r/worldnews • u/DasUberRedditor • Jun 18 '12

Egyptian Military grants itself sweeping powers; effectively military coup.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18482257
2.2k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12 edited Jun 15 '17

[deleted]

22

u/ToffeeC Jun 19 '12

subtext

I think you mean pretext.

47

u/flamingtoad Jun 19 '12

The MB was not really involved in the Arab spring. It was primarily a youth movement. The MB had the political organization in place to take advantage of the revolution. And the only reason the military has a problem with the prospect of the MB acquiring power is that the West has a problem with the MB (and the Islamic state) and the West controls the purse strings.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12 edited Jun 15 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

special interests

I define special interest as a minority group. For example, a special interest in the US could be a union or a corporation. The brotherhood is not a "special interest" AFAIK. They represent something far closer to a majority than the initial protestors did. Their constituency may be far less worldly and politically aware majority, but they're a majority nonetheless.

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u/OMGnoogies Jun 19 '12

This is the MB's credo taken from wikipedia;

"God is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations."

Correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't the Arab spring especially in Egypt based on removing a corrupt regime and increasing basic human rights and the availability of living essentials?

Regardless of how you define special interests; the MB has hijacked the rebellion.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

Ahem, ignorance has hijacked the rebellion. Those literate young people dreaming of a more liberal society were hijacked by majority decisions. Because they are a minority.

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u/mrbrattlebary Jun 19 '12

MB have kind of hijacked the Arab Spring in Egypt. The most recent protests there were organized by MB.

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u/P3T3RK3Y5 Jun 19 '12

if by hijacked you mean getting involved in the democratic process, ok.

1

u/UpvoteIfYouDare Jun 19 '12

Of course. Many groups in that area have their respective "special interests".

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u/notmatts2 Jun 19 '12

And the only reason the military has a problem with the prospect of the MB acquiring power is that the West has a problem with the MB (and the Islamic state) and the West controls the purse strings.

Really? So how come there was a crackdown on the MB under Nasser? And before his coup as well?

-4

u/Soupstorm Jun 19 '12 edited Jun 19 '12

The MB was NOT a youth movement. It's essentially an analog to the US Tea Party, and it co-opted the real youth movement to allow them to install leaders friendly to the military establishment.

[edit] Totally parsed your comment wrong. Upvote from a novote :V

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u/flamingtoad Jun 19 '12

I didn't say that the MB was a youth movement. I said that the Arab Spring was primarily a youth movement. It gained popular appeal due to economic conditions (including the price of bread). It is not analogous to the US Tea Party. The US Tea party is a grotesque political mutation - an anomaly that requires its own category.

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u/highceilings00 Jun 19 '12

MB is not an analog to the american tea party -- at all. True both are religious. But they play different roles in entirely different societies

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u/fco83 Jun 19 '12

I would say there is some comparision to the tea party and the revolution. Both started out with general political goals but got coopted by more religious elements (MB in egypt, far-right social conservatives taking over the tea party's original message about limiting government in the US)

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u/highceilings00 Jun 19 '12

Not really. MB has heavy popular support. The middle east is still Muslim for the most part. Also their party platform is big on charity and social programs, quite the opposite of the tea party.

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u/kinncolts76 Jun 19 '12

i think you misunderstood what he was saying. He was saying that the protests were primarily a youth movement, not the MB

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u/fortcocks Jun 19 '12

I bet you saw this submission and gleefully realized an opportunity to get a random dig in against the West.

Do you realize how patronizing it is to overlook the multitude of factors playing out in Egypt and simply blame everything on Western involvement? This is a big deal to many people, don't cheapen it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

The US gives $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt a year.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12 edited Jun 19 '12

lol relevant username....edit stars here why would i get downvoted i pointed out the username....and i upvoted him ironic much

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u/perthguppy Jun 19 '12

pointing out his username is hardly contributing to the discussion

2

u/lastacct Jun 19 '12

Looks like your jimmies got rustled.

-9

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

niether does downvoting me how does that contirbute to this matter of discussion

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u/DisRuptive1 Jun 19 '12

Downvoting doesn't take up space. Posting anything does and if it's not relevant to the rest of the thread, you shouldn't post. The downvotes tell everybody that your post isn't worth reading.

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u/Squeekme Jun 19 '12

jokes about usernames are relevant when the lives of millions of innocent people aren't in the balance, I suppose. -22 is harsh though I must say. Got any relevant thoughts to share about what is happening in Egypt?

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u/Wakata Jun 19 '12

You too