Since the recent London terror plots, there has been much discussion about Muslim professionals and extremism/terrorism with some expressing surprise that educated professionals could be involved in such matters. However, it has been known for a long time that that professionals, in particular scientists, engineers and physicians, are strong represented in the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood, both in Egypt and in the global networks. One example is Zaghloul el-Naggar, an Egyptian geologist, profiled in an earlier post, who is known for asserting that the Koran contains numerous “signs” foretelling later scientific developments. El-Naggar, long tied to the Muslim Brotherhood network, is also strongly featured in Discover Magazine in a discussion about Science and religion in the Muslim World. The article delves into El-Naggar’s scientific/religious beliefs, also known as Bucailleism, as well as citing his anti-Western statements:
We are not behind because of Islam. We are behind because of what the Americans and the British have done to us. The evil West is a common refrain with El-Naggar, who, paradoxically, often appears in a suit and tie, although he is wearing a pale green galabiyya when we meet. He says that he grieves for Western colleagues who spend all their time studying their areas of specialization but neglect their souls; it sets his teeth on edge how the West has ‘legalized’ homosexuality. ‘You are bringing man far below the level of animals,’ he laments. ‘As a scientist, I see the danger coming from the West, not the East.’…..El-Naggar even sees moral meaning in the earthquake that triggered the 2005 tsunami and washed away nearly a quarter of a million lives. Plate tectonics and global warming be damned: God had expressed his wrath over the sins of the West. Why, then, had God punished Southeast Asia rather than Los Angeles or the coast of Florida? His answer: Because the lands that were hit had tolerated the immoral behavior of tourists.
As documented in the earlier post, El-Nagger is also known for his virulent anti-Semitic beliefs.