As protests continue over the power grab of President Mohammed Morsi, Islamists pushed through a draft constitution without the involvement of Christian or liberal members to give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and add restrictions to free speech, women’s rights, and other civil liberties.
The Constitution will be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days. The assembly went on a marathon session to approve the new Constitution before Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel drafting the Constitution. There was such a rush to beat the court’s ruling that, when objections were made to one of the articles, assembly head Hossam al-Ghiryani just refused to accept the vote, warned of the delay, and ordered another vote with a different outcome — an approach reminiscent of the voting standards used in the recent Democratic National Convention on the party platform.
The draft dropped a provision specifically establishing women’s equality and states that the “principles of Islamic law” will be the basis of law. It details the particular theological doctrines and their rules. It also states that Egypt’s most respected Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, must be consulted on any legislative matters related to Sharia.
With Morsi grabbing virtual dictatorial power and the assembly imposing Islamic law on the nation, Egypt appears to be plunging into extremist policies — while the United States still financially supports the government with massive aid packages.
Source: Telegraph
This is just the conception of Democracy, Egyptian style. The marriage has been consummated with this democratic orgy.This is just the beginning. All peoples want to be free and freedom is never handed on a platter as we ourselves are aware of it.
The fault lies in us and in the rest of the so called western world. We created these monsters all around the world against communism.
Communism fell, no thanks to Ronald Reagan as many Americans pat him in back,hence flaunting their ignorance without delving into the facts.But thanks to Lech Walesa and Pope John Paul ll. Reagan, the mentally deteriorating President who had the symptoms of Alzheimer when he was the Governor of CA took the credit. Let’s give where the credit is due and the above mentioned 2 brave men sowed the seeds of freedom.
Even after the fall of communism, we kept on feeding these dictatorial monsters all around the world. Shame on us!!
Eventually, Latin America got its shackles off the totalitarianism by itself and the same is happening in other countries, including the Middle East and Africa.
Not all democracies are the same, unlike communism and/or dictatorship where only the few on the top have all the power.
The gestation periods of these democratic conceptions may take decades but rather than criticizing Egypt or any other country who had been suppressed by the few for so long with our support, it is time to applaud for this democratic pregnancy, how painful and difficult the eventual birth may be.
The democratic orgy has just started…..Hip, hip hurray!
Nick S
No. We were never assured these people were moderates. The only comment on moderation was that the Muslim Brotherhood had rejected violence as a weapon and instead concentrated on political aims. We supported the small “d” democratic elections. The choices for President for the Egyptian people were Morsi and a former high level Mubarak Cabinet member. The Egyptians chose Morsi. Not much of a surprise.
Gary T,
You are not really in touch re Egypt and/or the USA foreign policy.
Comment on this:’
—We have never had the benefits of any nation’s population as our aim, ever….!!!
—We had nothing to do with the Spring Revolution in terms of helping it develop properly. In fact, we held on for dear life hoping for a “managed” transfer of power favoring our overall ME policy.
—You can lead a dog to skit, but only he will decide to eat it.
Our democracy, corrupt as it is when we try to plant it, is abhorrent to most free peoples.
I call them free because they are free of our choices, oppression, soldiers, drones, A-bomb threats, etc.
—If we are so deadset against the evils of Islam and the Sharia law which often follows, written or oral, then let us wage war against them all, and stop our hypocrisy. Waving the flag of democracy primarily for our own populace consumption, while sabotaging their efforts to achieve their will, is kinda hypocritical.
—It is only oil, the “sewage” canal and Israel that interests us in Egypt.
—Ít is NOT libertarian to say “let them stew”, because that is what our nation often does, and we are not lbertarian except for the works of corporations.
The list of conflicts that we have left alone or bailed out of are very long. If you need help, try starting with the current one in Syria. Or the total failure we left after us in Iraq. Or the Marine landing and Black Hawks fleeing Somalia, Lebanon in ’88 and the Marine barracks, and the abortion called the Gulf War, which was reneging on the OK we had given Saddam.
Study your history.
Frankly.
The U.S. should have backed the existing Egyptian government. before the revloution,