Egypt MPs: Koran Supports bin Laden and Other Terrorists

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood MPs: The Koran Encourages Terrorism; "Bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri and Al-Zarqawi are Not Terrorists in the Sense Accepted by Some"

According to a report in the independent Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yusouf, Egyptian MP Ragab Hilal Hamida, from the Muslim Brotherhood, said during a parliamentary session discussing the Inter-Arab Agreement on Combating Terrorism, that the Koran encourages terrorism, and that he supports the activities of Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi. The report also stated that another MP from the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Ahmad 'Askar, supported Hamida's statements, and that MPs from the governing National Democratic Party (NDP) did not denounce them, but instead joked with Ragab.

In a subsequent interview with MP Hamida, Roz Al-Yusouf gave him a chance to retract his statements; however, he reiterated his position.

The latest Egyptian elections were a fraud in which the Muslim Brotherhood was the only alternative on the ballot permitted to run by the ruling party. Perhaps statements like these, as well as actions like the worldwide cartoon intifada, are responsible for this understatement of the day:

Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing

The article attributes the negative attitudes to "demonization," "racism," "prejudice," "bias," "exploitation" by politicians and ignorance. The article quotes Juan Cole without any mention of his radical leftist views. The story additionally attempted to present "conservative experts" as supporting this view, when the truth is that they nearly unanimously credit the public attitude to a justified threat assessment.