Mohamed Morsi Declared Winner: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Claims Win in Egyptian Presidential Runo - Polidicks

[quote=USA Today] [TABLE="width: 900"] [TR] [TD][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/GQyUg.jpg[/IMG] [SUB][I]Mohamed Morsi. AKA: The guy they just elected. But you already knew that, didn't you? Also, is that a goiter? [/I][/SUB][/TD] [TD]CAIRO (AP) – The Egypt election commission announced Sunday that Islamist Mohammed Morsi won the presidential runoff. His challenger was Ahmed Shafiq. The announcement of the president was supposed to be the end of Egypt's post-uprising transition to democracy. However the military made a series of last minute moves that stripped the office of president of most of its major powers and kept those powers concentrated in the hands of the military. A court ruling a few days before that dissolved the freely elected parliament that was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the pro-democracy uprising, a swelling crowd of thousands gathered in sweltering midday heat awaiting the announcement. They were a mix of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Islamists known as Salafis along with some of the revolutionary youth groups that drove last year's uprising. A separate pro-Shafiq rally of some 2000 protesters gathered in northern Cairo district of Nasr City. A military official told the Associated Press late Saturday: "This time, we won't be kidding. We were kind … before" with lawbreakers, adding that a curfew can be imposed if needed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] On Saturday, authorities deployed extra security forces across the country, especially near key state institutions. Government and private sector employees were sent home early on Sunday, while many Egyptians stocked up on food and jewelry shops shut down because of concerns over new violence. Armored vehicles and troops were deployed at exits and entrances to Cairo airport. Riot police clad in black uniforms with shields were deployed around parliament and the streets leading to the Cabinet building nearby were blocked by troops and armored vehicles. Minister of Interior Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of police and other security forces, ordered top security officers in a meeting Saturday that police should "confront with firmness, force and decisiveness any attempt to violate" the law, according to a security official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "Neither Morsi, nor Shafiq, Tantawi is the president of Egypt," read one headline of the weekly Sout el-Umma in a reference to the head of the ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Tantawi was Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years. Egyptian media and social media are rife with the competing claims and theories about behind- the-scenes deals being cut at the last minute to divide up power between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military, the two biggest power brokers to emerge from the uprising that ousted Mubarak. A leading Brotherhood member, Mohammed el-Beltagi, warned on his Facebook page that some within the current regime are pressing for reelections in a number of provinces around the country in order to "enable Shafiq to win in less tense atmosphere." He alluded to agencies, possibly a reference to security agencies still dominated by figures from the old Mubarak regime. "All parties and agencies must stop playing with fire," he wrote. [URL="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-06-24/egypt-president-announcement/55793164/1"]SOURCE[/URL][/quote] I think this is a step in the right direction though. There were pros and cons to each candidate, but the fact that this guy got elected seems to show that the military really doesn't run EVERYTHING. Also, the speech was very long, almost an hour. But, it showed extreme transparency by the election commission. I thought, at any moment, he might have started reading the name of each of the millions upon millions of people that voted and what their vote was and whether it was valid or not. That, and people were out in the high 90's heat, and people were fainting from heat illness.

Is he the Muslim Brotherhood candidate? E: Confirmed yes, which is concerning for secularism and religious freedom in Egypt. It's a bitter irony to think that the presidential run-off came down to the two candidates which least represented the youth-led revolution which gave them the chance to run for presidency.

[QUOTE=BoysLightUp;36468598]Is he the Muslim Brotherhood candidate?[/QUOTE] Yes. Title Edited.

(Arab) Winter is coming?

Just watched that on TV too, being a non-muslim Egyptian, I don't really find this that good of a result.

[QUOTE=nmagain;36468660]Just watched that on TV too, being a non-muslim Egyptian, I don't really find this that good of a result.[/QUOTE] I hear tell of the Muslim Brotherhood being relatively tame compared to other islamist parties, movements, and governments. Is this true?

[QUOTE=Irkalla;36468669]I hear tell of the Muslim Brotherhood being relatively tame compared to other islamist parties, movements, and governments. Is this true?[/QUOTE] I'm not sure, I don't really pay that much attention, but they're definitely not tame with other religious views.

[QUOTE=nmagain;36468686]I'm not sure, I don't really pay that much attention, but they're definitely not tame with other religious views.[/QUOTE] Well, I look forward to the day of a Middle East governed by secular entities. But you know, on one hand you had the man of the old guard that would be a better president in terms of women's rights and policy concerning non-muslims, but then again he was, what, the former prime minister under Mubarak? Nah. Sorry, Charlie.

Not sure how to feel about this.

So does this mean Sharia law will be implemented in Egypt?

[QUOTE=Irkalla;36468669]I hear tell of the Muslim Brotherhood being relatively tame compared to other islamist parties, movements, and governments. Is this true?[/QUOTE] I believe they are generally tame in regards to women but they do support the implication of Sharia law.

[QUOTE=BusterBluth;36468732]I believe they are generally tame in regards to women but they do support the implication of Sharia law.[/QUOTE] Before you toss that buzzword around, give Sharia a read. I find it to be very tame compared to the traditionalist policies of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Afghanistan, and a whole host of other like minded nations. Woman wears a giant view obstructing thing? Tradition. Woman dresses modestly, even in western clothing? Compliant with the Sharia. Now, of course, there are some clearly overkill things. Homosexuality is declared as non-compliant with Sharia, though no explicit penalty is given. Some irrational countries choose to impose the death penalty, where others declare it illegal but have no penalty for it (which is in parity with sharia,) whereas in Turkey and Jordan, homosexuality is as legal as heterosexuality: There must be mutual consent. You must agree, it's better than Christians that believe homosexuality should be punished by stoning. I find some of it to be, of course, religious frill... But I find a lot of it to be sensible. As with anything, you'll find that people, especially men, pick and choose the parts of Sharia that they agree with and cast the rest to the wayside. Kul (the right of a woman to initiate divorce from her husband) is an example.

It was a choice of either a remnant of Mubarak's regime (prime minister of Mubarak's) or a Muslim Brotherhood candidate. The more extreme ones are the Salafists though. [editline]24th June 2012[/editline] idk apparently they both were really bad, people are getting emotional and cussing each other out on facebook

[QUOTE=Starpluck;36468863]It was a choice of either a remnant of Mubarak's regime (prime minister of Mubarak's) or a Muslim Brotherhood candidate. The more extreme ones are the Salafists though. [editline]24th June 2012[/editline] idk apparently they both were really bad, people are getting emotional and cussing each other out on facebook[/QUOTE] Shafiq wouldn't kill Christians if he won. I personally voted for him.

[QUOTE=nmagain;36468874]Shafiq wouldn't kill Christians if he won. I personally voted for him.[/QUOTE] How do you know? Are you aware of Habib Adly's (Mubarak's interior minister) implication of the Copt Church bombings like two years ago?

[QUOTE=Starpluck;36468903]How do you know? Are you aware of Habib Adly's (Mubarak's interior minister) implication of the Copt Church bombings like two years ago?[/QUOTE] Yes I am, but Morsi himself said that he will "pound" the Christians if he won, even if Shafiq was bad, what we have not cannot be any better.

[QUOTE=Irkalla;36468756]Before you toss that buzzword around, give Sharia a read. I find it to be very tame compared to the traditionalist policies of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Afghanistan, and a whole host of other like minded nations. Woman wears a giant view obstructing thing? Tradition. Woman dresses modestly, even in western clothing? Compliant with the Sharia. Now, of course, there are some clearly overkill things. Homosexuality is declared as non-compliant with Sharia, though no explicit penalty is given. Some irrational countries choose to impose the death penalty, where others declare it illegal but have no penalty for it (which is in parity with sharia,) whereas in Turkey and Jordan, homosexuality is as legal as heterosexuality: There must be mutual consent. You must agree, it's better than Christians that believe homosexuality should be punished by stoning. I find some of it to be, of course, religious frill... But I find a lot of it to be sensible. As with anything, you'll find that people, especially men, pick and choose the parts of Sharia that they agree with and cast the rest to the wayside. Kul (the right of a woman to initiate divorce from her husband) is an example.[/QUOTE] Its a generally oppressive policy. Also the hell are you talking about regarding Christians? There are actual Islamic governments in the middle east that use Sharia to execute gays. Is your point that Christians stoning gays is worse than Muslims doing so? Sharia law opens the way to such polices and shouldn't be downplayed.

Do you have a link to him spouting this religious bigotry rhetoric? I think that's one of the most important things to conclude whether or not he will go batshit or not.

No, I don't think it got to the western media, but it was reported on Egyptian television various times.

[QUOTE=nmagain;36468946]No, I don't think it got to the western media, but it was reported on Egyptian television various times.[/QUOTE] Was that due to the lack of authenticity attributed to that statement? Western media is notoriously known for grabbing the slightest Islamist-extremist rhetoric and exaggerating it completely into a fear-mongering fest so I think its bit strange that this managed to slip their radar.

Could have been worse.

[QUOTE=nmagain;36468946]No, I don't think it got to the western media, but it was reported on [B]Egyptian television[/B] various times.[/QUOTE]

Poor Egyptians, but it could be worse.

[QUOTE=nmagain;36468915]Yes I am, but Morsi himself said that he [B]will "pound" the Christians[/B] if he won, even if Shafiq was bad, what we have not cannot be any better.[/QUOTE] :quagmire: Sorry, but there's so much gold in this topic.

I've got mixed feelings about this.

I think this guy is the lesser of two evils. From what I've read, the Muslim brotherhood merely uses its religion as guidance for policy, and they've been criticised many times by extremist Muslim groups like Al-Qaeda. However, although they're democratic it doesn't mean they're not batshit crazy. Watch this space.

They're pan-Islamists calling for unity of Muslims under a single Islamic state. Obviously conservative too,though i have no idea what political persuasion they have(economic left/right) [editline]24th June 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Strike 86;36469561]I think this guy is the lesser of two evils. From what I've read, the Muslim brotherhood merely uses its religion as guidance for policy, and they've been criticised many times by extremist Muslim groups like Al-Qaeda. However, although they're democratic it doesn't mean they're not batshit crazy. Watch this space.[/QUOTE] Well,Egyptians had a choice between a potential authoritarian senior commander with easy access to all military or a theocrat. Which is technically almost the same thing.

[QUOTE=znk666;36469867]They're pan-Islamists calling for unity of Muslims under a single Islamic state. Obviously conservative too,though i have no idea what political persuasion they have(economic left/right) [editline]24th June 2012[/editline] Well,Egyptians had a choice between a potential authoritarian senior commander with easy access to all military or a theocrat. Which is technically almost the same thing.[/QUOTE] We don't really have a left and right wings in Egypt, everybody was leftist while Mubarak reigned. Right now, the Muslim brotherhood (or their party, Freedom & Justice) may look like the ruling majority, but I think Egypt has seen how lacklustre they were in the parliament. I doubt they'll score enough seats to hold a majority in the next parliamentary elections which should be soon, according to the Constitutional Court. As for the choices: personally, as an Egyptian, I dislike them both. But I had no other choice in the end. As Strike 86 said, Morsi is the lesser of two evils, but I doubt he's going to try anything, every Egyptian has their eyes on him now. I hope this isn't a step closer towards being the next Iran, for everybody's sake.

We have Santorum, and they got Muslim Brotherhood. We all got Religious parties around the world, only theirs is the islam. I don't see that much of a problem when you look at it from an objective point of view.

[QUOTE=commander204;36476997] We all got Religious parties around the world, only theirs is the islam. I don't see that much of a problem when you look at it from an objective point of view.[/QUOTE] The problem isn't Islam, it is Islamism. They see religion and politics as being invariably intertwined. That IS a problem for anyone who isn't muslim, and muslims who believe that state and religion should stay separate.