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Islam's Improbable Reformer

(Wall Street Journal) Bret Stephens interviews Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi - Egyptian President Sisi is emerging as perhaps the world's most significant advocate for Islamic moderation and reform. He says: "The real Islamic religion grants absolute freedom for the whole people to believe or not believe. Never does Islam dictate to kill others because they do not believe in Islam. Never does it dictate that [Muslims] have the right to dictate [their beliefs] to the whole world. Never does Islam say that only Muslims will go to paradise and others go to hell." Sisi goes out of his way to stress that he has no intention of altering the pro-American tilt of Egyptian foreign policy, despite suggestions that he is flirting with Russia for potential arms purchases and the construction of Egypt's first nuclear power plant. "A country like Egypt will never be mischievous with bilateral relations" with America, he insists. "We are keen on a strategic relationship with the U.S. above everything else. And we will never turn our backs on you - even if you turn your backs on us." Egypt's security cooperation with Israel has never been closer, and Sisi has moved aggressively to close the tunnels beneath Egypt's border with Gaza, through which Hamas has obtained its weapons.
2015-04-03 00:00:00
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