BLOG 229 December 8, 2014
Oh, in case you missed it. The Egyptian judges dropped all charges against former President Hosni Mubark. My, my, who would have thought of such a thing? The only surprise is that the military takeover waited this long to spring him. Mubark was acquitted on all corruption charges. In addition, all charges were dismissed against his sons and a wealthy associate who had profited greatly from Mubark’s 30-year-rule. As noted in the Sunday, November 30 edition of the New York Times, this amounts to rewriting history and closing out the story of the January 25 Egyptian revolution. Of course, human rights activists were outraged.
Now, its time for the ousted Mohamed Morsi to go to court and face the same charges. That’s the way it turns out when your side of the revolution loses. The Egyptian judges know who butters their bread.
On the other side of the Middle East, ISIS is taking it on the chin. Iranian jets hit ISIS militants inside Iraq and the United States was well aware of the situation. It appears that a strange alliance has evolved between the two enemy countries because of the radical brutality of the terrorist who beheaded Americans and terrorized the Iraqis at every turn. Everybody is frightened by the ISIS nut cases.
The foot-dragging resignation of Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki slowed any Western response to the ISIS invasion. No one wanted to jump into the fighting until a more stable and inclusive situation existed in Iraqi. Maliki’s departure in late August opened the door for air strikes by the allies. Even since bombing campaign began the ISIS advance hit the wall. Over 1,000 airstrikes have taken a forcible toll. One U.S. official described the air attacks as “the end of the beginning.”
In a television interview, Jordan’s King Abdullah offered forcible statements that the rise of terrorist extremism is not a reflection of the Muslim faith, but a battle between good and evil. Abdullah dogmatically condemned Muslim extremist as malevolent. The King’s statements are significant because they are in the context of the Arab world. He is an Arab speaking against Arab terrorists. This has not happened in the past at this high level.
Another recent trend that Arab terrorists violence seems to have created is a growing rejection of controlling society with Shariah law (Islamic Law). Brutality apparently has been causing this phenomenon to mushroom among some young Arabs. Generally, the media describes terrorism recruiting tactics based on assassinations, but this new dimension has received little attention. However, a growing number of young Arabs are calling for the abandonment of Shariah law. This conversation is mainly centered in Egypt and Saudi Arabia but appears to be growing in other countries as well. Will they survive? Hard to say, but it is a movement to watch.
At the least, it is now clear that the violent rhetoric of ISIS does not speak for all Muslims. Perhaps, terrorism is actually backfiring! Let’s hope so.
Dr. Robert L. Wise 