Excerpt:
Now that Egyptians have overthrown the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) government of former president Mohammed Morsi, how have scholars of the Middle East responded? With encomia, nostalgia, and conspiracy theories. (Click here for a full collection of quotes).
Instead of acknowledging the ineptitude and dictatorial behavior that led to the Muslim Brotherhood's ouster, some alluded to shadowy conspiracies involving the U.S. This despite the Obama administration's open support for the Brotherhood and its push for MB participation in a new democratic political process, much to the consternation of the Egyptian street, not to mention many Americans.
Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University and grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, claimed that "the decision to overthrow President Mohamed Morsi had been made well before June 30." The Egyptian people, he alleged, "have been unwitting participants in a media-military operation of the highest order," and, he concluded ominously, "The silence of Western governments tells us all we need to know."