BEFORE WE FORGET EGYPT…

That is exactly what the usurping military regime in Cairo would love. So again and again we shall visit this injustice until Allah, exalted be His Name, deals with the matter as He did for those few at Badr. Today, we present excerpts from an interesting article titled “10 Things you may not know about […]

That is exactly what the usurping military regime in Cairo would love. So again and again we shall visit this injustice until Allah, exalted be His Name, deals with the matter as He did for those few at Badr. Today, we present excerpts from an interesting article titled “10 Things you may not know about President Mursi” written by Yavus Selim and posted on www.muslimmatters.org, and cross posted on www.islam21c.com.
At times of great tribulation and turmoil, the first casualty is always the truth. Why? Because the greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressors and tyrants is their ability to manipulate facts to suit their agenda. Without the truth, we cannot see what is right and what is wrong. Without the truth, there is only falsehood…and injustice. And that is how it is today in Egypt, where the elected President was kidnapped and held incommunicado for months, and his supporters are imprisoned, tortured and killed. Now he is to stand trial for crimes that seem to multiply by the day. So, who is the real President Mursi? Here are ten little known facts that may help provide us with some clues:
President Mursi is a Hafiz of the Qur’an: One of the little known facts about the president is that he has memorised the entire Qur’an. This is no mean feat and something that itself is worthy of praise. The Prophet, upon whom be peace, had said: “The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” Abu Musa Al Asharee also reported that the Prophet had said, “Part of showing glory to Allah is to show respect to a white-haired Muslim; a carrier (memoriser) of the Qur’an (who does not exaggerate in it nor ignore it); and a just ruler.” (An interesting combination of Mursi’s attributes…)
President Mursi is intelligent: It was widely assumed that Mursi was not that bright. His detractors point to a series of decisions that seemed to exacerbate anger against him. And yet the majority evidence points to Mursi being much more academically gifted than any of his detractors. He has a PHD, is a professor and was the head of the Department of Engineering in Zagazig University. He has previously worked on various projects in America and was a visiting professor there. In his short time in office, he managed to achieve a fair amount and surrounded himself with individuals with proven track records in their fields.
President Mursi lived in a rented apartment: An Egyptian president has many sprawling lavishly furnished palaces dotted around Cairo. When Mursi walked into the Presidential Palace for the first time, he made up his mind that he would not live in any of them. He relented to carry out official government business in these vast palaces, but he would continue to live in his rented apartment for some time. This was how we were treated to the unbelievable sight of the President of a nation having death threats to his family being graffitied onto the walls of the elevator he used to get to his flat.
President Mursi refused special treatment for his family: Whilst Mursi was president, his sister fell seriously ill. When he went to visit her in hospital, the doctors told him that she may get better treatment if she was transferred to Europe or America. All they needed was the order from him and a medivac chopper and airplane would be commandeered. He refused, stating that his family should not be favoured above those of other Egyptians merely because of the position he held. His sister passed away in a government hospital like any other Egyptian citizen.
President Mursi recited the adhān amidst his speech: As President, Mursi was once delivering an important speech in Alexandria, and he was suddenly made aware that prayer time fell. Instead of ignoring the adhān and continuing his speech or even just staying silent for a minute – Mursi loudly and proudly called the adhān (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiVipazXe00&feature=player_embedded). The effect is electrifying.
President Mursi was like Umar (RA) for a homeless widow: During the Anti-Coup protests at Rabi’a, an old widow stepped forward and narrated that she was a homeless woman who used to sleep on the streets of Cairo. One day a car pulled up and Mursi got out. He asked her why she slept on the streets. She told him that since her husband died, she was unable to continue paying the rent and eventually found herself on the street. Mursi said that no mother in Egypt should suffer like this, and directed officials to provide her with a respectable apartment and enough of a stipend from the state to pay for it. (See her testimony at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LaJ-La1kGa8 – sadly only in Arabic). Since the coup, however, she has become homeless again.
President Mursi was not an opportunist – he took part in aid work: Before he became president, Mursi had physically taken part in various charitable works, despite his busy schedule as a top academician. Among other places, he was at Banda Aceh, Indonesia, following the devastating South Asian Tsunami. He was there as part of an aid mission to help the survivors rebuild their shattered lives. Mursi isn’t just another scheming member of the deep state of Egypt who has done nothing but worked for their own advancement and that of their families since day one.
President Mursi was the world’s lowest paid leader: We get so used to seeing the sickening figures that business moguls, sports stars and so-called celebrities pull in that we expect our political leaders to be earning mega bucks as well. We’re not shocked when we see former Prime Ministers or Presidents become millionaires on the lucrative speakers’ circuit. Mursi could have taken the opportunity of being President to build a nest-egg for himself; after all, he still lived in a rented flat. It turns out that President Mursi was the lowest paid world leader. Read that again. In. The. World. He stipulated that his salary would be $10,000 for the entire year. At the time of his kidnapping, it transpired that he had actually not drawn any salary at all.
President Mursi rarely missed prayer in the mosque: President Mursi was so keen not to miss any prayers in congregation and in the mosque that it became a running joke amongst the coup supporters who felt such outward displays of piety were pretentious. Yet, ignoring their cynicism, Mursi did not miss his prayers and he was often seen moved to tears by the khutba at Friday prayers.
President Mursi decreed that his picture be NOT displayed: Egypt, like most Arab dictatorships, had the picture of their “benevolent” leader plastered across the walls of every building. You couldn’t go anywhere in Egypt without seeing Mubarak staring down at you. When Mursi was elected, he decreed that his picture should not be hung in any Government buildings. He replaced the portraits of his predecessor with that of the name of Allāh.
Love or hate him, some of these facts will help you gain a better understanding of the man Muhammad Mursi. May Allah protect him.