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The following is research published today from the Special Dispatch Series on Egypt.
For more from the MEMRI Egypt Studies Project, visithttp://www.memri.org/content/en/country.htm?country=egypt.
*Special Dispatch Series
Special Dispatch No. 3024—U.S. and the Arab and Muslim World/Conspiracy Theories
Egyptian Daily: USAID-Funded TV Shows Modeled on 'Sesame Street' are An American/Jewish Plot to Blur Children's Arab Identity, Brainwash Them into Loving U.S. and Israel
On April 30, 2010, the independent Egyptian daily Al-Misriyyoun reported that the Cairo branch of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) intends to produce three TV programs for children aged 4-7, ostensibly aimed at expanding their horizons and acquainting them with other cultures.
The daily warned that the programs, modeled on the American "Sesame Street," are part of a Jewish and American plot to undermine the children's Arab and Islamic identity, and to brainwash them into loving the U.S. and Israel.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4361.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3025
Internationally Recognized Egyptian Geologist/Cleric Zaghloul Al-Naggar: Our Way of Dealing with the U.S. Military is By Preaching Islam – We Persuaded 20,000 U.S. Troops to Convert to Islam in the First Days of the Gulf War
In an interview with Al-Rahma TV, on January 8, 2010, prominent Egyptian geologist and cleric Dr. Zaghloul Al-Naggar stated that over 20,000 U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia converted to Islam during the first Gulf War, and that "our only means [to confront the non-Muslims' war against Islam] is to preach the call to Allah, with good words, clear evidence, and proper logic."
Dr. Al-Naggar, who holds a Ph.D. in geology from Wales University, U.K., is a member of the Geological Society of London, the Geological Society of Egypt, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has lectured at universities in the West, including the University of Wales, as well as at universities in Arab countries. In 1977-78, he was a visiting lecturer at the University of California.
He is a member of the board of trustees of the Bridges Foundation, which states on its website,http://www.bridges-foundation.org, that its vision is to "...train Muslims on becoming public speakers and presenters of how to present Islam as a culture and way of life to their fellow non-Muslims." He is also chairman of the Committee on Scientific Notions in the Glorious Koran and Purity Sunnah Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Cairo and a fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences.
According to the English section of Dr. Al-Naggar's website (www.elnaggarzr.com), the website's aim is, inter alia, to "invite non-Muslims to think of the Scientific Facts which came in The Glorious Koran and the Pure Prophetic Sunnah [one] thousand and four hundred years [ago that] science is still discovering," "to respond to the directed suspicions [of] Islam & Muslims," and "to [make] know[n] Dr. Zaghloul Al-Naggar [to] the West and informing them [of] his science & neutralism."
To view this clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2479.htm
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4363.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3027
Egyptian Clerics Reminisce about the Victories of Early Islam and Lament the Loss of Andalusia
The following excerpts are from an interview with Egyptian cleric Hamdan Badr of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which aired on Al-Shabab TV on December 8, 2009.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2472.htm.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4365.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3028—U.S. and the Middle East
U.S. Response to Extension of Egypt's Emergency Law Evokes Angry Reactions in Egyptian Press
On May 12, 2010, the Egyptian Parliament approved a presidential decree to extend for another two years the Emergency Law, which has been in place in the country for almost 30 years, while limiting its application to crimes of terrorism and drug trafficking. According to the decree, other amendments are to be made, including the removal of clauses limiting freedom of expression and infringing on human rights, such as those enabling government supervision of the press and other publications, as well as seizure of property and land. The decree also stipulates the release, starting in June 2010, of prisoners incarcerated under the Emergency Law, other than those arrested for terrorism or drug trafficking.
The decision to extend the Emergency Law sparked criticism and disappointment from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, which in turn evoked angry reactions in Egypt. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit said that the U.S. had "failed to see the positive side of this important step taken." He added that the U.S. response was motivated by political considerations, and that it reflected consideration for elements within the U.S., such as the press, research institutes, and various activists, more than consideration for U.S.-Egypt relations. He added that the response reflected a poor grasp of the reality in Egyptian society. He noted that, nonetheless, "the American-Egyptian partnership will continue, and we are committed to it just as the U.S. is committed to it."
The Egyptian government press also expressed anger about the U.S. criticism. The arguments made were that the U.S. took all measures necessary to safeguard its own security and to fight terrorism, even at the expense of human rights, but did not allow Egypt to do the same; that the U.S. should have studied the decree carefully and taken note of the limitations it placed on the Emergency Law, instead of giving a knee-jerk reaction that reflected the interests of various pressure groups within the U.S; and that the U.S. had no right to interfere with Egypt's domestic affairs or to act as guardian of human rights.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4366.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3030–Antisemitism Documentation Project
Egyptian Cleric Muhammad Al-Zoghbi: The Accursed Jews are Masters of Terrorism Who Wallow in Mud and Spread Corruption Wherever They Are
The following excerpts are from a show with Egyptian cleric Muhammad Al-Zoghbi, which aired on Egypt's Al-Rahma TV on March 17, 2010.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2487.htm.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4368.htm.
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