Report quotes wiretapped exchange between Morsi, Al Qaida leader

http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/secure/2014/02_19/do.asp

 

Report quotes wiretapped exchange between Morsi, Al Qaida leader

"Rule according to the Sharia of Allah, and we will stand next to you," Zawahiri was quoted as telling Morsi. "Know that, from the start, there is no so-called democracy. So get rid of your opposition." Ayman Zawahiri ·  Religion: Sunni Islam ·  Nationality: Egyptian

CAIRO — Egypt's ousted Islamist president was said to have conducted a dialogue with Al Qaida.

Egypt's pro-regime media have asserted that President Mohammed Morsi engaged in a dialogue with Al Qaida commander Ayman Zawahiri.

Morsi, overthrown in a military coup in July 2013 and now charged with treason, was said to have focused on the prospect that Zawahiri, a former Egyptian Army officer, would be allowed to return to the Sinai Peninsula.

"We are currently in the stage of consolidating power and need the help of all parties," Morsi was quoted as telling Zawahiri. "We cannot at this time apply the Iranian model or Taliban rule in Egypt. It is impossible to do so now."

The media asserted that Egypt's intelligence community wiretapped Morsi's phone and recorded his purported conversations with Zawahiri in 2012 and 2013. The Al Watan daily, quoting intelligence agencies, said the dialogue was facilitated by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, seen as close to the Al Qaida leadership.

During a series of conversations, Morsi was said to have revealed cooperation between his Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaida. Zawahiri urged Egypt's first Islamist president to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on the Arab power.

"Rule according to the Sharia of Allah, and we will stand next to you," Zawahiri was quoted as telling Morsi. "Know that, from the start, there is no so-called democracy. So get rid of your opposition."

A leading U.S. analyst on the Arab world said the Egyptian reports appeared credible. Raymond Ibrahim, a researcher at the Middle East Forum, said Morsi's contacts with Al Qaida had been reported even during his year-long presidency.

"It would be difficult for such a big media outlet [like Al Watan] to lie like that," Ibrahim said.

Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.  AP/Maya Alleruzzo

Zawahiri's brother, Mohammed, was also said to have coordinated Al Qaida cooperation with the Brotherhood. The cooperation included a request to Morsi to release at least 20 leading Islamist insurgents as well as enable Al Qaida fighters to train in Sinai.

"We are even planning a big budget from the [Brotherhood] International Group to launch Islamic and jihadi satellite stations to urge on the jihad," Morsi was quoted as saying. "There will be a channel for you and the men of Al Qaida, and it can be broadcast from Afghanistan."

Morsi, who began the dialogue within weeks of assuming his presidency in June 2012, was said to have agreed to the request of the Al Qaida leader. Al Watan said Al Qaida would be allowed to train in both Sinai as well as in western Egypt near the border with Libya.

"Soon, we will honor our promises to you," Morsi was quoted as saying.

In a report in November 2013, Al Watan said the last recorded conversation was a telephone call from Morsi to Mohammed Zawahiri on June 30, 2013, less than a week before the president was overthrown. Morsi was said to have urged Al Qaida to launch a revolt in Sinai and help the Brotherhood against Egypt's military.

"We will fight the military and the police, and we will set the Sinai aflame," Zawahiri, believed to have later fled to Sinai, said.