asked for more than $8 billion in loan guarantees to help the country's recession-bound economy.

Considering Israel's deep economic troubles, Stauffer doubts the Israel bonds covered by the loan guarantees will ever be repaid. The bonds are likely to be structured so they don't pay interest until they reach maturity. If Stauffer is right, the US would end up paying both principal and interest, perhaps 10 years out.

Israel's request could be part of a supplemental spending bill that's likely to be passed early next year, perhaps wrapped in with the cost of a war with Iraq.

Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid. It is already due to get $2.04 billion in military assistance and $720 million in economic aid in fiscal 2003. It has been getting $3 billion a year for years.

Adjusting the official aid to 2001 dollars in purchasing power, Israel has been given $240 billion since 1973, Stauffer reckons. In addition, the US has given Egypt $117 billion and Jordan $22 billion in foreign aid in return for signing peace treaties with Israel...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1209/p16s01-wmgn.html

Effectively Egypt is a dictatorship thanks to US military aid to Mubarak.

The Freedom to Describe Dictatorship



By Jackson Diehl
Monday, March 27, 2006; Page A15


Following the first day of Egypt's deeply flawed parliamentary election last November, the country's largest newspaper, the state-controlled al-Ahram, appeared with an equally flawed headline: "The Fairest Parliamentary Elections in 50 Years." Its sister, al-Gumhuriya, proclaimed to its readers that "Egyptians Spoke Yesterday -- They Chose True Democracy Rather Than Slogans and Heeded President Hosni Mubarak's Call."

But for the first time in the 24 years of Mubarak's rule, there was another voice that day on the newsstands. The newspaper al-Masri al-Yom, or the Daily Egyptian, reported "death threats, bribes, violence and partisan security forces." It said that "the elections were marred by irregularities and violations carried out by a large number of [Mubarak's] National Democratic Party and independent candidates and their militias, which prevented people from entering polling stations."

This was no more or less than the truth. ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032600879.html

Egypt's recent elections were the fairest in 50 years but that's means almost nothing since they were also the only elections in 50 years which included opposition parties. Mubarak ran a tough campaign which included death threats, drive by shootings, riot police... His simple but effective campaign slogan was "Vote for Mubarak or else...".

Buried on page A20 of the Washington Post:

...Egypt's Ugly Election
Saturday, December 10, 2005; Page A20


THE LAST DAYS of Egypt's month-long parliamentary election were shameful. Government security forces and gangs of thugs from the ruling National Democratic Party blockaded access to dozens of polling sites where opposition candidates were strong. In several cases they opened fire on citizens who tried to vote; 10 people were reported killed. Inside the election stations, government appointees blatantly stuffed ballot boxes in full view of judicial monitors. In some districts, they ignored court orders seeking to prevent them from buying votes or busing in nonresidents to defeat opposition candidates.

President Hosni Mubarak, who received a new six-year mandate in another unfair election in September, used such fraud last month to take away the parliamentary seat of Egypt's foremost liberal democrat, Ayman Nour, who was the runner-up in the presidential election. This week a Cairo judge known for his closeness to Mr. Mubarak ordered Mr. Nour jailed before a session today of his trial on bogus charges of forgery. Several months ago Mr. Nour's principal accuser recanted in court, saying he had been forced by state security police to fabricate his allegations. Yet there appears to be a good chance that Mr. Nour will be declared guilty -- moving the leader of Mr. Mubarak's secular democratic opposition from parliament to prison....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/09/AR2005120901837.html

Egypt Jails Opposition Leader for 5 Years
Rights Groups Denounce Nour's Forgery Conviction as Politically Motivated


By Nagwa Hasaan and Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, December 25, 2005; Page A25


CAIRO, Dec. 24 -- An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced Ayman Nour, the lawyer and politician who challenged President Hosni Mubarak at the polls, to five years in prison on charges of forging petitions. Supporters and human rights groups denounced the conviction as an outrage...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/24/AR2005122400837.html

President Bush, Egyptian President Mubarak Meet with Reporters
Remarks by President Bush and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt


PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all for coming. I'm pleased to welcome my friend, Hosni Mubarak, to my home. Welcome. I always look forward to visiting with him, and I look forward to hearing his wise counsel. I appreciate his frank views on the many challenges that face our two nations and that face the greater Middle East.
Our nations have a relationship that is strong and warm. Our people share the bonds of friendship, a commitment to prosperity and peace and regional stability. Egypt is a strategic partner of the United States and we value President Mubarak's years of effort on behalf of the peace and stability of the Middle East.
The meetings we have just had focused on these goals and on ways to make the Middle East safer and more secure. We recognize that the starting point for a prosperous and peaceful Middle East must be the rejection of terror. Egypt has taken a firm stand against terror by working to disrupt the activities and capabilities of the region's terrorist organizations. These are the policies of a nation and a statesman that understand the threat that terrorism poses to all of us -- to my nation, to his, to all the Arab states, to Israel and to the future of any Palestinian state. Terrorism must be opposed and it must be defeated. And I'm grateful for President Mubarak's support in the global war against terror....

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040412-3.html