Some are calling Egyptian President Mubarak a “brutal dictator”. But they neglect to reference specific acts of brutality over his reign.
That’s because this imperfect but decent man loves his country. He is not a Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, or Idi Amin.
Mubarak’s government has arrested members of the Muslim Brotherhood whenever they have threatened stability or slaughtered tourists. These Islamists were probably not treated gently in prison as the government sought information to protect innocent lives. Mubarak instituted security policies which have prohibited free assembly and a free media. But these hardly qualify as acts of “brutality”.
Mubarak’s very first arrest included Ayman al Zawahiri as part of a gang of Islamist thugs who murdered Mubarak’s predecessor, President Anwar Sadat, in 1981.
Zawahiri was subsequently released and exiled. He then joined forces with Osama bin Laden and formed al-Qaeda, an organization he has co-led since 1989. Bin Laden brought the money. Zawahiri brought the experience in violent jihad to assemble the al-Qaeda army of hate.
Mubarak would have been labeled a ruthless tyrant had he kept Zawahiri in prison without trial – as was his only alternative. The exposure of a national trial and the death penalty would have enraged the Brotherhood and caused chaos throughout Egypt.
After Sadat’s assassination, Mubarak secured the Egypt-Israeli peace agreement for three decades, during which time he did more than any other Arab leader in maintaining a fragile Middle East stability.
The Obama Administration now throws Mubarak under the bus, as they support the illegal Muslim Brotherhood at the negotiating table.
The Brotherhood is anathema to the principles of democracy, individual liberties, freedom of religion, women’s rights, and secular government.
The Brotherhood was launched in 1928 to fill the void in the Muslim World when Ataturk shut down the Caliphate and formed the Republic of Turkey. Since then the Brotherhood and its teachings have served as the foundation of Islamic extremism worldwide.
Egyptian Sayed Qutb, the Brotherhood’s most prominent intellectual leader in the 1950s, instituted the principle of violent jihad against citizens in secular states. His followers were eventually became teachers of bin Laden, Zawahiri, and other Islamists worldwide. The Brotherhood’s teachings have been the foundation of modern Islamic extremism. Even Ayatollah Kohemini, the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, studied Qutb’s principles.
Some say the Obama Administration is either naive or unknowing of the Brotherhood’s stated motives. That’s ridiculous. They are fully aware of the goals, but choose appeasement as a way forward.
I had the honor of working directly with Hosni Mubarak from 1992 – 2001 when I co-chaired the Presidents’ Council (appointed by Presidents Mubarak and Clinton). Mubarak’s son Gamal served with us. We worked to facilitate private sector partnerships between American and Middle East businessmen, and also with Israeli businessmen.
We found President Mubarak open, very approachable, friendly, charming, great sense of humor, anything but arrogant, and respectful of others’ opinions. His decisions, right or wrong, have always been based on what he believes best for his country. It’s unconscionable that he is now being labeled as something he is not by media neophytes who don’t have a clue how difficult it is to operate as a secular leader in a country rife with poverty, illiteracy, and Islamic extremists.
For 30 years Mubarak has protected a fragile peace with Israel, kept the Suez Canal open, and helped the US in the struggle against Islamic extremists. He has held the Brotherhood in check, in spite of 7 assassination attempts made on his life.
90% of Egyptians favor a role for Islam in their government, while Mubarak has held firm that Islamists have no role inside a secular government.
The genie is now out of the bottle. Going forward we must remember that Chamberlain thought we could all get along with Hitler, and that President Carter enabled the fall of the Shah of Iran. Both were wrong.
Time will tell if a miraculous transformation of the Brotherhood will allow individual and religious freedoms, or if Egypt is on the same path as Palestine with Hamas or Iran with fundamentalist rule.
There is much cause for concern, and perhaps a slight ray of hope.
Jack Tymann, as President of Westinghouse International, led business development in 75 nations, including most Muslim countries. He later founded Homeland Security Partners, focused on counter-terrorism. In the 1990s, he served on and co-chaired the Clinton-Mubarak Presidents’ Council for the Middle East. He serves on the AMIDEAST BoD, a Washington-based nonprofit promoting mutual understanding between Arabs and Americans. He is a lecturer and commentator for NewsBalance.com, the Naples Daily News, and Naples Talk Radio.