According to Tariq Ramadan, all roads lead not to Rome but to America. A long-winded piece by Ramadan, the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, (first noted by the Global Muslim Brotherhood Watch) uses circuitous logic and conspiracy theories (“It was as though people had been deprived of the basic necessities in order to drive them into the streets”) to blame last week’s ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on an ongoing US-Zionist conspiracy (in cahoots with Salafi co-conspirators no less).
Ramadan attributes so much to the Americans, one is left to wonder what, if anything, is Morsi’s fault besides “simple-mindedness, and lack of experience.” Morsi’s overtures at political unity " were rejected out of hand, with the opposition bitterly opposing his every initiative Worse, he portrays Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood as naïve pawns of the US backed military.
“The naivety of the president, of his government and of the Muslim Brotherhood has been stunning. After sixty years of opposition and military repression (with the direct and indirect benediction of the US Administration and the West), how could they possibly have imagined that their former adversaries would support their rise to power, invoking democracy all the while?”
Ramadan blames the United States for its long support for the Egyptian army, which forced Morsi out after one year in office. Key officers, including General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, were trained in America and have close relationships with officers here and in Israel. “It would hardly be an understatement to say that Israel, like the United States, could only look favorably upon developments in Egypt,” Ramadan wrote.
He also criticizes ultraconservative Salafis and leaders of the Gulf Arab states for supporting Morsi’s ouster. They are American allies more interested in undermining “the religious credibility of the Muslim Brotherhood, and to force it into extreme positions.” In addition, the move splits Islamist factions, weakening the movement.
Last but not least, Ramadan also implicates the International Monetary Fund, which would not grant billions in loans to help Egypt’s crumbling economy without better political stability. But that and other IMF demands “placed the state in an untenable position: the Morsi government believed that the international institution would support it. It is only today, now that President Morsi has fallen, that the IMF appears prepared to remove what were previously insurmountable obstacles. This, coming a mere three days after the overthrow of a democratically elected government.”
Ominously summing up, Ramadan admonishes that “The situation is grave; the silence of Western governments tells us all we need to know.” In 2,200 words, Ramadan never found time to assess Morsi’s attempts to monopolize power for the Muslim Brotherhood, or the vast frustration shared by Egyptians that his Islamist agenda was making things worse.
That tells us all we need to know.
