Soros frontman pushing for Muslim Brotherhood
Aaron Klein
A former Jordanian diplomat widely quoted in news media in recent months calming fears about the Muslim Brotherhood is a Mideast specialist for a peace institute funded by philanthropist George Soros.
WND previously reported the International Crisis Group, or ICG, led in part by Soros has long petitioned for the Egyptian government to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The ICG includes on its board Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as other personalities who champion dialogue with Hamas, a violent offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Also, WND reported on the numerous ties of Soros initiatives, including the philanthropist's own Open Society Institute, to the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
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Since those revolutions first started in Tunisia in January, news media have widely quoted Marwan Muasher, a former Jordanian foreign minister and deputy prime minister, as a Middle East analyst.
Muasher has roundly championed the revolutions while calling for Arab countries to include Islamist groups in a new democratic system based on an open society.
On ABC's "This Week" earlier this month, Muasher downplayed worries about the Muslim Brotherhood opposition in Syria.
He noted the Syrian Brotherhood was "heavily represented" at a Syrian opposition meeting in Turkey this month that came out with a "very strong message that they want a secular, pluralistic Syria in which religion plays no role. And that was a surprising but welcome message."
Speaking about the broader Mideast revolutions, Muasher stated the Muslim Brotherhood "has been used for a long time a scare tactic. … But in open, pluralistic systems, the Brotherhood will have to compete against many other alternatives, and I think that is the way that all Arab countries should go to."
In an opinion piece in the Guardian of London in January, Muasher called for the inclusion of Islamist parties in representative democracies.
June 13, 2011