Thomas Friedman: What does Egypt election mean for Israel?

Writer disagrees with columnist on Egypt

July 4 — To the Editor:
In reference to Mr. Robert Azzi's Sunday, July 1, opinion column:
I, along with many Americans, would take exception with cheering the
Muslim Brotherhood. To learn a little about the Brotherhood, read "The
Muslim Brotherhood" chapter in the book "The Nazi Connection to
Islamic Terrorism, Adolf Hilter and Haj Amin al-Hussenini" by Chuck
Morse. Also read the Stars and Stripes July 4 article by Nancy A.
Youssef titled "How Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood went from 7 members to
presidency." Given both sides of the coin, now you have to decide.
It appears that Mr. Azzi is insinuating that Israel's days are
numbered. He and I know that no pursuit of "strategic balance" will
result in Israel being driven into the sea. The Middle East will be
"aflame" before that ever happens.
The issue of "right of return" goes both ways except for Middle East
Arabs who see it as only a "one-way street."
Who is really in charge in Egypt? Is it Muhammad Morsi of the Freedom
and Justice party, Ahmed Shafiq, who was President Mubarak's last
Prime Minister, or is it the army that is still in control and will
remain in control? Robert Fisk of the UK […]

Thomas Friedman: What does Egypt election mean for Israel?

Is the election of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, as
president of Egypt the beginning of the end of the Camp David peace
treaty between Israel and Egypt? It doesn't have to be. In fact, it
could actually be the beginning of a real peace between the Israeli
and the Egyptian peoples, instead of what we've had: a cold, formal
peace between Israel and a single Egyptian pharaoh. But, for that to
be the case, both sides will have to change some deeply ingrained
behaviors, and fast.
First, let's dispense with some nonsense. There is a mantra you hear
from Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Israel and various right-wing
analysts: "We told you so." It's the idea that somehow President
Barack Obama could have intervened to "save" President Hosni Mubarak
of Egypt and he was just too naive to do so, and the inevitable result
is that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken power. Sorry, naivete is
thinking that because it was so convenient for Israel to have peace
with one dictator, Mubarak, rather than 80 million Egyptians, that
this dictator — or some other general — would and could stay at the
helm in Egypt forever. Talk about naive.
I truly appreciate […]

From here to Timbuktu by Irfan Husain
Wahabis/Salafists and other fundamentalists draw inspiration from the
mediaeval scholar Ibn Taymiyyah to rationalise the destruction of
ancient religious buildings. This quotation from Ibn Taymiyyah is
deployed by them to defend their antipathy towards ancient holy sites:
"The leaders of Islam agreed that it is not permitted to build the
mausoleums over the graves. They cannot be considered mosques and
praying over them is not permitted."
Calligraphy Is the Islamic Art of Arts

Michael Wolfe
Co-Executive Producer, 'Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World'
In Western art calligraphy is a minor art form, mostly confined to
books and the occasional decorative function. But in Islamic art, the
practice of beautiful writing is much more.
Because it grew up alongside the Quran, Islam's sacred book,
calligraphy developed from a central root and flourished broadly,
spreading to every branch of artistic expression. (The full breadth of
these arts are the subject of "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible
World," a film I co-produced that airs Friday as part of the PBS Arts
Summer Festival.)
Take the way Arabic writing literally jumped off the page into
architecture: Any tourist visiting the Alhambra Palace in Spain, the
Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem or the
Taj Mahal in Agra, India, can't help being struck by the central role
calligraphy plays in traditional Islamic buildings.
Written Arabic emerged from humble beginnings. Among the earliest
examples, in Mecca, are crude letterings chipped into standing
boulders that date from the late seventh century. They were a people's
way of memorializing significant parts of the Quran and the sayings of
the Prophet Muhammad, who lived and had recently died there. The […]