Follow Hudson New York
Most Viewed
Hudson Institute is attempting to encourage civil discourse on important issues of our time. The views expressed are not necessarily the opinions shared by those at the institute, but reflect a variety of viewpoints that may be controversial and sometimes provocative.
Latest Articles
Arab Dictators and Radical Islam
by Khaled Abu Toameh • February 11, 2011 at 5:00 am
 Send |
 Comment |
    
|
ShareFor decades, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arab dictators used to tell Americans and Europeans that if they did not support them, the result would be Muslim extremists coming to power.
This is why these dictators never took drastic measures against Islamic fundamentalist groups in their countries. Even though Egypt and some Arab countries occasionally cracked down on these groups, they always made sure that the Islamists would stay around.
In Egypt, for example, the Muslim Brotherhood organization had been outlawed for many years. However, this did not stop the organization and its supporters from operating under different labels.
In Jordan, similarly, the authorities played a cat-and-mouse game with Islamist groups and their followers. One day the Muslim Brotherhood in the kingdom would be good guys, on another day they would be bad guys.
This pattern gave the Muslim Brotherhood a chance to grow and win over more supporters, as the local people became more and more disgusted both with their dictators and the Western governments who supported them
Continue Reading
The Reality of the Muslim Brotherhood
by Tarek Heggy • February 11, 2011 at 4:45 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
The Muslim Brotherhood was launched in 1928 to restore a caliphate, a global religious government aimed at fighting the "non-believers" (specifically, Christians, Hindus, and Jews) and at spreading Islam. The group opposed the existence of any secular states in all Muslim societies throughout the Middle East.
The Brotherhood killed Egypt's Prime Minister Mahmud Fahmi Nuqrashi in 1948 and plotted to kill President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the early 1950s. An offshoot group, Islamic Jihad, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, later Osama bin Laden's number-two man, assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Al-Sadat in 1981 and tried to kill President Hosni Mubarak in 1995.
The Danger of the Muslim Brotherhood
by Irfan Al-Alawi • February 11, 2011 at 4:30 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
Hosni Mubarak has come to a wretched pass, and it is impossible not to sympathise with crowds of ordinary people demanding democratic change. But Westerners are being led by their ignorance and good-hearted idealism to believe in a "reasonable" transformation of the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] and, as a consequence, the alleged standing of the MB as an appropriate participant in the democratisation of the Islamic lands. The MB has always believed that the West could be swindled into assisting the rise of the Brotherhood to power, and the recent effort to convince America and Western Europe that the MB represents a "tame" form of radical ideology has gone on for several years. Moderate Muslims are not fooled, and Westerners should not let themselves be gulled into promoting an outcome in Egypt that would open the way to a Muslim Brotherhood state there.
Western media coverage and political commentary on the Egyptian events frequently leaves Muslim moderates dismayed. It is shocking to observe the wide success of the MB's campaign to present itself as an acceptable option for the government of Egypt.
Egypt and The Obama Administration
by Herbert I. London • February 11, 2011 at 3:30 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
A million people are standing in Tahrir Square in Cairo protesting the government and arguing that Hosni Mubarak must go. The military, representing the most stabilizing influence in Egypt, has immersed itself in the protest, at least to some degree. The nation's most notorious prisons have been emptied of criminals, and Islamic extremists and roving bands have destroyed art treasures and looted private property.
While words of freedom and liberty are in the air, there is the distinct danger that these protests could result in less freedom for Egyptians than what they have known, especially if those who harbor Islamist goals (read: the Muslim Brotherhood) gain a foothold in government.
Despite the confusion surrounding these protests, Foggy Bottom was completely blindsided. On one occasion Secretary Clinton said "Mubarak is a friend;" on another occasion Vice President Biden denied that Mubarak is a dictator. As the protests persisted, however, Washington's tone has changed. Now the State Department refers to an "orderly transition" to "a democratic, participatory government."
Venezuelan Minister Hangs Out With Hezbollah
by Anna Mahjar-Barducci • February 11, 2011 at 3:15 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
Tarek Al-Aissami, the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, one of the key figures of the Chavez's government, is accused by the media of having used this position to issue passports to members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Born in Lebanon of Syrian descent in 1980; his father, Carlos Al-Aissami, was the head of the Venezuelan branch of the Iraqi Baath political party. According to reports, before the invasion of Iraq his father held a press conference in which he described himself as a Taliban and called Osama Bin Laden, "the great Mujahedeen, Sheik Osama bin Laden."[1] The Minister's great-uncle Shibli Al-Aissami was a prominent ideologist and assistant to the secretary general of the Baath party in Baghdad during the Saddam Hussein regime.[2]
The Hezbollah's Connection
Turkish Parliament Adopts Islamist Court-Packing Plan
Turkish Daily Press - February 10, 2011
February 11, 2011 at 3:00 am • AK Group
| Send |
Comment |
|
PARLIAMENT APPROVES JUDICIARY REFORM
According to the new law approved by the Turkish Parliament, the number of chambers at the Council of State has been increased from 13 to 15, the number of law chambers within the Supreme Court of Appeals has increased from 21 to 23 and the number of penal chambers increased from 11 to 15. The law also increases the number of members of the Supreme Court of Appeals from 250 to 387 and members of the Council of State from 95 to 156.
http://www.sabah.com.tr/Gundem/2011/02/10/yargi_reformu_meclisten_gecti
"NO VISA" TO GERMANY VERDICT
Germany's Munich Administrative Court ruled that Turks are exempt from tourist visas. The court upheld that Turks can enter Germany without a visa and can remain in Germany without a visa for up to three months. The court kept visits to relatives living in Germany outside the scope of this decision.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/ekonomi/16981056.asp?gid=373
The Turmoil in Egypt May Present an Opportunity For Peace
by Alan M. Dershowitz • February 10, 2011 at 2:00 pm
| Send |
Comment |
|
You never know when a crisis may unexpectedly open doors. The current turmoil in Egypt may present three national leaders with a unique opportunity to take bold steps to help stabilize the Middle East. President Obama should announce that he would like to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah in a month or so. As President, he has been to Egypt and Turkey but not Israel. A visit now would send a powerful message to the Egyptian people that any new government must honor its peace treaty with the Jewish State if it is to remain on friendly (and receiving) terms with the United States. A visit to Ramallah would send an equally powerful message that any effort by Egypt to undermine the Palestinian Authority in favor of Hamas (an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood) will not be tolerated.
The Failure of British Multiculturalism
by Soeren Kern • February 10, 2011 at 5:00 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
British Prime Minister David Cameron says his country's long-standing policy of multiculturalism is a failure, and responsible for fostering Islamist extremism. In a speech to the Munich Security Conference 2011 on February 5, Cameron said: "Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong. We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values."
