The Muslim Brotherhood

Do you believe the Muslim Brotherhood is a mostly secular orgainzation as was touted by so many after the Egyption election? And what do you think the goals are of this organization... do you believe this group is committed to peace among it's neighbors including Israel? I say no to both questions, what do you believe?

This post is intended for adult discussion... if you have nothing but childish insults, please start your own thread. Thanks.

I'll ignore the " childish insult" in your own thread and give you my own take on it.

I don't think there is any such thing in the middle east as a secular organization. There may be times that it is expedient for them to appear so, but I believe that the Muslim religion is so pervasive in all aspects of middle eastern life that being secular is virtually impossible. My opinion is the Muslim Brotherhood wants the west to view them as such so they will appear less radical and scary.

Do I think they are commited to peace on the Middle East? Perhaps among the Muslim countries, but not with Israel, until the Palestinian issues are resolved there will never be peace between Israel and it's neighbors. Not that the rest of the Muslim world is very fond of Palestinians, they are just a public reason to hate Israel. Why would the Muslim Brotherhood be any different? I look to the history of the region to answer the question. War and terror have been a way of life for the radical few, and the"average" Muslim citizen either is unable our unwilling to change that status quo.

Do you believe the Muslim Brotherhood is a mostly secular orgainzation as was touted by so many after the Egyption election?

"Mostly secular"? Who claimed that? I doubt your "so many" was a high number and was mainly confined to MB spokespersons who, as archer suggested, wanted to put a less-scary face on it and that, mostly, for Western consumption where Islam is so often considered scary.

Sure, i believe that they are committed to peace even with their Israeli neighbors but i don't believe that commitment is unconditional. Such a commitment seldom is anywhere.

archer wrote: I'll ignore the " childish insult" in your own thread and give you my own take on it.

I don't think there is any such thing in the middle east as a secular organization. There may be times that it is expedient for them to appear so, but I believe that the Muslim religion is so pervasive in all aspects of middle eastern life that being secular is virtually impossible. My opinion is the Muslim Brotherhood wants the west to view them as such so they will appear less radical and scary.

Do I think they are commited to peace on the Middle East? Perhaps among the Muslim countries, but not with Israel, until the Palestinian issues are resolved there will never be peace between Israel and it's neighbors. Not that the rest of the Muslim world is very fond of Palestinians, they are just a public reason to hate Israel. Why would the Muslim Brotherhood be any different? I look to the history of the region to answer the question. War and terror have been a way of life for the radical few, and the"average" Muslim citizen either is unable our unwilling to change that status quo.

I appreciate your answer even if I don't agree with all of it. But your first sentence was really unneccessary as I was only wanting a discussion here and not the usual insult filled waste of time. The fact that you did not ignore my request is appreciated.

My opinion is that the Muslim Brotherhood sees the US as an enemy no matter what we do. I believe they saw the killing of Bin Laden as an assasination of a hero and the burial at sea as an insult. I also believe that the drone strikes that kill without a trial or risk of US injury is seen as arrogant and weak. I'm not saying that I disagree with killing Bin Laden or the drone strikes, but I don't think Obama has made good with these people like he thought he would. I predict the Muslim Brotherhood will be like the Taliban or Al Qaeda in the near future and will be doing everything in it's power to spread Sharia law.

appleannie wrote:

Do you believe the Muslim Brotherhood is a mostly secular orgainzation as was touted by so many after the Egyption election?

"Mostly secular"? Who claimed that? I doubt your "so many" was a high number and was mainly confined to MB spokespersons who, as archer suggested, wanted to put a less-scary face on it and that, mostly, for Western consumption where Islam is so often considered scary.

Sure, i believe that they are committed to peace even with their Israeli neighbors but i don't believe that commitment is unconditional. Such a commitment seldom is anywhere.

I can't remember who it was but I thought someone high up in the Obama administration made statements assuring that the Muslim Brotherhood was primarily a secular organization and was not driven by anti-American ideology.

Mostly secular? They have MUSLIM in their title.

The MB was the Islamic alternative to Mubarak and the military so it was a large collection of everyone from secular democrats to Islamic fundamentalists. I had hoped the secular would have been able to grab more power but that looks unlikely now.

Guess it was James Clapper that I remembered saying it.

ABC News’ Jonathan Karl reports: Director of National Intelligence James Clapper raised some eyebrows today at a House Intelligence Committee hearing when he called described the Muslim Brotherhood as a “largely secular” organization. “The term ‘Muslim Brotherhood,’” Clapper said, “is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam… They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera. … In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally.”

Apparently the administration has since distanced itself from his statement.

There is always an interesting battle behind the scenes after a revolution. It looks like both Egypt and Libya have gone more religious and Tunisia stayed more secular. Actually Libya still looks very much a bunch of tribes still deciding who is in control. I wonder if the country will fall into a Somali like non-state.

"Hundreds of Libyan pro-government demonstrators have stormed the HQ of a radical Salafist group, driving the militiamen out of their last major stronghold in Benghazi. At least four people were killed and 20 wounded in the fighting.

-The clashes with Islamists from the Ansar al-Sharia group occurred as tens of thousands took to the streets to rally against militias on Friday"

http://rt.com/news/libya-storm-islamist ... rters-700/