Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: A Catastrophe Waiting to Happen?

They patiently waited 84 years to emerge.

They became the compassionate go-to people in their cities and towns. They provided food and shelter to the needy. They quietly, peacefully infiltrated almost every aspect of their communities. And now the Muslim Brotherhood has officially taken over Egypt with Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi becoming the newly elected leader.

President Obama called Morsi soon after, telling him that the United States would stand by Egypt in its transitional period and said that he looked forward to working together.

"We believe in the importance of the new Egyptian government upholding universal values, and respecting the rights of all Egyptian citizens — including women and religious minorities such as Coptic Christians," press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.  "We look forward to working together with President-elect Morsi and the government he forms, on the basis of mutual respect, to advance the many shared interests between Egypt and the United States."

The elections were marred from the start by accusations of fraud by both sides, including stuffed ballot boxes and forged signatures. Morsi won by just under 900,000 votes. Former president Jimmy Carter was very involved with the elections since the ousting of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

According to Carter’s website the elections were shady at best. On June 19 Carter wrote:

"I am deeply troubled by the undemocratic turn that Egypt's transition has taken. The dissolution of the democratically-elected parliament and the return of elements of martial law generated uncertainty about the constitutional process before the election…An unelected military body should not interfere in the constitution drafting process."

Strangely, two days later on June 21 (after the election results were announced) Carter released this statement, which seemingly disputes his own words on June 19:

“Contrary to certain reports in the media, The Carter Center would like to reiterate one of its findings with respect to the second round of the Egyptian presidential election. Carter Center witnesses did not observe evidence of major or systematic flaws in the voting and counting processes (June 16-18) that unfairly advantaged either candidate.

Given the late accreditation and other restrictions placed on The Carter Center, which are contrary to international principles for election observation, the Center could only deploy a 'limited mission' and was unable to assess the quality of voter registration and other parts of the electoral process. It is impossible, therefore, for The Carter Center to provide an assessment regarding the election process as a whole.”

In other words, pay no attention to what Carter previously said; everything is just hunky-dory in New Egypt.

"I am the president of all Egyptians," Morsi said in his first national address.  "All Egyptians are my family...The moment has come for the nation to receive its dignity."

A few interesting facts about Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood leader:

• Morsi received a Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Southern California.

• In 1982, Morsi worked at NASA on the development of space shuttle engines.

• He has called Israelis “vampires” and “killers.”

• He was a political prisoner under Mubarak.

• After winning the election Morsi resigned from the Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice party “in a bid to show that he represents all Egyptians.”

• Saleha Mahmood Abedin, (famous for being former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s mother-in-law) reportedly served in the women’s division of the Muslim Brotherhood alongside Morsi’s wife. Saleha’s daughter, Huma, is currently Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff…

According to the Egyptian website El Bashayer, Morsi was asked by a journalist about Egyptian Christians who were supporting his opposition.

"They need to know that conquest is coming, that Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizra or emigrate." (Jizra is the tax the Prophet Muhammad required non-Muslims to pay in lands conquered by Islam.)

Despite claiming to be a newer, friendlier Muslim Brotherhood, during a May 1 Muslim Brotherhood rally Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi called for a march on Jerusalem.

"Say 'Allah Akbar!' Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing," Higazi declared.

"Our cry shall be, 'millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem,’" he continued. "Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews. Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas."

Morsi reportedly drove his followers into a frenzy at the rally when he chanted the Brotherhood's slogan, "The Qur'an is our constitution."

Despite the positive PR from the mainstream media, Steven Emerson, Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, doesn’t believe this “new and improved” Muslim Brotherhood is all it is claiming to be.

“The Muslim Brotherhood, wherever it is around the world, from Cairo to Chicago, seeks to gain legitimacy thru a campaign of deception and penetration of western regimes and institutions,” Emerson writes. “Wittingly or unwittingly, the United States has now become a de facto enabler of a militant ideology that ultimately seeks the destruction of our own way of life.”

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and Rep. Allen West (R-Fl.) see the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as a danger for the U.S. and its allies in the region.

In a statement on West’s official Facebook page, he wrote, “I call upon President Barack Obama to cut off American foreign aid to Egypt, denounce the results of this election, repudiate the Muslim Brotherhood, and all radical Islamist political entities.”

Upon receiving word of Morsi's victory, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip passed out sweets, praised God and expressed hope for a new era of warm relations between Gaza and Egypt.

Coptic Christians make up approximately 10% of the Egyptian population. I pray they leave Egypt as soon as possible and as always, I am praying for Israel.