Egyptian MP: ‘Nobody Will Succeed in Pushing Egypt Into War With Syria’
© Sputnik/ Aleksey Babushkin
18:01 16.02.2016(updated 18:23 16.02.2016) Get short URL
Egypt and Turkey are at odds over the ongoing civil war in Syria with the diplomatic division between the two countries reflecting broader disagreements over both international and domestic policy matters.
Sputnik discussed the matter with Mahmoud Bader, an Egyptian parliamentary deputy, representating the “In Love of Egypt” party and the organizer of the “Tamarod” (Rebellion) movement.
© REUTERS/ ABDALRHMAN ISMAIL
When asked to speak about Turkish aggression against Syria, Mahmoud Bader said that, unlike fellow Sunnis, like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the Emirates and Qatar, “Egypt has made its decision and taken the right attitude towards the Turkish aggression against our fellow Arab state. This stance is supported by every faithful Arab who cares about his/her Arab identity”.
He also said that all attempts to persuade Egypt to take part in the aggression against Syria would fail because Egyptian MPs always put the interests of the Egyptian and Arab people ahead of everything else.
“Article 1 of the Egyptian Constitution states that ‘the Egyptian people are a part of the Arab nation that maintains its integrity and unity; Egypt is a part of the Islamic World; it belongs to the continent of Africa; it treasures its expansion in Asia; and it contributes to the development of human civilization’” Mahmoud Bader said.
He noted that the government and the new parliament of Egypt shared the same attitude towards Egyptian and Arab national security, as well as concerns affecting the Arab Nation in general.
“It is natural that Egypt, which plays a leading role in the Arab Nation’s issues, protects the Arab states, including against attempts to entangle them in wars that rage in Syria and other Arab nations.”
Mahmoud Bader said that Egypt was aware of the great international powers’ attempts to control the entire region, and that it was why it refused to participate in the ongoing war in Syria.
“[They are trying to achieve this] by pushing some Arab countries to fight the Syrian Arab Army, which is one of the pillars of Arab National Security. The return of Syria as a united state depends on the existence of the Syrian Arab Army,” Mahmoud Bader emphasized.
The philosophy of pan-Arabism is a core theme in Egyptian political thought. From 1958 until 1961, Egypt and Syria were the only members of the United Arab Republic, part of an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to create a pan-Arab state.
Today Syria's flag is the same one that was adopted by the short-lived union. Opponents to Arab nationalism include Daesh, which removed textbooks on the subject from schools after it had risen to power.