An Interview with Muslim Brotherhood’s #2, Mohammed Habib
The next leader of Egypt's banned extremist Islamic group talks about Barack Obama, CAIR, and why he feels misunderstood.
Mohammed Habib is slated to become the next Supreme Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
His rise to the position of deputy supreme leader became possible when his predecessor in the job was sentenced to five years in prison by an Egyptian military tribunal for financing a banned organization — alongside 25 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood — and he ascended to the position. With the advanced age of the current supreme leader, it’s quite possible that Habib will become the next leader of the organization shortly.
The PJM interview with Habib was conducted by Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey in the Leadership Office of the Muslim Brotherhood.
They discussed a wide range of topics, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s support for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir against the International Criminal Court, their relationship with Hamas, ties to CAIR, and their continuing struggle against what they view as a vast Zionist-American conspiracy. But first things first….
SM: What does the Muslim Brotherhood think of the two candidates in the upcoming elections in the U.S?
Mohamed Habib: We would naturally like to see the end of the current regime and that their practices are not to be repeated by the coming administration. We don’t anticipate such change taking place if Senator John McCain wins, for he seems to be following the same line as the current American President George Bush. We are not so sure about Senator Obama either, because of his Israel visit, him saying that Israel is a democracy, and his visit to AIPAC, but we are withholding judgment because maybe he needs to do this to win. That being said, any change away from the criminal practices of the current administration is a good thing, and we would be happy with whatever candidate would put a stop to it.
SM: Since it just happened, what do you think of the Shura Council fire? Do you think this is an act of fate or does it indict someone?
Mohamed Habib: In the name of God, most merciful, most graceful, I think that its representative of the deterioration and the negligence that is entrenched in all of the government’s institutions. One would assume that with such an institution there would be a little bit of care or interest exercised in protecting it, since the tools to prevent such accidents are available. But, unfortunately, we saw that the response to the incident wasn’t on the required level to stop it, and while the firemen showed incredible courage, their level of preparedness and training were not at the desired level.
SM: We had Army helicopters carrying buckets of water from the Nile and dumping it on the fire. It was a scandal.
Mohamed Habib: That’s of course a shameful incident, but it’s a part of a bigger picture. And it expresses the tragedy and the suffering that the Egyptian people live in.
SM: Sir, let’s now talk about some international incidents. Very recently, the ICC has issued an indictment of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir over Darfur, and the first people in the world who issued a statement against the indictment was the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Why is that?
Mohamed Habib: First of all, this whole scenario is a political one of the first degree, and the Security Council is the organization that proposed this whole thing, and in reality, we know that the Security Council is under the control of the current American administration. And there is an American agenda and project in the region — and in Sudan. We see that this project doesn’t only go after the Sudanese resources, but also the fabric of Sudan itself, with the aim of tearing it into shreds. This is not about Omar al-Bashir or Ahmed Haroun, or whomever. There is a project, and it’s an obvious one at this point, and it aims to turn all parties against each other, east and west and north and south, in order to attack the heart, which is the Arabic and Islamic solidarity and unity. And to us as Egyptians, Sudan represents the gateway to Africa and it’s of strategic importance to Egypt; so any foul play happening there will naturally reflect on Egypt, since it concerns its national security. That’s one side of it. The other side is that we haven’t seen the Security Council moving to take action in order to address the war crimes that American President George Bush committed in Iraq, and the hundreds of thousands of people who died in the invasion and occupation in Iraq. We didn’t see the Security Council moving to address the human rights violations in Iraq or Afghanistan. We didn’t see them move to prevent the monstrous slaughtering of our Palestinian brothers in Ghaza and the West Bank. Given all that, it is then obvious this indictment is political of the first degree. And if there were human rights violations in Sudan, then it should be addressed and remedied in Sudan, and there should be an independent judiciary inside Sudan that would launch an investigation and conduct a fair trial to address what happened in Darfur or elsewhere.
SM: What are the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood?
Mohamed Habib: The Muslim Brotherhood has an Islamic, civilized, uplifting project that is based on the idea that Egypt needs to rise again to greatness, because in its rise it will uplift the entire Arab world with it. This of course requires the creation of a society that values justice, equality, and freedom, and what that entails in regards to respecting the will of the people in choosing their representatives or leaders; and also what that entails in regards to having really independent judicial and legislative branches of government, especially in the face of an executive branch of government that has infiltrated everything. We have announced our acceptance of the rule of democracy that is based on real political diversity, and the peaceful exchange of power, and that the people should rule and that they have the right to choose their leaders, their representatives, and the political platform that best addresses their desires and ambitions. We have a civilized project that is very interested in education, scientific research, and the use of technology as an important element in the uplifting of nations and people. We have a civilized project that highlights the importance of serious planning, and the modern administration of all of the country’s institutions. If we, as Egyptians, are suffering from a bread crisis or an unemployment crisis, or whatever, in reality we only have one crisis and that’s a crisis in ruling the country. Everything else is symptoms of that disease. We are facing corruption and oppression, therefore we consider that political reform is the key to achieve all the other types of desired reforms. We also want and call for an international community that enjoys stability and peace for all of the nations of the world, and this cannot take place without having the values of truth, justice, and freedom. Unfortunately, the current administration has stepped on all of the international treaties, agreements, and conventions, and unfortunately the American administration is now using might as a substitute for legitimacy, which brought back the law of the jungle to the world. It aims to control and hegemonize the world, so that the international political landscape is a unipolar one instead of a multipolar one.
SM: The image of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. and in other western countries — while we aren’t going to say it’s a bad one — is not the image you would like to portray for yourselves.
Mohamed Habib: That’s true!
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35 Comments
1. Cletus:blah blah blah, blame America
Aug 24, 2008 - 3:56 am 2. DoktorNo:Thank you for this interview.
These guys are delusional, unarmed, and dangerous.
The last line about Hamas, “not related [to us]“, “but we support them” is priceless.
Aug 24, 2008 - 4:41 am 3. Don:With such an erudite, impassioned and (obviously) flexible leader perhaps it is time that the Jewish State and the Religious of Sunni Islam form a confederation of believers, with the sword of Yahweh and Allah they could establish a synergy that would expunge the apostate from the region and the world . . . Think of the power! With the might of the IDF combined with the fanaticism of the most dedicated of Sunni Islam what entity could stand against them? Iran? Yesterdays news, I’manutjahb would scurry to his masters in Moscow for protection. The Brotherhood, the Sunni of Hamas, the Palistinians in general are relatively powerless and are as flies to the excrement given them by their “friends” the Saudis and Iranians, why be a tool when you can be a toolmaker?
Aug 24, 2008 - 5:26 am 4. Patrick Poole:Sandmonkey,
Thank you for putting the hard questions to the Muslim Brotherhood that the Western media refuses to ask. While Habib was no more honest with you than they are with anyone else, they typically get a free pass on questions about their hand in the genocide in Sudan, their open support for terrorism, and their subversive activity in the West. Perhaps in your next interview you can ask about Mahdi Akef’s statements about Osama bin Laden as a “great mujahid” and the recent admission by Abdul Sattar al Maliji that the Ikhwan has revived their terrorist “secret apparatus”.
Aug 24, 2008 - 6:06 am 5. harry:SSDD. Yawn.
Aug 24, 2008 - 6:44 am 6. harry:Don, liars are not flexible they are liars.
Aug 24, 2008 - 6:45 am 7. bill-tb:Terrorists of the world support Barrack Hussein Obama, I wonder why is that?
Aug 24, 2008 - 8:30 am 8. Don:Moral flexibility is it’s truest form, Mr Obama is an expert, that is why he is the best candidate to appeal to those with the same dedication to “truths”
Aug 24, 2008 - 8:44 am 9. Muslim Brotherhood’s #2 Man Talks (Carefully) About Obama, CAIR « LGF II: Charles and Killgore Free Footballs:[...] Muslim Brotherhood’s #2 Man Talks (Carefully) About Obama, CAIR August 24, 2008 — Rodan At PJ Media, the Egyptian Sandmonkey has an interesting interview with the man in line to become the next “Supreme Leader” of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Habib. [...]
Aug 24, 2008 - 11:30 am 10. tanstaafl:Let’s see…excuse making for al-Bashir/Darfur.
No mention of the slaughter carried out by the Muslim janjaweed, under al-Bashir’s direction.
It’s all an American plot (if not American, then “Zionist”)
The Muslim Brotherhood wants nothing but peace and justice in Egypt (right…)
As for ties with the MB in the United States, well, Mr. Habib doesn’t want to get too specific about that…
Aug 24, 2008 - 11:41 am 11. marybeth:It’s interesting how he thinks that McCain is how he presents himself but that Obama may be just saying and doing what he has to to win the election.
Aug 24, 2008 - 12:03 pm 12. venividivici:The hardest part of the interview must have been keeping a straight face when this d-bag was talking.
But there is also an independent media that has a role in educating the populace, and thus improve our image in their minds.
Once a Westerner gets beyond the banal superficialities of Islam (“Islam means ‘peace’ and “There is no compulsion in religion”-type stuff), there is nothing appealing in Islam whatsoever. To a mind steeped in secular law and democracy, Islam is utter garbage. I’ve read matchbook covers more interesting and profound than anything Islam has to offer me.
Aug 24, 2008 - 12:50 pm 13. meaux:Typical. Idiot. PBUH
m
Aug 24, 2008 - 1:46 pm 14. Judy, NYC:these crazy muslim bastards murdered egyptian peacemaker, sadat. they strive for nothing more than to eliminate those among them with a developed brain. developed societies also annoy them. i’ll tell you what. let’s cut out their tongues and chop off their heads, and videotape it. but then, as they say in the tv movies, we’d be just like them. yeah, but just for a little while.
Aug 24, 2008 - 1:53 pm 15. sheik yer'mami:“…the creation of a society that values justice, equality, and freedom..”
BS from beginning to end. “Justice” for the Muhammedan means sharia, which is a nightmare for everybody. ‘Equality’ means some kind of communism, and ‘freedom’ for the Muhammedan means dominance of Islam and the total subjugation of unbelievers along with their enslavement.
We cannot coexist.
Aug 24, 2008 - 4:44 pm 16. Michael Lonie:He’s right that Mubarak’s government is incompetent, authoritarian and oppressive, but there is no evidence that a government by the Muslim Brotherhood would be any better. If you look at how the radical Islamic regimes have ruled when they get the chance to rule by “true Islam” they are as bad as the secular tyrants of the Arab and other Muslim states. In Iran the Ayatollahs are worse than the Shah’s government was, more oppressive and more murderous. In Gaza a lot of the people would prefer to have the Israelis back; practically the only ones who support the Hamas government are those making a good thing off Hamas’ muderous tyranny. The Taliban in Afghanistan were so oppressive and murderous that practically the entire country was overcome with joy at their overthrow. In cities of Iraq like Fallujah where local Islamist terrorist groups set up their rule they were every bit as bad as Saddam for torture, oppression and murder, and enforced their idiotic vision of “true Islam”, such as no smoking, by bloody means. So what does political Islam promise Muslims? A new jahiliyya.
Habib can’t even bring himself to dissociate himself and his group from a genocidal loon like Bashir who is massacring Muslims. I guess he thinks that the Arabs are the Master Race and can slaughter black Africans with impunity. Plus he blames the problems on an American search for Sudan’s resources, oblivious, one must assume, to the fact that it is actually China that is there seeking them. In his paranoid fixation on a nonexistent American Imperialism he is disregarding a new Imperialism stretching its tentacles into Africa and the Middle East. But the Arabs were equally blind to Soviet Imperialism for the same reason, showing us how the curent crop of Arab extremists is the proper descendent of the last crop, the Pan-Arab Nationalists, who caused such ruin to their countries. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
As for the slanders against the USA, they are fantasies and lies. The US is just about the only state in the world that was prepared to risk blood and treasure to protect Muslims against their enemies (others did so only under American leadership), including non-Muslim states as well as Muslims (like Saddam) who acted as the enemies of their fellow Muslims. So, far from being hostile to Islam, the USA has actually protected Islam and Muslims.
Mohammed Habib is angry about the US supporting Israel, since that prevents the Muslims from carrying out their hearts’ desire, a renewed genocide of the Jews. Tough. Get used to disappointment.
Aug 24, 2008 - 5:02 pm 17. Omar:Sheik:
What’s up with the website?
Aug 24, 2008 - 5:13 pm 18. Javelin:Peace freedom, democracy and prosperity, as long as you are Sunni Muslim Male fanatic, all others are subjects of the master sect.
Aug 24, 2008 - 6:28 pm 19. kender:wow….I thought muslims were scripturally barred from using such mind altering substances. Whatever he is smoking must be ultra pure hot house grown A-1 stuff….
Aug 24, 2008 - 9:23 pm 20. BMoon:I am confident most PJM readers are familiar with the Nazfascist roots of the Muslim Brotherhood. If so, then this statement in the interview becomes quite clear as to its intentions and ideology:
“The Muslim Brotherhood has an Islamic, civilized, uplifting project that is based on the idea that Egypt needs to rise again to greatness, because in its rise it will uplift the entire Arab world with it.”
Just substitute the word “German” for “Arab” and you’ll get it.
The rest of habib’s ramble favoring democracy is too painfully obvious. As long as neo-fascists think they can win with votes, it is fine with them to impose their fascist plans that way. If not with a majority, as the Nazi Party achieved, then violence is just fine too.
Aug 24, 2008 - 9:37 pm 21. boazhorribilis:Culturally and psychologically, Islam shares little if anything at all with the modern Western civilization. But in spite of its imperfections, the West is the model followed from Beijing to Buenos Aires.Their repeated mantra that Islam is the path while the rest are corrupt is for domestic consumption since in the West this idea is totally discredited. And if all arguments fail, just lie. It is ok to do so, it is just another tactic on the road to an Islamic future.
Aug 25, 2008 - 12:39 am 22. Patriots and Liberty » Blog Archive » Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Confirms Existence of US Muslim Brotherhood:[...] the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Egyptian Brotherhood. According to the interview: Read More http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.968/pub_detail.asp This entry [...]
Aug 25, 2008 - 5:48 am 23. purpleslog:Is there a URL for Part 1?
Aug 25, 2008 - 8:53 am 24. CAIR is the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood front « PurpleSlog:[...] is the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood front From Pajamasmedia: SM: Is there a Muslim Brotherhood in the [...]
Aug 25, 2008 - 9:35 am 25. b shah:…”This of course requires the creation of a society that values justice, equality, and freedom, and what that entails in regards to respecting the will of the people in choosing their representatives or leaders; and also what that entails in regards to having really independent judicial and legislative branches of government…”
If I hadn’t read the rest of the article. I would have thought he was talking to USA and most democracies
What this guy wants is USA, in an Islamic mould. If the current politically correct attitudes continue, he may have his way.
Aug 25, 2008 - 10:47 am 26. Shariah Finance Watch » Blog Archive » Muslim Brotherhood leader confirms presence in the U.S.:[...] Pajamas Media [...]
Aug 25, 2008 - 10:51 am 27. Believer:The Islamic Society of North America’s president addressed the Dems’ Convention earlier and received a standing ovation.
With ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the ISNA got its start with the help of Sami Al-Arian.
atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com has more information on this group.
Aug 25, 2008 - 2:50 pm 28. Judy, NYC:i know. the dems actually invited ingrid mattson, the president of the isna, to speak. she is an islamic fascist and virulent anti-semite and calls for jews to be murdered. i posted this on the nytimes krugman blog today, but obama’s zombies, all 500, showed not even a shard of interest.
Aug 25, 2008 - 3:20 pm 29. MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADER= CONFIRMS PRESENCE IN THE USA! « uk1884:[...] Pajamas Media [...]
Aug 26, 2008 - 3:50 am 30. MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADER- CONFIRMS PRESENCE IN THE USA- NOW - GOD HELP AMERICA!! « Centurean2’s Weblog:[...] Pajamas Media [...]
Aug 26, 2008 - 3:55 am 31. Homeland Security Updates » Blog Archive » Surprisingly Candid Answers From the Muslim Brotherhood:[...] watch. The source this time? Mohammed Habib, the second-in-command of the Muslim Brotherhood. In an interview published by Pajamas Media, the Brotherood’s Deputy Supreme Guide acknowledges the connection [...]
Aug 27, 2008 - 8:28 am 32. MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD’S TALKS [CAREFULLY] ABOUT OBAMA,CAIR « uk1884:[...] At PJ Media, the Egyptian Sandmonkey has an interesting interview with the man in line to become the next “Supreme Leader” of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Habib. [...]
Aug 28, 2008 - 3:05 am 33. MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD-TALKS [CAREFULLY]ABOUT OBAMA RE JEWS.. « Centurean2’s Weblog:[...] At PJ Media, the Egyptian Sandmonkey has an interesting interview with the man in line to become the next “Supreme Leader” of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Habib. [...]
Aug 28, 2008 - 3:13 am 34. ACT! for America Palm Springs » Blog Archive » Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Confirms Existence of U.S. Brotherhood and Relationship with CAIR:[...] the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Egyptian Brotherhood. According to the interview: SM: Is there a Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S.? Mohamed Habib: I would say yes. There are [...]
Sep 1, 2008 - 1:46 pm 35. Note to CAIR: Your Islamism Is Showing « Jay Keating’s 2008 Weblog:[...] a new caliphate and serves as the grandfather of multiple terrorist groups. During a revealing interview posted at Pajamas Media, Habib let the mask slip on CAIR’s ties to his [...]
Sep 29, 2008 - 11:43 am