Muslim Brotherhood Electoral Rally Marked By Call To Restore Caliphate in Jerusalem

During a large electoral rally in support of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohamed Mursi on May 1, Dr. Safawat Hijazi, a prominent Islamist figure in Egypt, predicted that under Musri’s leadership a new Islamic Caliphate will emerge with Jerusalem as its capital.

“We realized our dream of the Caliphate is being fulfilled by Dr. Mursi, his group and his party,” Hijazi told the crowd at the football stadium in El-Mahalla El-Kubra. “With his efforts, the united Arabs states will come true and its capital will be holy Jerusalem.”

These remarks were followed by a chant: “I am Egyptian with pride… tomorrow Mursi will liberate Gaza.” Hijazi responded by inciting the crowd with his own chant: “Come on, lovers of martyrdom…all of you are Hamas…Come on lovers of martyrs, all of you are Hamas.”

Hijazi, a member in the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), also told the crowd, “We will not accept from Dr. Mursi and the group anything less than the application of God’s Sharia’ in the land of Egypt.” He concluded by issuing a fatwa on election participation. “The one who does not go to vote in the elections is a sinner.”

Other prominent members of the Brotherhood attended the rally and gave speeches focusing on Mursi’s Islamic agenda.

Hamas Leader Haniyah Joins Emerging Network of Islamists

 Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah became an official member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) on February 5, accelerating Hamas’ ambitions to gain support and publically align itself with emerging Islamist movement in the region. 

IUMS Membership Certificate to
"President of the Palestinian Government"
Ismail Haniyah   

The Qatar-based IUMS, which is chaired by radical cleric Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, describes itself as a “pan-Muslim body,” working on “safeguarding the Muslim identity and bridging the gap between the peoples and their rulers in the Islamic countries.”  

Haniyah membership was announced during a ceremony held at the IUMS headquarters in Doha. At the ceremony, Haniyah received a certificate describing him as the “President of the Palestinian government” and confirming his membership in in the organization. Other Islamist leaders in the Arab world, who adhere to the Islamist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, joined the IUMS as well. 

Qaradawi’s support for Hamas is well established. In 2009, he reportedly allocated $21 million to Hamas to buy apartments and plots of land in Jerusalem to “build charitable institutions to broaden its base in the city,” according to the Israel Security Agency Shin Bet. Qaradawi, who has demonstrated consistent support of terrorist groups that seek to undermine a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, previously transferred tens of millions of dollars to Hamas directly through the Saudi-based Union of Good, an umbrella organization of over 50 charities worldwide.

During a session of an IUMS conference in Cairo on February 1, Dr. Salah Sultan described the recent civil unrest and church bombings in Egypt as the “acts of Jews.”

Attacker of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo Welcomed in Iran

Dhia Al-Sawi, who gained popularity in Egypt for his role in attacking the Israeli embassy in Cairo last year, attended a conference in Tehran, Iran, under the patronage of the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The conference, held in the Iranian capital last week, was billed as “The International Conference for Youth and the Islamic Awakening.” 

Representing the “Egyptian youth,” Al-Sawi delivered a speech declaring that it was an honor to be involved in the attack on the “Zionist” embassy in September 2011. Asserting his support for Hamas and Hezbollah and his opposition to the State of Israel, Al-Sawi, stated “We are close to liberating Palestine. Just as we attacked the Zionist embassy in Cairo, a day will come, when we will liberate the prisoner mosque of Al-Aqsa.”

Al-Sawi further called on Arab and Muslim nations to unite in support of Iran’s nuclear program. “The Muslim nation and especially the new Arab revolutions should line up to support Iran’s right to possess nuclear knowledge and technology… If the Zio-American alliance and the West succeed in this battle, we will never obtain this technology.”

Al-Sawi’s speech concluded with a request that Khamenei proclaim May 15, Israel’s Independence Day, as a day to cleanse the Arab and Islamic world of Zionist embassies and consulates and attack them. In response to his request, the crowd cheered and chanted, “Death to Israel.”

Hundreds of Islamist leaders from more than 73 countries attended the conference, according to a recording of the event.