This week saw the Egyptian military government make its move against Islamic protesters. The Muslim Brotherhood supporters, still angry over the removal of Islamist Mohammed Morsi from the presidency, had camped out for weeks in mass demonstrations. Now, as the clashes have broken out in efforts to disperse the protesters, the death toll is rapidly climbing well into the hundreds. As the violence unfolds, will civil war be next for Egypt? Will oil prices surge over the tensions? Will terrorists start flocking to Egypt, as we’ve seen in Iraq and Syria, and create yet another home for jihadists to attack the world?
As you ponder these troubling questions, here’s some weekend reading I’d recommend:
- This opinion piece, written as the Egyptian crackdown was just beginning, is interesting because it cites reports that the Muslim Brotherhood protesters in Egypt are not just victims. Snipers on rooftops? So much for peaceful demonstrations. Still, this report claims the sides almost had a deal to stop the violence before it began.
- A couple of places have reported that the Palestinian terror group Hamas is fixing their relationship with Iran, especially with the Muslim Brotherhood collapsing in Egypt. This report claims Iran is helping Hamas stockpile nasty weapons to fight Israel and the Palestinians currently in negotiations with Israel. It’s like comic book villains The Joker and The Riddler teaming up against Batman and Robin. Looks like the chaos in Syria is providing the arms smugglers with opportunity.
- Churches were assaulted in Egypt this week, possibly by the “innocent” protesters backing Morsi. It’s unclear who really attacked the Egyptian Christians, but it shows that in this conflict, there are plenty of bad guys.