Mursi: Recognition Of Peace Agreement With Israel – Conditional; MB Calls For Jihad To Liberate Palestine

Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Badi'

Throughout his campaign and also since his election, Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi has stated that he accepts the peace agreement with Israel. For example, in a meeting with newspaper editors following his election, he said that Egypt would honor the agreement,[1] and in his inauguration speech at Cairo University, he said that he carried a message of peace to the world, that he would uphold Egypt's commitments as part of international treaties and conventions it has signed, and that "Egypt [would] never turn to a policy of aggression."[2]

At the same time, Mursi is careful to qualify his statements and say that Egypt's acceptance of the peace agreement depends on Israel's honoring of this agreement – an assertion that is open to various interpretations. For example, in a televised interview before the elections, he said that Israel's honoring the agreement meant making peace with all the peoples of the region, implementing the Palestinians' right of return, and establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.[3] On another occasion, he said that Israel's attack on Gaza constituted a violation of the peace agreement.[4]

These qualifications to the acceptance of the peace agreement with Israel might serve Mursi and the MB as a means of exerting pressure on Israel and the U.S., by demanding concessions in return for a continued honoring of the agreement on Egypt's part.

Moreover, the MB apparently intends to maintain a division of labor between the president and the MB party and movement. Mursi adheres to protocol and international requirements in his policies and statements; moreover, he emphasizes that he does not represent the MB party or movement in his role as president, while the MB movement, on the other hand, is much blunter in its statements on Israel and adheres to its longstanding ideology. Thus, in his sermons in the recent weeks, MB General Guide Muhammad Badi' has been taking a violent, hard-line stance and calling for jihad to rescue Palestine and Jerusalem.

The following are excerpts from some of his sermons:

Badi': Every Muslim Must Wage Jihad To Rescue Palestine And Jerusalem

In his July 5, 2012 weekly sermon, Badi' stated: "Every Muslim must act to save Jerusalem from the usurpers and to [liberate] Palestine from the claws of occupation. This is a personal duty for all Muslims. They must participate in jihad by [donating] money or [sacrificing] their life, in order to save [Palestine] and the men and women imprisoned [in Israeli jails], as well as [Jerusalem], the destination of the Prophet's Night Journey and the first Qibla [direction of prayer] in [Islam], and in order to enable all those who were expelled to return to their homeland, their homes and their property..." Addressing all Muslims, Badi' said: "Do not be ashamed to declare jihad for the sake of Allah, because your life and glory [depend on it], as well as the departure of the occupier from your country, the restoration of your holy sites, and the safety of your home..."[5]

In another sermon, published on June 14, 2012, before the results of the Egyptian presidential elections were announced, Badi' spoke in a similar vein. In a section of the sermon titled "The Perdition of the Zionist State," Badi' said: "The Al-Isra sura [in the Koran] mentions the magnificent [Night] Journey in one verse, and later speaks of the Israelites and their corruption of the land, and of how Allah lies in wait for them and prepares men from his army to cleanse the land of their corruption and save the servants of God from their evil: 'We sent over you Our servants' [Koran 17:5]; 'And if you again return (to disobedience) We too will return (to punishment), and We have made hell a prison for the unbelievers [Koran 17:8].' How lovely is the Koran's use of the word 'sent,' which evokes the afterlife... God the Magnificent threatens to punish these murderous, criminal Zionists for their actions in this world, even before [they reach] the afterlife. 'And (remember) when thy Lord proclaimed that He would raise against them till the Day of Resurrection those who would lay on them a cruel torment. Lo! verily thy Lord is swift in prosecution and lo! verily He is Forgiving, Merciful' [Koran 7:167].

"How glad the Muslims will be if all Muslim rulers make the Palestinian cause a pivotal matter, and [if] the rulers and subjects rally around it with the single goal of restoring the Al-Aqsa Mosque, saving it from the filth of the Zionists, and enacting Islamic sovereignty over the beloved land of Palestine. Because, above all, the Al-Aqsa Mosque [guarantees] the national security of the Mosque of the Prophet [in Medina] and the Grand Mosque [in Mecca]. [On the Day of Judgment,] every Muslim will be asked about the Zionists' takeover of the Al-Aqsa Mosque – why he did not act to take it back, and why he did not wage jihad for its sake, for there is a Muslim fatwa which states that 'jihad with life and money to restore Al-Aqsa is a personal duty for every Muslim.' Furthermore, we were ordered to save the Christian holy sites, and even the Jewish ones, from the filth of these Zionists..."[6]

Badi' In Ramadan Sermon: "We Ask Allah To Grant Victory To The Jihad Fighters And Crush The Usurping Tyrants"

In a sermon published on July 12, 2012, on the occasion of Ramadan, Badi's stated: "Ramadan has always been the month of jihad and struggle; the month of strength and victory. Battles that took place during this month include the Battle of Badr [in 624 CE, when Muhammad's supporters first defeated their Meccan enemies]; the conquest of Mecca [630 CE]; the Battle of 'Ain Jalut [in 1260 CE between the Mamluks and Mongols]; and finally, the Ramadan war of October 1973, which has been a landmark for our generation, and which shows how victory and might are associated with a return to knowledge, faith, and religion... We ask Allah to grant victory to the jihad fighters and crush the usurping tyrants..."[7]