The Egyptian government’s announcement that their citizens are free to go join the Syrian civil war, followed up almost immediately by a severing of diplomatic ties with the Syrian government was seen by some as taking a “hard line” on Assad.
Yet the context suggests this is set to be a broader Egyptian policy matter than simply the ongoing war in Syria, and that with the precedent already set that the government is willing to host jihadist citizens who go abroad imposing regime change for religious reasons, it certainly won’t end there.
President Morsi’s election as a moderate Islamist leader aside, elections have shown a broad shift toward Islamist activism among Egypt’s voting public. Morsi’s relatively moderate party won, but a strong second-place showing was had by a Salafist faction with very jihadist sensibilities.
The announcement that Egyptian citizens are free to go join other nations’ civil wars is unquestionably a nod to the Salafists, one made palatable because in this case the West is on the bandwagon for the same jihadist rebels. Egypt is sure to take this precedent on a case-by-case basis, rejecting attacks on other Sunni-dominated religiously-conservative nations, but is certain to use very different criteria than the US or other nations use for regime-change.
Even nations like the US that are on board with the Syria fight aren’t encouraging their citizenry to go al-Qaedaing over there and do it themselves. It’s not altruistic either – it’s just plainly obvious that having large numbers of citizens get combat experience and ties to international terrorism is going to have negative long-term consequences. Egypt’s decision not only sets the stage for more “Egypt brigades” joining other nations’ civil wars, but for a battle-hardened base of jihadists hanging out in Egypt in between. Catering to that may be politically beneficial to Morsi, but is clearly risky.
We warned you.., so as other people here at antiwar.com we said that muslims brotherhood are the illegitimate sons of Saudis.., now they are showing who they really are.
There is something fishy about this call to jihad. The leading clerics in Eguipt do not support it so very unlikely that the government does. It seems that some gulf state militant clerics went to equips to sign a doc that made it look that way. http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=429723
ATM above is correct, a leading Saudi asshole we t to Egypt and agitated during Friday prayers. The issue is that sob cannot do the same in his own country. Most clerks in Egypt are against the Wahbai salafist murderers. particularly in Al-Azhar which is a very moderate mainstream institution
This is all for internal reasons as this loser Mursi wants to divert attention from his failure along with the brotherhood to lead the country.
You all miss the point. While the Muslim world may be diverse and not monolithic, the Arab world is different. They share the same language, religion, customs and shared history. Nationalism is a joke if it differentiates between a Palestinian, Egyptian or Syrian for example. Furthermore, historically speaking from the early days of Islam until today an Egyptian-Syrian alliance has always brought the Middle East together and deterred foreign invaders (e.g. the Crusaders and the Mongols). Jason you can not imagine what is happening in the Middle East right now. As you know the majority of the Middle East is under the age of 30. These youth in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya and now Syria have tasted jihad and its aftermath is going to affect the the US, Israel and the West for a long time. History repeats itself. It took 200 years of christian fanaticism to produce Kutuz and Baibars (Muslim heroes) who stopped the Mongol onslaught and finally kicked out the Crusaders from their coastal enclaves. The problem is they were not nearly as lenient, generous and merciful as salahuddin (whom in the west we call saladin). This "jihad" is awakening the Muslim giant. I don't care about the Salafi reaction what I care about is the israel/US/Western action. Because the US trumped and undermined the democratically elected moderates like Hamas in Palestine and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (albeit behind the scenes) they will have to deal with a disgruntled youth that has seen nothing but Israeli and US oppression. Don't misunderstand me though. I think good reform begins at home. That's why you will see these "sunni" despots over thrown, then the shia crescent will take a hard hit. And Finally Israel and its American backers. This is not a prophesy, its just history repeating itself. The US lets 30K + Libyans die before they decide to intervene (never for solely humanitarian reasons) yet they allow 100K + plus Syrians die but they won't intervene completely just yet. Why shouldn't Muslims in Egypt run to fight in Syria. Aren't they human beings with a conscience? The US has no moral standing in the Middle East or the Muslim world, while the so called jihadis that so many people seem to hate have every justification in the world on moral , legal and human grounds to free themselves of this disgusting American/Israeli/western domination of other human beings because of arrogance, greed and lust for power. Pat Buchanan said it best when he said in reference to 9/11. They are here because we are over there once we leave there won't be a justification for them to be here. We Muslims are here as law abiding citizens who love and respect the good things about America like the folks at antiwar.com. However, you should fight for dear life to keep our boys from killing and being killed over lies, Israeli colonists, oil and so called "democracy".