July 5, 2013
“Syria’s people and leadership and Army express their deep appreciation for the national, populist movement in Egypt which has yielded a great achievement,” the government said in a statement carried on state television on Thursday. source
Egyptian leader Morsi recently attended a hate meeting, July 15, during which he declared war against Shia Muslims and called on Egyptians (excluding his family) to commit money, blood and spirit to waging terrorism against Syria. Days aftre his broadcast, Shia Sheikh Shehata was killed in broad day light, with some of his followers in Egypt in a globally condemned hate crime.
Morsi’s role at the Syria rally in focus has been described as being the “tipping point,” for the Egyptian army. The Egyptian army immediately after the Morsi Salafi-extremist meeting and broadcast, had uttered a statement of their non-involvement in the Syria crises. This was a first major policy split between Morsi and the Egyptian military.
If Mr Morsi was aware of irritation in the army, he chose to ignore it, believing his mandate as Egypt’s democratically elected leader gave him licence to make policy the way elected leaders do elsewhere in the world.
For the army, the Syria rally had crossed “a national security red line” by encouraging Egyptians to fight abroad, risking creating a new generation of jihadists, said Yasser El-Shimy, analyst with the International Crisis Group.
At the heart of the military’s concern is the history of militant Islam in Egypt, homeland of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. The military source condemned recent remarks made by “retired terrorists” allied to Mr Morsi, who has deepened his ties with the once-armed group al-Gamaa al-Islamiya.
