EGYPT IS NOT A SECULAR COUNTRY

From a friend who lives in Cairo:

Ninety percent of the women are veiled by choice. That is not by law, they just choose to be veiled. The legal system is Sharia based, meaning women have virtually no rights to inheritance and are not considered the equal of men in the eyes of the law. They can not petition for divorce, while a man can divorce his wife by saying “I divorce you” three times. The mosques are so over crowded that during the daytime when people can not pray at home they pray on the sidewalks outside the overflowing mosques. Since women can not pray in public, they literally kneel down on the floors of public bathrooms to pray. Most marriages are arranged.

The average Egyptian hates America and detests Israel. A few years ago, the number one song for several months on the Egyptian version of MTV was a ditty entitled “I Hate Israel.”

In the five years that I've been living in Cairo, I have never met a single Egyptian who did not believe that 9/11 was an Israeli/American plot. Not one. Every single Egyptian is a Truther. Every one.

Every Friday after prayers, somewhere in Egypt there is an attack on a Coptic Church or an individual Coptic. Sometimes it’s a large enough attack to make the international news, usually not. But, it is definitely “business as usual” to kill a few Copts every Friday.

As for the Army, who do you think has been running Egypt for the last 50 years? Mubarak was an Army man’s Army man. The new “transitional” leader of Egypt will most likely be a 75 year old Army man in the same mold as Mubarak. The Army has no affection for America. They have affection for the billions of dollars we throw in their direction.

It is not all flowers and balloons and “freedom” and “democracy” in Egypt right now. It is a disaster which will probably lead to a catastrophe.

The elderly, ailing Mubarak was not long for this world before the so-called revolution in Egypt. The Army was well aware of that. Mubarak wanted his son Gamal to succeed him. The Army hates Gamal because they see him as weak. Nothing is more reviled in the Muslim world than weakness.

If none of this had happened, some time in the near future there would have been a bloodless coup to replace Mubarak with a different Army strongman, which is exactly what happened. That is why the Army stood back and let the protestors run wild. The protestors were the useful idiots for the Army and the Army came out smelling like a rose. Everyone is hailing the Army for its “restraint.” That wasn’t “restraint,” it was a tactic to get exactly the outcome they wanted.

UPDATE:

I think the Muslim Brotherhood has been greatly strengthened. On the other hand, the Army does not cotton to the Brotherhood, so that is good thing.

If there is an election in September or any time in the near future the Brotherhood will increase their 20% representation in the Government considerably. Will they win in this upcoming election? No. Will they win if there are future elections? Very likely.

Will they have huge influence over the government starting today? Absolutely.

All this talk about the Brotherhood being a small minority is ridiculous. They are the only organized opposition political party in Egypt. They are cunning. They are smart. They have played their cards well. Not to mention, before the fall of Mubarak, when they were an illegal party they still garnered 20% of the vote. Now they have been given legitimacy by the U.S. Government, they are the only organized political group, there is a power vacuum, and the people of Egypt are going to be very disappointed and disillusioned when they realize they have gotten rid of an 82 year old military dictator and replaced him with a 75 year old military dictator.

Let’s put it this way: things are looking up for the Muslim Brotherhood, but not so much for Israel or the U.S.