(...) The recent cold winds to hit Cairo and Egypt came as a shock to some. These cold winds came from the decrees of President Mohamed Morsi. He was supposed to be the protector and developer of democracy according to many. He has turned out — for many — to be quite different. He essentially grabbed the powers of the judicial, executive and the legislative branches of the baby democracy that is developing in Egypt. He stole the candy from the baby, according to many in Egypt.

Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood supporters cheered in delight. Just about everyone else felt the cold winds. They also felt that their revolution was falling prey to a manipulative, dangerous and very clever man. The person who the Brotherhood really wanted at first had the last name of Al-Shater, “the clever one”. The real clever one turns out to be the person that many called “the spare tire” — the American-educated “former” leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Morsi Isa El-Ayat. The last part of his name might give some in the west pause, if they are thinking.

Egypt for now is looking more like Iran in 1979 than ever before.

The liberals and intellectuals were the original igniters and leaders of the Egyptian revolution; the Muslim Brotherhood took it from them. There were discussions about inclusivity, but as the Copts, liberals, Wafd and others left, the Constitutional and other committees made no effort to reincorporate them. There was a collective crocodile sigh and the leadership went on with the committees.

The press, other media, academics, government officials and more are being packed by members of, or loyalists to, the Muslim Brotherhood. Discussions about applying a somewhat strict version of Sharia in Egypt get more heated by the day, while the opposition apparently continues to be sidelined from the game. The extremist Salafis seem to have more voice in the new Egypt than the academics or even the experienced umdas (village leaders) in some areas.

Sectarian tensions are mounting. The recently elevate Pope of the Copts has stated publicly that he rejects the mounting power of the extremists and wants his flock to be considered full members of Egyptian society. Given that the Copts make up around 8-10 percent of the country, that makes sense.

A working democracy requires inclusivity. It needs a sort of equality supported not just voting, but other civil and social rights too. It took the United States over a century to move toward greater voting and other rights for minorities. These were hard fought battles that started with the bloodiest war in American history, the Civil War, and went on into the 1960s with the various civil rights and voting acts. This process is ongoing. (...)

Then the heat disappears
And the mirage
Fades away

The US ambassador to Libya was killed last night in an attack on the American Consulate sparked by a video mocking Mohammed, Islam’s prophet. The video itself was hardly seen at all by anyone in the United States, but a translation to Arabic posted on YouTube suddenly incited anger and violence in the Muslim community.

The film—titled “Innocence of Muslims”—was produced, written and directed by a man named Sam Bacile, a real-estate developer from California. Bacile is an Israeli-American, and his film drew about $5 million in donations from Jewish donors across the country, he has said.

Few people in the United States had seen the video, but it was promoted by Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who’s penchant for burning Qurans has put him in the spotlight before. His promotion likely put the film on the radar of Islamic activists, who objected to what the New York Times calls a “buffoonish caricature of the prophet Mumammad,” who, in the film, calls a donkey “the first Muslim animal.”

Bacile is now in hiding, although he’s not ready to take back what he said in his movie. While he’s not sure who translated it into Arabic, he doesn’t blame his film for the deaths of the ambassadors. “I feel the security system (at the embassies) is no good,” Bacile told NBC News. “America should do something to change it.”

But Bacile also knew the potential risks of making such a movie. Steve Klein, a consultant to Bacile on the film, had warned him. The Guardian reports:

Klein said he had vowed to help Bacile make the movie but warned him: “You’re going to be the next Theo van Gogh.” Van Gogh was a Dutch film-maker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.

In protests outside the Libyan embassy, angry citizens decried Bacile’s depiction of their prophet. Some of them wore Guy Fawkes masks, while others held signs saying “Worshippers of the Cross, leave the Prophet Muhammad alone.” Protestors also climbed the walls of the American embassy in Egypt and seized an American flag. They were continuing to protest Wednesday morning. The New York Times reports:

Zeinobia also reported that confusion about the origins of the film was so general that one group of fundamentalist Muslims was “calling for another huge protest at the embassy of Netherlands, demanding its closure because the Dutch government is producing an insult film against Islam.” Dutch diplomats responded with a statement denying these claims, she noted.

While the Koran does not spell out a prohibition against depicting Mohammed, some Islamic traditions forbid it.

snopes.com: Joys of Muslim Women - Nonie Darwish