WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REMAKE "REALITY":

Realism Wins (Mshari Al-Zaydi, 24/11/2005, Asharq Alawsat)

The horizon of the political dreamers is always limited and overtaken by reality. We may be surprised one day to find that Al Zarqawi has developed shades of grey as politics does, but will he be able to shed the rivers of blood that he has caused that will eventually drown him?

There are many examples that reassure that the final victory will belong to the realists. We have seen the transformation of viewpoint in the leader of Jihadist groups in Egypt, Abud Al Zumur. Al Zumur was imprisoned for over 25 years for the assassination of President Sadat and rejected all the juridical reviews of the Islamist Jihadist revisionist (who moderated their radicalism), but eventually issued a statement calling for the support of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian general elections. This means that after 25 years of rejection, he finally acknowledged the political means that he had previously described as pagan such as elections and representation in parliament. He finally got rid of such delusions bringing him to reality. Last August he issued a statement that encouraged Egyptian political parties not to boycott the presidential elections. He stated that the opposition should unite behind a single candidate to push for the desired change. Indeed, such is a new language that differs greatly to that used by the author of the 'Missing Religious Obligation,' Mohamed Abdel Salam Farag, Abud's former colleague, and the religious ideologue of the group that killed Sadat. Maybe one day Al-Zawahiri will also renounce his language.

Even the Muslim Brotherhood, who see themselves as the pioneers of cultural-political resistance of the Crusading West, by employing notions such as the cultural invasion, cultural and political dependency from the ruling regimes of the West, and the maintenance of the Ummah's identity, have now started to mitigate its hostile language towards the United States. One must however highlight the word mitigate as to eliminate such language altogether would be political suicide. We now hear the general guide of the Brothers in Syria, Ali Sadr Addin Al Bayanouni, in response to a question about dialogue with the United States saying, "We will happily meet any party and clarify our views and positions."

In addition, we listen to the comments of the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme leader, Mohamed Mahdi Akef, who speaks indifferently of power to an Egyptian magazine: "I say it loud and clear, we do not seek power. We want the people to rule themselves." I wonder what Sayyed Qutb would say if he had been around to hear such comments?

He'd say he'd lost.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 26, 2005 11:46 AM