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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Islam wins in Egypt

The Christian worries just became real.  A majority of Egyptians voted to create a new constitution, among other changes, and the quickness of these changes enables established parties, the most prominent being the Muslim Brotherhood to gain more strength.  The opposing liberal parties will have a hard time gathering their forces to mount a challenge to the MB, so the outcome will most likely be the MB in power. 

I am confused, though.  How is it that pure Islam will be the dominate power structure in Egypt, at the behest of the people, when we were told that secular democracy would be breaking out all over? 


From The New York Times March 20 by Neil MacFarquhar

Egyptian Voters Approve Constitutional Changes

CAIRO — Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum on constitutional changes on Sunday that will usher in rapid elections, with the results underscoring the strength of established political organizations, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, and the weakness of emerging liberal groups.

These are the same voters who, in a Pew poll recently approved sharia law and the amputation of hands and feet by over 80%.

More than 14.1 million voters, or 77.2 percent, approved the constitutional amendments; 4 million, or 22.8 percent, voted against them. The turnout of 41 percent among the 45 million eligible voters broke all records for recent elections, according to the Egyptian government.

“This is the first real referendum in Egypt’s history,” said Mohamed Ahmed Attia, the chairman of the supreme judicial committee that supervised the elections, in announcing the results. “We had an unprecedented turnout because after Jan. 25 people started to feel that their vote would matter.”

President Hosni Mubarak was forced from power last month, 18 days after demonstrations against his three decades in power began Jan. 25. The referendum result paved the way for early legislative elections as early as June and a presidential race possibly in August. The ruling military council had sought the rapid timetable to ensure its own speedy exit from running the country.

The military council has been somewhat vague about the next steps. But Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shaheen told the newspaper Al Shorouk in an interview published Sunday that the generals would issue a constitutional declaration to cover the changes and then set dates for the vote once the results were announced.

The Muslim Brotherhood and remnant elements of the National Democratic Party, which dominated Egyptian politics for decades, were the main supporters of the referendum. They argued that the election timetable would ensure a swift return to civilian rule.

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