Egypt bans sale of alcohol, opens doors to Palestinian Arabs

Remember how the new Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi overrode the military and the courts and ordered the legislature (made up of mostly Islamists) to reconvene? Well over the weekend they got to work banning the sale of alcohol on all Muslim holidays as well as opening the doors of the country to Palestinian Arabs in Gaza or any area under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The latter effectively removed the land blockade on Gaza instituted by Mubarak after Hamas took control in 2007.

I’m sure Israel isn’t worried about this one bit. After all, Islam is the religion of peace!

CBN NEWS – The new Egyptian government under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi is already making some dramatic changes.

In one such decision over the weekend, the legislature voted to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages to Egyptians on all Muslim holidays, not just Ramadan.

In another decision, the government now allows Palestinian Arabs from the Gaza Strip or areas under Palestinian Authority control in Judea and Samaria — the West Bank — free entry into the country.

The move effectively breaks the land blockade of Gaza.

Under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed after Hamas wrested control of the Strip from P.A. security forces in June 2007.

For the first time since then, seven Palestinians entered Egypt from the Cairo International Airport on Monday without needing visas or security clearances.

Also worth noting further down in the article, many Coptic Christians were barred from voting in the presidential election that yielded Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood president:

During the presidential elections, other accusations surfaced against the Islamists. In a piece entitled Muslim Brotherhood ‘Democracy’: Slapping, Stabbing and Slaying for Sharia, investigative reporter Raymond Ibrahim wrote on July 9 that “whole segments of Coptic Christians were prevented from voting.”

Quoting Egypt’s national al Ahram newspaper, Ibrahim wrote “the Muslim Brotherhood blockaded entire streets, prevented Copts from voting at gunpoint, and threatened Christian families not to let their children go out and vote.”

Morsi dismissed Tantawi’s order to dissolve the parliament, ordering it to reconvene and promising new legislative elections within 60 days after drafting a new constitution, providing the wherewithal to incorporate Sharia.

The legislation against alcoholic beverages is one example.


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