Ex-Qaeda allies ready to

artappraiser — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 06:30:31 +0000

In reply to Egypt tourism minister protests over Islamist governor

Ex-Qaeda allies ready to fight for Mursi in Luxor
By Maggie Fick, Reuters, June 23, 2013

LUXOR, Egypt | When President Mohamed Mursi made a hardline Islamist governor of Luxor, it seemed his latest folly to many in this city, and across Egypt [....] Yet nominating a member of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, remembered for a 1997 massacre of visitors in Luxor that some call "Egypt's 9/11", showed the growing importance to the beleaguered Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood of a group whose leadership includes at least one unrepentant former associate of Osama bin Laden.

That man, cleric Refai Taha, and other leaders of al-Gamaa and its parliamentary wing in Luxor told Reuters they renounced violence because Islamist rule had now been achieved, through elections - but they would take up arms again to defend Mursi and were committed eventually to establishing full Islamic law.

"There is freedom now, so violence is not necessary," Taha, 58, said in an interview last week at a hotel on the Nile. "The revolution changed the situation in Egypt in ways we wanted."

But like other senior figures in al-Gamaa he warned that anyone trying to force Mursi out - referring to the military that oppressed the Islamists for decades, or liberal opponents planning mass protests next Sunday - would be met with force.

"Violence begets violence," said Taha, recalling attacks on the old regime and its tourist industry which he, unlike others in al-Gamaa, went on advocating until Hosni Mubarak was ousted [....]

Hardliners Join Calls for

artappraiser — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 06:47:43 +0000

In reply to Egypt tourism minister protests over Islamist governor

Hardliners Join Calls for Morsi-appointed Luxor Governor to Quit
Reuters, June 22, 2013

CAIRO — A hardline Islamist group called on Saturday on one of its members to resign as governor of Luxor “for the sake of Egypt” despite President Mohamed Morsi defending the appointment. [....]

In an interview with the state-owned newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm published on Saturday, Morsi said: "There has never been a court ruling against the Luxor governor who was never condemned in the Luxor incident but was a suspect in the assassination of Sadat and was acquitted."

The hiring of Luxor governor showed that Morsi, who hails from the relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood group, is openly reaching out for a political alliance with the more radical and former militant group ahead of a big wave of opposition-led protests expected to start on June 30.

However, just hours after the paper carried the interview on its front page and three inside pages, Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya's political wing called on the new governor to resign.

"We are not after any post," the group's leader, Safwat Abdel Ghani told a news conference, adding he expected Khayat to officially announce his resignation on Saturday night. "We asked the new governor to resign for the sake of Egypt."

The group may be trying to find a way out of the impasse before the opposition protests by showing it understands the needs of the country and taking the pressure off Morsi. Tourism is one of the mainstays of Egypt's economy, but has suffered badly in two years of unrest.

Morsi said al-Gamaa al-Islamiya's newly founded Construction and Development Party “works in the framework of a civil state and the governor was picked after he was seen as better than all other candidates.”

Rival Rallies

Morsi also appointed many members of his Brotherhood as governors, triggering protests in many cities that prevented the appointees from entering their offices. [....]

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Ex-Qaeda allies ready to

Hardliners Join Calls for