Bassem Youssef and Islam

[Kurama]

Bassem Youssef is an Egyptian comedian currently under investigation for allegedly insulting president Mohamed Morsi and the Islamic religion. Notwithstanding, Youssef is a devout and practicing Muslim, who has claimed that the allegations against him and his ''insults'' to Islam are politically motivated.

He has stated that the Muslim Brotherhood have monopolised Islam, and have used an ''Inquisition style'' government to crack down on potential opponents. He believes that the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamic groups, have abused Islam, just like how the monarchs of Europe abused Christianity in the middle ages, and have mutilated its image (he has even gone far enough to say that the Muslim Brotherhood use a fascist style government). He has said time and time again that Islam is a peaceful religion, and organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood are the ones who distort the image of Islam.
http://www.christianforums.com/www.youtube.com/watch?v=M02iwiWT8mg
What is your take on this?

 

[SolomonVII]

Sure. He speaks the truth of what is happening in Islam under the influence of MB and like-minded groups.

But when has Islam been anything but political?

As Bassem Youssef attempts to change Islam to a more personal, private faith, I wish him all the best. He has a good handle of what Islam under the MB is going to look like. If he can turn the tide against the MB into his own vision of a more personal, less political faith, good for him.

Chances are though, he is going to end up in prison or worse before that day comes.

 

[Kurama]

Well the fact of the matter is that Egypt is still within a democratic process. Morsi is not a fully fledged Arab dictator yet...if you wanted to look at a real Arab dictator then Saddam Hussein was the perfect example. With protests currently going on against Morsi, I believe that the young democratic spirit of the Egyptians is still alive.

I think what Youssef is trying to say is that there is a fine line between Islam, as a religion, and political Islam. I think, very much like Christianity and the Enlightement, he is trying to show his fellow Arabs that Islam should be more of a personal belief, and that it should not be involved in politics (this was what Ataturk achieved in Turkey, and he is loved by his people).

I strongly believe that if the Brotherhood fails in Egypt (the largest Arab state), like it has done in Jordan, then I believe that there might be more secularisation in the Middle East (as long as the fascist Baath parties are eradicated). It is interesting to note that many Islamic scholars in Egypt support Youssef since they too believe that the Brotherhood has abused the name of Islam.

Ultimately I believe that if Youssef goes to prison, it would only make things worse for Morsi since he's already an unpopular leader.

 

[SolomonVII]

There are still signs of life for democracy in Egypt. Myself, I am a bit of a pessimist on anything coming of it. All the models for democracy are Western, and for the most part the educated classes reject the West as colonial, imperialist and in general not worth emulating. There is nothing in any of the higher education systems globally that would tell them any different.
People go seeking for an Islamic model, and they end up with the MB.

 

[Kurama]

After reading about the Christian-Muslim clashes currently going on in Cairo, I share a similar opinion with you. As long as the majority of Egyptians vote for theocratic/religious parties, there will always be discrimination against minorities. I feel that voting for the Muslim Brotherhood is like voting for the Knights Party (aka the Ku Klux Klan) in the United States, or the British National Party in the United Kingdom.

True democracy should not be about the tyranny of the majority, it should be a political system where all people can express their opinions, where all minorities get equal rights, and where the majority can never vote for illegitimate actions against racial/religious groups (the tragedy of the democratic rise of the Nazi Party in Weimar Germany should never be replicated).

This is why I personally admire the United States and its Constitution. Ok, people complain about poor social welfare, high taxes, too much government spending, multinational military etc...but ultimately the United States was founded upon the principles of human rights (though I find it ambiguous why slavery was practiced for nearly more than a century afterwards).

*Facepalm* In China, our consitution doesn't really fight for our rights. China is really the greatest example for a pure minarchist haven (aside from all the militarisation, propaganda, forced abortions, persecution etc); if you're rich, you're powerful. If you're poor, you're nothing.

 

[simplegifts]

Bassem Youssef is an Egyptian comedian currently under investigation for allegedly insulting president Mohamed Morsi and the Islamic religion. Notwithstanding, Youssef is a devout and practicing Muslim, who has claimed that the allegations against him and his ''insults'' to Islam are politically motivated.

He has stated that the Muslim Brotherhood have monopolised Islam, and have used an ''Inquisition style'' government to crack down on potential opponents. He believes that the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamic groups, have abused Islam, just like how the monarchs of Europe abused Christianity in the middle ages, and have mutilated its image (he has even gone far enough to say that the Muslim Brotherhood use a fascist style government). He has said time and time again that Islam is a peaceful religion, and organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood are the ones who distort the image of Islam.

What is your take on this?

http://ansamed.ansa.it/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2013/04/05/Egypt-activist-Ziada-sad-say-things-better-Mubarak_8504662.html
Egypt: activist Ziada, sad to say things better under Mubarak

Brotherhood doesn't love women; suffering crisis more
05 April, 13:15

 

[Kurama]

Egypt: activist Ziada, sad to say things better under Mubarak - Politics - ANSAMed.it
Egypt: activist Ziada, sad to say things better under Mubarak

Brotherhood doesn't love women; suffering crisis more
05 April, 13:15

Well the fact of the matter is that Mubarak was a ''moderate'' who indeed did accomplish some good things; secularism (though he wasn't able to stop the Christmas day church bombing), cutting ties with Hamas and denouncing Hezbollah, maintaining good relations with Israel and the west). However at what cost?

Mubarak would persecute anyone who was an opponent to his regime. He installed a new law in 2007 to appoint prosecutors in order to prosecute his opponents ''indirectly''. Morsi is currently copying from Mubarak, as Youssef has pointed out in his interview with CNN. Mubarak was also very corrupt, embezzling millions upon millions of dollars into his foreign bank account.

Indeed criticize the Muslim Brotherhood for its failures, but don't think that Egypt was any better under Mubarak! That's like saying the Allies should have allied themselves with Hitler in order to get rid of the USSR.