MEMRI Special Dispatch |4744 |May 21, 2012

Egyptian Philosopher Murad Wahba: 'The Muslim Brotherhood Is Ideologically
Required To Start Wars'

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian philosopher Murad
Wahba, which aired on Sada Al-Balad TV on April 20, 2012.

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/3442.htm.

"We're Not Even In The Ballpark" Of The Components Of Democracy

Murad Wahba: "Democracy has four components."

Interviewer: "Where does Egypt stand with regard to these four components?"

Murad Wahba: "We're not even in the ballpark. This is not an exaggeration.
There are four components: Secularism and relative thinking do not exist.
They are considered heresy. As for a social covenant, the religious
authorities interfere in everything. Enlightenment is forbidden – from the
days of Sheik Abd Al-Razeq, through Taha Hussein, and all the way to Naguib
Mahfouz."

Interviewer: "And others too."

Murad Wahba: "Enlightenment is thwarted all the time. They eradicate any
sign of rational thinking. As for liberalism – there is no room for
individualism. Everybody moves like a herd of sheep. […]

"Today, there is a bloc of Gulf states against the Muslim Brotherhood. This
is a new phenomenon."

Interviewer: "What do you mean?"

Murad Wahba: "Some declarations have been issued on this."

Interviewer: "I think that the Dubai police [chief] was very clear on that."

Murad Wahba: "Right. The Gulf states, along with the Asian countries, may be
able to 'besiege' the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Under these
circumstances, I believe that the Muslim Brotherhood ideology will face a
crisis – how will they cooperate, when they are in power, with neighboring
countries – the Gulf states – and with Asia, given its current relations
with the Gulf states, in light of the present problems, in which the U.S.
and Europe are also involved? Today, the U.S. and Europe are closer to the
Gulf states and to Asia than they are to Egypt."

"There Will Be A Crisis Between The Leadership Of The Egyptian Army And The
Muslim Brotherhood"

Interviewer: "At present?"

Murad Wahba: "Yes. That's how I see things. There is a crisis. The Muslim
Brotherhood is, of course, exploiting the issue of Israel, and is trying to
generate threats from Sinai, in an attempt to drag the Egyptian army into
starting another war with Israel. But I think that the military leadership
is aware of what is happening in the Sinai, and of the goals underlying
these incidents. Therefore, in my view, there will be a crisis between the
leadership of the Egyptian army and the Muslim Brotherhood. […]

"For the Egyptian military leadership, the notion of war pertains to
national security: our army's mission is to defend us against an attacking
enemy, but it is not part of its mission to artificially initiate a war. For
the Muslim Brotherhood, war is something one initiates, in an effort to
convert the region and the entire world to Islam. Therefore, the Muslim
Brotherhood is ideologically required to start wars."

Interviewer: "But on the tactical level, they talk about honoring the Camp
David Accords, and about honoring international agreements. Moreover, there
is a strange and worrying flirtation going on between the Muslim Brotherhood
and the American administration regarding the implications on Israel. When
John McCain, for example, was in Egypt, he received their assurance that the
[Israel-Egypt] treaty would be maintained, that the QIZ treaty would be
maintained, and even that they have no problem with the gas exportation [to
Israel] – unless the courts decide otherwise, and it's a different story."

Murad Wahba: "But let me tell you something. I always pay attention to the
expressions they use when they talk about their commitment to the
international agreements. They always add the qualifier: 'But it's subject
to change and to discussion.' That is their tactic. I've noticed that they
always conclude with a 'but' – 'we honor the international agreements, but
the people will have its say.' 'If circumstances change, it may become
necessary to reexamine [the treaty].' It is these expressions that will
enable them to send the Egyptian army to initiate war against Israel in the
future. […]

"If the army returns to the military bases, and the Muslim Brotherhood takes
over the state institutions, it will mean the Islamization of the country
and of society. When that happens, the army, which is a state institution,
will undergo Islamization willy-nilly. Under such circumstance, it will not
be able to remain out of it. […]

"If the Muslim Brotherhood takes over the presidency, it will herald the
beginning of a comprehensive process of Islamization, from top to bottom."
[…]

Please remember the environment before printing.

For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.

MEMRI
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
www.memri.org