New Egyptian President Denies Authorship of Letter Bearing His Name and Received by Israel

IF MORSI IS NOT THE AUTHOR, WHO IS?

by Sharon Rondeau

(Aug. 1, 2012) — After Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, sent the new Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, a Ramadan greeting, Morsi denied sending a letter which Israel received in apparent response.

Morsi has called the letter, which was purportedly sent via the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv, “a hoax.”  Whether or not Morsi’s denial of having sent the letter, which expressed his wish for peace with Israel, concerns the political situation between the two Middle Eastern nations is unknown.

Peres had sent two letters, the first from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and him upon Morsi’s election and the second prior to the start of Ramadan.

Morsi was reported to have won the Egyptian election in June and represents The Muslim Brotherhood, which in January declared it “will not recognize Israel under any circumstance” and described Israel as “an occupying criminal enemy.” The party stated that it intended to cancel the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, but Morsi said he would adhere to it.

However, after his election, Morsi sent out a message of peace “to the world.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann and four other congressmen have recently expressed concern that an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have sympathies with the Muslim Brotherhood, whose stated purpose, according to Bachmann, is “destroying the Western civilization from within.”  The congressmen fear that national security could be compromised by people who have “ties” to the Islamic organization.

The Egyptian military did not hand over complete control to Morsi, although reports following the election stated that it would recognize the results of the election regardless of who won.  Hillary Clinton met with the top military general in mid-July in an attempt to convince him to relinquish power to the civilian government.  Clinton has been criticized by some Americans for ” interference by the United States in Egypt’s politics in order to aid an Islamist rise to power.”

Although Barack Hussein Obama claimed to be a Christian during the 2008 election, his former pastor of 20 years stated that he was “steeped in Islam” when he began attending Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago during the early 1990s.  Wright has more recently said in reference to the Obamas that “church is not their thing.”

Peres distributed copies of the letter bearing Morsi’s signature after an Egyptian official said he received permission from Morsi to do so.  Israel believes the letter is authentic, although it reportedly contains typographical errors and was written in English.  The letter is still displayed on the website for Israeli Foreign Affairs.