PrintMarch 25, 2007
Boston Globe advises deal with Hamas parent organization
The Boston Globe (owned by the New York Times) lends editorial space in its Sunday paper to two writers advocating the United States begin talks with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Joshua Stacher and Samer Shehata paint a rather rosy picture of the group, and neglect to mention that it gave life to its offshoot Hamas, an organization dedicated to the destruction of another nation, Israel.
"The Brotherhood is a mainstream non violent organization that has operated responsibly and predictably within Egypt for decades. Founded in 1928, it has survived British colonialism, Gamal Abdel Nasser's Arab nationalism and intense repression, and Anwar Sadat's rapprochement with the West. It is likely to outlive the Mubarak regime and its ruling National Democratic Party. In Egypt's partially open 2005 legislative elections, the Brotherhood won 20 percent of the assembly's seats, making it the largest opposition bloc in parliament. So it makes sense for US officials to sit across the table from Brotherhood representatives...."
No account is made of the effect that legitimizing this group by accepting and working with it would have on its standing throughout the Muslim world. The argument would be made that the might Yankees were brought to heel, and that the Islamist rule it advicates is inevitable, as even the Americans now realize.
