URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:
July 4 - Egypt Facing Civil War? - PRAY for the nation of Egypt, as it faces a crucial moment, that the recent events would result in its becoming a true democracy and NOT an Islamic state. PRAY esp. that the peoples' freedoms, in particular the religious freedom of its minorities (specifically its oppressed Christians) would be protected.
July 4 - Texas To Vote On Major Pro-Life Bill Next Week - PRAY that the Texas House will finally vote to approve a bill (which the Governor is ready to sign) that will, among other things, make illegal abortions before the 20th week (when babies are discovered to first feel pain) and which will regulate abortion clinics just as any other medical facilities are. PRAY that the passage of this law will spur other such laws throughout the country and eventually be made into a federal law.
American Pastor Saeed Held Prisoner in Iran - June 5th Update - "Saeed's Wife Uses UN Speech to 'Plant Gospel'," by George Thomas, CBN News Sr. Reporter, June 05, 2013, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/June/Saeeds-Wife-Uses-UN-Speech-to-Plant-Gospel/?cpid=EU_CBNNEWSPM_2013_156"Prayers from Prison: American Pastor Held in Iran Releases Letter," May 22, 2013; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=1458"...Abedini has been held at the brutal prison for 238 days, enduring long stints in solitary confinement, and, according to his supporters, beatings and torture at the hands of his jailers and fellow inmates. For months, he has been suffering from serious injuries, including internal bleeding from beatings with no proper medical attention, according to his family and attorneys."(Sources: Fox News, Assemblies of God website) Please PRAY:1) For the imprisoned Pastor Abedini, and for those Iranians who tend to his needs in prison to treat him more humanely. 2) For his family in Boise, Idaho. and their efforts to involve the U.S. State Department in securing Pastor Abedini’s release. And 3) For the impact of his witness upon believers and non-believers, in America and across the world. And if you have not yet, join the over 600,000 worldwide who have signed the petition asking for his release at www.SaveSaeed.org
UPDATE: June 21 - "Pastor Saeed in Good Spirits as Threats Increase," CBNNews.com; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/June/Pastor-Saeed-in-Good-Spirits-as-Threats-Increase/The family of imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini visited him in Iran's Evin Prison this week. They say he was in good spirits...According to the American Center for Law and Justice, the 33-year-old pastor told his family his health appears to have improved. The ACLJ also said that since Iran's presidential election last week, Abedini reported Iranian prison guards have threatened to move him to a more remote prison. Such a move would make it nearly impossible for his family to visit him.
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"Q& A on Egypt" - by James Carafano On July 3, 2013Heritage expert James Jay Carafano, vice president of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies and the E. W. Richardson Fellow, gives his answers to questions about the turmoil in Egypt.
Q. Is President Mohamed Morsi’s downfall a blow to democracy in the Middle East?
A. No, far from it. Morsi was a wannabe sectarian Mubarak. His primary interest was in solidifying the Muslim Brotherhood’s control of Egypt. He embarked on a policy of silencing dissenting voices, free speech, and human rights [1].
Q. Why did the people rise up in protest?
A. Morsi failed to deliver on resolving the key issue raised in the Egyptian Arab Spring: the country’s utter lack of significant economic freedoms [2]. The economy of Egypt is in shambles.
Q. Did the U.S. government do the right thing?
A. No, the Administration merely rubber stamped Morsi’s election, mistakenly equating the Middle East practice of “one vote, one time” with the exercise of democracy. The U.S. needs to press the case that any legitimate Egyptian government needs to deliver on the promise of human rights and economic freedom.
Q. Where does Egypt go from here?
A. Hard to say. The opposition was only unified in its hate of Morsi. There is no agreement on the way forward, and the Muslim Brotherhood is still the most well-organized political force in the country.
Q. What does this mean for Islamic extremism and stability in the Middle East?
A. Certainly, this is a blow to the Muslim brotherhood. But al-Qaeda and its franchises, as we have seen in other countries from Iraq to Libya, thrive on instability. Further, the instability in Egypt complicates and distracts from Syria. Turkey is also undergoing a round of political disruption. If anything, this highlights the limits of President Obama’s notion [3] that he can pivot to Asia and ignore other areas of vital interest to the U.S. His lack of realism coupled with reductions in U.S. military forces and the other instruments of national power leave the U.S. looking weak and ineffective.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/07/03/qa-on-egypt/
URLs in this post:
[1] silencing dissenting voices, free speech, and human rights: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/07/03/egypt-morsi-regime-shaken-by-massive-protests-and-army-ultimatum/
[2] utter lack of significant economic freedoms: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/07/02/egypt-protests-one-reason-for-the-unrest/
[3] the limits of President Obama’s notion: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/07/03/egypt-marines-on-standby/
Copyright © 2013 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
"UPDATED | Egypt: Morsi Is Not a Democratic Leader," by Charlotte Florance On July 3, 2013
UPDATED: It’s official. Mohamed Morsi is now the former president of Egypt.
Egypt’s top military commander, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, announced that Morsi is out, and the chief justice of the constitutional court is in as interim president. New elections will be held, the commander promised, but he didn’t say when.
Democracy lovers need not shed many tears over the apparent coup. Morsi was no defender of democratic rights. Indeed, the current crisis in Egypt arose because he consistently ignored the will of the people while ramming through his Islamist agenda. While Morsi tried desperately to preserve his own power within the current system, he failed to safeguard the rights of ALL Egyptians. Morsi’s attempt to equate his “legitimacy [2]” with “democracy” was a very tough sell for most Egyptians.
Over the last three days, anti-Morsi protestors have flooded Egyptian streets. The news feeds were reminiscent of the anti-Mubarak protests in 2011. Democratic change that many hoped for in early 2011 still has not swept through Egypt. Not only have the huge crowds of protestors rejected Morsi’s claim to democratic legitimacy, but many foreign Arabs have recognized [3] that Morsi “failed spectacularly” to build accountable institutions that merit continued popular support. The Egyptian protests show how badly Morsi underestimated the Egyptian appetite for real democratic change.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/07/03/egypt-morsi-is-not-a-democratic-leader/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/egypt-muslim-brotherhood.jpg
[2] legitimacy: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/201372233516913164.html
[3] recognized: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2013/Jul-03/222326-the-battle-for-egypts-future-continues.ashx#axzz2XyPsk39L
Copyright © 2013 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
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