Analysis

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

In New York, Morsi must show he’s in control

By: The Economist

Posted: 09/21/2012 2:12 PM | Comments: 0

The wave of violence directed at Americans and Europeans in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world has had two particularly malign effects.

First, it has made many Westerners, especially Americans, wonder why they and their governments should seek to play a constructive role in those parts of the world where people apparently harbor such visceral feelings of hatred toward them.

Second, it has cast a dismal light on the new leadership of Egypt, the Arab region’s most populous and pivotal country.

Muhammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood member who was elected as president of Egypt a few months ago, has seemed much readier to express sympathy for the feelings of those who sought to trash the American embassy in Cairo than to upbraid them for their riotous behaviour, to apologize for it to the Americans or even to express sorrow for the murder of American diplomats in neighboring Libya at the hands of Muslim fanatics.

Morsi is due to join the debate at the General Assembly of the United Nations that starts in New York next week, and may also for the first time meet President Barack Obama. That gives him a chance to redeem himself. For the good of Muslims, Christians and, most of all, his own movement, he urgently needs to do so.

Western governments, including America’s, have rightly gone out of their way to express respect for Islam and have deplored the 14-minute video clip of a film made by a Californian fraudster of Coptic-Egyptian descent that disparages the Prophet Muhammad. The execrable pastiche bears no relation to the attitude of most Westerners or their governments toward Islam.

Morsi knows this perfectly well. Egypt’s new president has himself lived in America — in California, no less. He surely also knows that Western respect for free speech means that it is not always possible to prevent individuals from insulting Muhammad or, for that matter, Jesus, Moses or many other figures whom people hold sacred. A new set of insulting cartoons in France is also covered by free-speech laws.

It was oddly ignorant, or downright dishonest, of the Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, Morsi’s close comrade, to say that denial of the Holocaust is illegal in the West. It is not in America, though in Germany, for obvious historical reasons, it is.

The onus is now on Morsi to condemn and to curb the mobs that have used the film as a pretext for mayhem and have made day-to-day diplomacy so much harder. The newly elected Islamist leaders of Libya have been forthright in their condemnation of the outrage against America’s consulate in Benghazi. Morsi should be equally unequivocal.

Such a declaration would cause Morsi trouble with his extremist Salafist coalition partners. He has a lot to gain in New York, though, and not only in terms of securing American financial support and help from Europe and the Gulf states. He has a chance to define himself and the Muslim Brotherhood as moderate, outward-looking, pluralistic and democratic.

The Brotherhood, like other parts of political Islam, has long fed on a narrative of victimhood. There are historical reasons aplenty for Muslims to feel hostile to the West for past humiliations. Now that Morsi is the president, however, it is much harder to play the victim.

He needs to show that he can lead and govern. Demonstrating that political Islam can be tolerant and inclusive will distinguish him from the Salafists and the mob justice they promote. The extremists can rant and riot, but he must now stand for the rule of law that should underpin the democratic politics that has lifted him into office.

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Analysis

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

Have Your Say

Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?

Have Your Say

Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.