Excerpts: Egypt to sue Iran news agency re false Morsi interview.Islamists
must compromise June 28, 2012

+++SOURCE: Ahram Online via Egypt Daily News 28 June,'12:"Egypt to sue Iran
news agency over 'fabricated' Morsi interview",Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Egypt to sue Iran news agency re false Morsi interview
FULL TEXT:Egypt plans to sue Iranian news agency for 'making up' interview
with new president-elect in which the latter reportedly pledges to bolster
ties with Tehran

Egypt plans to sue an Iranian news agency for having allegedly fabricated an
interview with President-elect Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's official MENA news
agency reported on Wednesday[27 June].

MENA quoted the Islamist leader's spokesman, Yassir Ali, as saying that
Iran's Fars news agency had "made up" a widely quoted interview in which
Morsi said he planned to improve ties with Iran and revise Egypt's 1979
peace treaty with Israel.

"Legal action will be taken against the Iranian Fars news agency, which
fabricated the interview," Ali said.

The Egyptian presidency on Monday[25 June] denied that Morsi had given an
interview to Iran's Fars news agency, in which he reportedly pledged to
strengthen ties with the Islamic republic.

"Mr. Morsi did not give any interview to Fars; everything that this agency
has published is without foundation," a spokesman for the Egyptian
presidency told MENA.

Earlier this week, Fars published what it said was an interview with Morsi
in which Egypt's first democratically-elected civilian president said he
wanted to build ties with Iran, severed in 1980.

Morsi was also quoted as saying by Fars that he would "reconsider" the
US-brokered Camp David Accords that led to the 1979 peace treaty between
Egypt and Israel.

"Part of my agenda is the development of ties between Iran and Egypt, which
will create a strategic balance in the region," Morsi was quoted as saying.

The Islamic republic broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1980, one
year after Cairo signed its peace treaty with the self-proclaimed Jewish
state.

Fars said Morsi had given the interview to one of its reporters in Cairo on
Sunday[24 June], just before Morsi's electoral victory was announced.

But in a speech to the Egyptian nation after his victory was confirmed,
Morsi pledged to respect all international treaties signed by Cairo.

Also on Monday[25 June], Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for
stronger ties between Iran and Egypt following Morsi's electoral win,
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

"I congratulate you on becoming the leader of Egypt, a friendly and
brotherly country," Ahmadinejad said in a statement addressed to Morsi,
calling for "the reinstatement of ties between the two countries," IRNA
reported.

Although Iran's predominant faith is Shiite Islam – while the Muslim
Brotherhood adheres to the Sunni branch of Islam – Tehran has reportedly
reached out to the Egyptian organisation in recent months.

Morsi is Egypt's first Islamist president and its first
democratically-elected leader since last year's Tahrir Square uprising that
led to the ouster of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak.

+++SOURCE: Egyptian Gazette 28 June '12:"Islamists must 'compromise' to
safeguard Arab Spring gains,Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:" 'Islamists must 'compromise' "

QUOTE:"
Islamists . . . must compromise in order to rule"

FULL TEXT:DUBAI - Islamists rising to power through polls in some Arab
countries must compromise in order to rule if they are to safeguard the
promises of democracy that emerged with the Arab Spring, analysts say.

Concerns that arose following sweeping victories for Islamists in
Tunisia and Morocco were revived on Sunday [24 June]when the once-banned
Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was declared as Egypt's new president
after a divisive election.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected civilian president, replaces
veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak who was ousted in a popular uprising last
year.

The president-elect, who was jailed under Mubarak, resigned from the
Brotherhood once his election victory was confirmed and said in a speech he
will be a leader "for all Egyptians."

Analysts predict a wave of success for Islamists in other Arab countries
hit by popular uprisings.

"The electoral success of Islamist groups in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt
has led some to consider ... that a new Islamist order has already replaced
the Arab Spring," said political sciences professor Jean-Pierre Filiu.

The Paris-based expert said the Arab Spring had altered the Arab World's
historical two-dimensional political landscape, which pitted dictators
against autocratic Islamists, by injecting the prospect of freely elected
leaders.

"The democratic uprising has buried the alternative between dictatorship
and Islamism, giving rise to a process of elections while also forcing the
victors of these elections to govern within the context of coalitions."

The winners, who spent decades in the opposition groups, must now learn
to rule by compromise, said Filiu.

"Islamists, who for years evolved in a monolithic culture due to decades
of repression, must now quickly learn the rules of political pluralism."

Morsi comes from such a background.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, with has branches all over the Arab world,
was banned for decades, during which it pushed the slogan "Islam is the
solution."

Its Freedom and Justice Party won a crushing victory in three-phased
legislative polls earlier this year, with radical Salafist Nur party coming
second.

"With the downfall of regimes in countries hit by revolts, there were no
other political forces to fill the gap," said London-based analyst Abulwahab
Badrakhan.

"Being in the opposition is one thing; ruling is quite another," he
said.

Islamists are now undergoing a "test" under which they must prove are
capable of shifting "from the opposition to the ranks of power and dealing
with other political forces."

One such test will be whether Islamists will able to "abandon their
agendas of imposing political Islam," said Badrakhan, noting that the most
difficult task will be to keep the Salafists "under control."

Abdulaziz Sager, the Chairman of the Gulf Research Centre, said he
believes Egypt's Islamists tried to improve their image before the
elections, noting in particular their promises to respect freedoms and
promote women's rights.

"They have re-marketed themselves," said Sager. "But we must still see
if they will keep their word."

He agrees with other analysts that Islamists in Egypt, and other
countries where they have emerged on the political scene, must "make
compromises" because they cannot rule on their own.

"They will face many challenges -- political, economic and security."

Sager also warned against any attempt by Islamists to try to amend laws
so as to ensure they manage to remain in power.

"The real fear is if they cling to power because they believe that they
have made many sacrifices to reach power."

"I hope the Arab Spring does not turn into a nightmare," Sager added.
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA