You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Africa: North
'World must convert to Islam'
2005-08-29
Osama Shaltut claims to descend from the Prophet Mohammed and the centrepiece of his campaign for the Egyptian presidency is a promise to convert the entire world to Islam. The 66-year-old leader of the Solidarity Party, who wears a broad smile and a neatly-trimmed beard, does not like wasting time. "Why wait?" he asks. "The whole world should convert to Islam. Now."
So the 'Solidarity Party' is going to make the world convert to Islam? Great name for a political party ...
Shaltut, the only Islamist candidate in Egypt's September 7 presidential election, nevertheless knows he will have to wait before he can unseat President Hosni Mubarak, who is widely expected to be re-elected. When he introduces himself, Shaltut requests he be addressed as "Sharif" due to his holy ancestry or "Doctor" owing to his PhD in accounting.

His programme, he says, is threefold. "First, let's gather the leaders of all religions. Then, let's apply their principles and assess the results... Finally, let's proclaim the victory of Islam." But Shaltut admits such a process "would take around 10 years", so he advocates a universal conversion to Islam to speed things up and "for the good of humanity".
Posted by:anonymous5089

#21  Goodness, I'd forgotten about that discussion, Rafael! Thanks for the memory ;-)

At the time, Steve wrote,

#15 I'm thinking specifically of one of Mr. Wife's cousin's brother-in-law, whose wife got mad at him one night, sewed him into the bedsheet, and beat him to a pulp with a frying pan.

Hummm, I had a supervisor who told me a story like that once. She wouldn't have been one of those peaceful submissive asian ladies, would she?
Posted by: Steve 2005-08-04 14:03

but I never answered. Steve, I don't think she was Asian, just more than a bit mad (as in nuts, not just angry). There are apparently lots more stories about her that I'm not told because I only married into the family.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-08-29 21:42  

#20  The whole world should convert to Islam

Whoa wait a second. Does this offer include the promise of free women?
Posted by: Rafael   2005-08-29 19:28  

#19  
"The whole world should convert to Islam. Now."
Over YOUR dead body, asshole.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-08-29 17:49  

#18  We just declare that Pluto has converted to I-slam.

Then we make an Ark-B for all the muzzies...
Posted by: Huposing Phaitle9864   2005-08-29 17:22  

#17  'World must convert to Islam'

Make me.
Posted by: Chris W.   2005-08-29 16:04  

#16  Maylasian secret hidden plan?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057328/plotsummary
Posted by: Huposing Phaitle9864   2005-08-29 15:16  

#15  (span class=Geoffrey Rush pirate voice)
I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request.

It means... no.
(/span)
Posted by: eLarson   2005-08-29 13:44  

#14  ...because his uncle, Mahmud Shaltut, issued a 1959 fatwa banning trips to the moon when he was the sheikh of Al-Azhar, the highest authority in Sunni Islam.

I wonder if the Malaysians know about this.

"Malaysia has announced that it hopes to put a man on the moon by the year 2020 as part of its $25m space programme."
Posted by: tipper   2005-08-29 10:58  

#13  Ah, a leader of lemmings if ever I heard one. Shaltut would do well to stick to space fatwas like his uncle. I can see a really good future in the space fatwa field and there is little competition.
Posted by: MunkarKat   2005-08-29 10:54  

#12  When Ann Coulter suggested something similar, the western press collapsed with a case of the vapors.
Posted by: Gloth Slatle7973   2005-08-29 10:44  

#11  Oh yeah, THAT'll happen. Right after monkeys fly outta my ass...
Posted by: mojo   2005-08-29 10:36  

#10  ... because his uncle, Mahmud Shaltut, issued a 1959 fatwa banning trips to the moon when he was the sheikh of Al-Azhar, the highest authority in Sunni Islam.

Sheesh! Now they tell me!
Posted by: Neil Armstrong   2005-08-29 10:32  

#9  "Why wait?" he asks. "The whole world should convert to Islam. Now."

Willing to sacrifice your life for that belief? We can accomodate that, you know...
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-08-29 10:22  

#8  I'm more partial to the phrase, "The whole world must shoot Islamic clerics."
Posted by: mmurray821   2005-08-29 09:59  

#7  "Osama Shaltut claims to descend from the Prophet Mohammed and the centrepiece of his campaign for the Egyptian presidency is a promise to convert the entire world to Islam."

A page out of the DNC play book. This pig is 66 years old. If he really is a descendant of prophet mohammed, he will live til the age of 666. Let's keep an eye on when he actually dies.
Posted by: Poison Reverse   2005-08-29 09:57  

#6  We got some ego issues here, doc?

No, it's just a massive ego, about the side of Rhode Island. That means he's your typical CPA.
Posted by: Raj   2005-08-29 09:54  

#5  When he introduces himself, Shaltut requests he be addressed as "Sharif" due to his holy ancestry or "Doctor" owing to his PhD in accounting.

We got some ego issues here, doc?
Posted by: tu3031   2005-08-29 09:47  

#4  No offense to any accountants out there but how does one get a PhD in accounting?

Third World schools. The "PhD" given out is roughly equivalent to a US MBA.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-08-29 09:46  

#3  No offense to any accountants out there but how does one get a PhD in accounting?
Posted by: CrazyFool   2005-08-29 08:56  

#2  "Why wait?" he asks. "The whole world should convert to Islam. Now."

I'd like to see Condi respond to this one! "The whole world should have a McDonald's Starbucks on each corner. Now!"

"First, let's gather the leaders of all religions. Then, let's apply their principles and assess the results... Finally, let's proclaim the victory of Islam."

Boy, we aren't rigging the board in this game are we? Determining the outcome before you even start, eh? Wonder if Pat Robertson has something to say about this goon.

When asked about events such as the September 11 attacks or the US invasion of Iraq, he brands Osama bin Laden a "stinking dog" and a "bastard" and Saddam Hussein a "psychopath".

His newspaper carried a vitriolic article on alleged sexual harassment by Israeli soldiers against young Palestinian women, but his views on the Jewish state nevertheless appear less radical than those of other candidates or the leftist opposition.

"When we were young, we wanted to drive the Israelis into the sea, now all this is over," he says.

Shaltut, a former officer during the 1973 Yom Kippur war between Israel and Egypt, even advises Palestinian refugees to waive their right of return.

Somehow, I'm assuming this is the MMM (Mythical Moderate Muslim). If he spouts this stuff at the local mosque jihadi recruitment center, methinks he won't be around long. The Paleos giving up their "right of return?" Ptuh!
Posted by: BA   2005-08-29 08:28  

#1  He can kiss my infidel ass... F'ng Bozo
Posted by: DanNY   2005-08-29 08:25  

00:00