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here. For the American writer, see Pamela Morsi. Mohamed Morsi ???? ???? Mohamed Morsi-05-2013.jpg 5th President of Egypt In office 30 June 2012 Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri Hesham Qandil Vice President Mahmoud Mekki Preceded by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (Acting) Succeeded by Adly Mansour (Acting) Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement In office 30 June 2012 2 August 2012 3 July 2013

Preceded by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Succeeded by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party In office 30 April 2011 24 June 2012

Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Saad El-Katatni Member of the People's Assembly of Egypt

In office 1 December 2000 Preceded by Numan Gumaa Succeeded by Mahmoud Abaza Personal details

12 December 2005

Born 8 August 1951 (age 61) Sharqia, Egypt Political party Freedom and Justice Party Other political affiliations Muslim Brotherhood Spouse(s) Naglaa Mahmoud (1979 present) Children 5 Alma mater Cairo University University of Southern California Religion Sunni Islam Signature Mohamed Morsi[note 1] (Arabic: ???? ???? ???? ???? ???????, ALA-LC: Mu?ammad Mu? ammad Mursi Is al- Ayya? IPA: [m'hmmd m'hmmd 'mo?si '?i?s (?e)l.??j'j??t?]; born 8 1951) is an Egyptian politician who served as the fifth President of Egypt, havi ng assumed office on 30 June 2012. He was declared unseated on 3 July 2013 by th e Egyptian defense minister Abdul Fatah Khalil Al-Sisi in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'tat following protests and opposition calls calling for his resignation. Mohamed Morsi was educated in Egyptian public schools and universities; he was l ater granted a scholarship from the Egyptian Government to prepare for a PhD deg ree in the United States. Morsi was a Member of Parliament in the People's Assem bly of Egypt from 2000 to 2005, and a leading member in the Muslim Brotherhood. He became Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) when it was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He stood as the FJP's candidate for the May June 2012 presidential election. On 24 June 2012, the election commission announced that Morsi won Egypt's presid ential election, making him the first democratically elected president of Egypt. [1][2][3] He had runoff against Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister under depo sed leader Hosni Mubarak.[4] According to official results, Morsi took 51.7 perc ent of the vote while Shafik received 48.3 percent.[5] As he had promised during

his campaign, Morsi resigned from his position as the head of the FJP after his victory was announced.[6] After Morsi temporarily granted himself unlimited powers to "protect" the nation in late November 2012,[7][8] and the power to legislate without judicial oversi ght or review of his acts, hundreds of thousands of protesters began demonstrati ng against him in the 2012 Egyptian protests.[9][10] On 8 December 2012, Morsi a nnulled his decree which had expanded his presidential authority and removed jud icial review of his decrees, an Islamist official said, but added that the effec ts of that declaration would stand.[11] George Isaac of the Constitution Party s aid that Morsi s declaration did not offer anything new, the National Salvation Fr ont rejected it as an attempt to save face, and the 6 April Movement and Gamal F ahmi of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate said the new declaration failed to ad dress the "fundamental" problem of the nature of the assembly that was tasked wi th drafting the constitution.[11] On 30 June 2013, mass protests erupted across Egypt calling for the President's resignation. This was followed by the army's threat that if the protesters' dema nds were not met by 3 July it would step in and build a road map for the country , while insisting that it did not want to rule the country.[12] Some took this t o mean a military coup, but the next day the army denied that they were referrin g to a possible military coup.[13] The plan set up by the military includes susp ending the constitution, dissolving the parliament, and establishing a new admin istration headed by the chief justice.[14] Morsi was declared unseated on 3 July 2013 by a council consisting of defence mi nister Abdul Fatah Khalil Al-Sisi, Mohamed ElBaradei, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb, and Coptic Pope Tawadros II.[15][16]

Contents [hide] 1 Early life and education 2 Political career 2.1 2011 Political prisoner 2.2 Morsi's initial telephone call on behalf of freed prisoners 2.3 2012 Egyptian presidential campaign 3 President of Egypt 3.1 Domestic policy 3.1.1 November 2012 declaration 3.2 2013 Egyptian protests and dismissal declaration 3.3 Foreign policy 3.3.1 Arab world 3.3.2 Syria 3.3.3 China 3.3.4 Iran 3.3.5 Russia 3.3.6 Israel and Palestine 3.3.7 Descendants of Apes and Pigs controversy 3.3.8 International summits 3.3.8.1 African Union 3.3.8.2 Non-Aligned Movement 3.3.8.3 Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit

4 5 6 7 8

Personal life Awards See also Citations References

Early life and education Morsi was born in the Sharqia Governorate, in northern Egypt, of modest provinci al origin, in the village of El-Adwah, north of Cairo, on 8 August 1951.[17] His father was a farmer and his mother a housewife.[17] He is the eldest of five br others, and told journalists that he remembers being taken to school on the back of a donkey.[18] He earned a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering from Cairo University in 1975 and 1978, respectively. He then earned his Ph.D. in ma terials science from the University of Southern California in the U.S. in 1982 w ith his dissertation High-Temperature Electrical Conductivity and Defect Structu re of Donor-Doped Al2O3.[19][20] He was an Assistant Professor at California Sta te University, Northridge, from 1982 to 1985. In 1985, he returned to Egypt and began to serve as the head of the engineering department at Zagazig University, where he was a professor until 2010. The National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan (NUST) conferred th e honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy on Morsi at a special convocation, hel d at the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering NUST in Islamabad on 18 Mar ch 2013. The degree was awarded in recognition of his achievements and significa nt contribution toward the promotion of peace and harmony in the world and for s trengthening bilateral relations with other Muslim countries, especially Pakista n.[21] Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, as Chancellor of the University, confe rred the degree on the Egyptian President together with the Rector of NUST, Muha mmad Asghar. Political career Morsi was first elected to parliament in 2000.[22] He served as a Member of Parl iament from 2000 to 2005, officially as an independent candidate because the Bro therhood was technically barred from running candidates for office under Mubarak .[23] He was a member of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood until the founding of the Freedom and Justice Party in 2011, at which point he was electe d by the MB's Guidance Office to be the first president of the new party.[citati on needed] While serving in this capacity in 2010, Morsi stated that "the two-st ate solution is nothing but a delusion concocted by the brutal usurper of the Pa lestinian lands."[24] Morsi made several controversial comments about the September 11 attacks that ha ve drawn occasional criticism in the United States,[25] including stating that i t is "insulting" to suggest that damage from an aircraft collision brought down the World Trade Center,[26] that no evidence has been presented that could ident ify the Al-Qaeda terrorists who were recorded on video as they boarded the plane s they would fly into the World Trade Center towers, and that in order to addres s questions surrounding the events a "huge scientific conference" should be held to determine the real culprits.[27] 2011 Political prisoner Morsi was arrested along with 24 other Muslim Brotherhood leaders on 28 January 2011.[28] He was released from prison two days later. The break of Wadi el-Natro un Prison received widespread news coverage within hours of its occurrence. On 3 0 January 2011, EST, news were reported from Cairo as follows: 6:12 a.m. Reuters reported: Thirty-four members of the opposition Muslim Brother hood, including seven members of the leadership, walked out of prison on Sunday after relatives of prisoners overcame the guards.[29] 12:29 a.m. The Guardian reported: Armed gangs took advantage of the chaos in Cai ro and other cities to free the prisoners, starting fires and engaging prison gu ards in gun battles, officials said. Several inmates were reportedly killed duri ng the fighting and some were recaptured.[30] 12:35 a.m. Twitter: Also reports of new prison break at Wadi Natrun #Egypt 5000

escapees. Still confirming but had 2 similar reports. Prison guards fled #Jan 25 [31] 1:13 p.m. Los Angeles Times reported: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood members escape p rison, rally in Tahrir Square.[32] 14:04 p.m. Israel News reported: Former minister reportedly evacuated from Inter ior Ministry building under heavy fire. Thousands of criminals, political prison ers flee local jails, join uprising against President Mubarak across country. Re port: Dozens of bodies found near Cairo prison.[33] Morsi's initial telephone call on behalf of freed prisoners From Morsi s first contact with Al Jazeera at the moment of his release and before his decision to depart prison premises, the call reports: ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? "unknown people broke into the prison after chaos erupted outside the prison in the middle of the night which required four hours of effort by the helpers to br eak into ward number 3 in prison number 2, where 34 Muslim Brothers were locked up." The 30 January 2011 historic call: Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brother s, telephoned Al Jazeera to announce to state authorities that he and 34 of his prison inmates were released from the prison by a group of approximately 100 unk nown people and that the prison guards and officials were nowhere to be found. M orsi described the situation of the released prisoners, identified the exact loc ation of the prison and asked the host of Aljazeera to help them find the state official who could help them with their next move. Morsi shouted: we will not fl ee, we are present here and need someone to tell us what to do. He described the ir location as: Prison at Alexandria-Cairo desert highway, kilo[metre] 97, close to the town of Sadat. He described himself and his associates as: Mohammad Mors i, Esam ElAryan, Mohamed Saad AlKatatny, Mahmoud Abu Zead, Mustafi Al-Goneamy, S aad Al-Husseiny, Zayed Nuzeally, Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman, Maged Al-Zummer, Hassan abu Sheaashaa, Ali Izz, Morsi described their exact location as follows: The wa lls of the prison face the desert highway, named Wadi Al Natroun Prison. We were in ward number 3, prison 2, prison 2, ward 3, prison Wadi Al Natroun, kilo 97, north west Cairo, approximately 100 kilos. During the call, he went on to add mo re details: We do not know at all the people who broke in, some dressed in civil clothes, some in prison clothes, more than 100, did every thing to let us out, took more than 4 hours. We heard explosions of gas canisters fired by the guards outside, as the chaos ensued and the prison authority tried to restore order ou tside, we did not know what was happening, we did not see any injuries, we did n ot hear cries. After we exited at 12 O clock, today, there was no one but us and t he people who tried to let us out, are now in front of the gate of prison 2, neg otiating what to do next. 2012 Egyptian presidential campaign Main article: Egyptian presidential election, 2012 After Khairat El-Shater was disqualified from the 2012 presidential election, Mo rsi, who was initially nominated as a backup candidate, emerged as the new Musli m Brotherhood candidate.[34] His campaign was supported by well-known Egyptian c leric Safwat Hegazi at a rally in El-Mahalla El-Kubra,[35] the epicentre of Egyp tian worker protests.[36] Following the first round of Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential elections w here exit polls suggested a 25.5 percent share of the vote for Morsi, he was off icially announced as the president on 24 June 2012 following a subsequent run-of f vote. Morsi supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square celebrated, and angry outburst

s occurred at the Egypt Election Authorities press conference when the result wa s announced. He came in slightly ahead of former Mubarak-era prime minister Ahme d Shafik and has been noted for the Islamist character of his campaign events.[3 7] Since the initial round of voting on 23 May and 24 May 2012, Morsi has attemp ted to appeal to political liberals and minorities while portraying his rival Ah med Shafik as a holdover from the Mubarak-era of secular moderation.[38] On 30 May 2012, Morsi filed a lawsuit against Egyptian television presenter Tawf iq Okasha, accusing him of "intentional falsehoods and accusations that amount t o defamation and slander". According to online newspaper Egypt Independent, an E nglish-language subsidiary of Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, Okasha spent thre e hours on 27 May 2012 criticizing the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi on air.[39] After Okasha aired a video allegedly depicting Tunisian Islamist extremists exec uting a Christian while asking "how will such people govern?", some analysts sug gested that this was in reference to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party.[40] The T unisian government characterized the video as a farce in a harshly worded statem ent.[41] On 24 June 2012, Morsi was announced as the winner of the election with 51.73 pe rcent of the vote.[42] Almost immediately afterward, he resigned from the presid ency of the Freedom and Justice Party.[43] President of Egypt See also: Timeline of the 2011 2012 Egyptian revolution under the Muslim Brotherho od Morsi was sworn in on 30 June 2012, as Egypt's first democratically elected pres ident.[44] He succeeded Hosni Mubarak, who left the office of the President of E gypt vacant after being forced to resign on 11 February 2011.[45][46] Domestic policy According to Foreign Policy, the initial effect of a Morsi presidency on domesti c policy was hazy, as Egypt's bureaucracy remained stocked with Mubarak loyalist s and could block any changes that Morsi might try to push through. In a televis ion interview with Yosri Fouda, he stated that his preference was an interim per iod with a mixed presidential-parliamentary system, which would pave the way for a system in which the legislature held complete sway.[47] Morsi reconvened Parl iament in its original form on 10 July 2012; this was expected to cause friction between him and the military officials who dissolved the legislature. Morsi sought to influence the drafting of a new constitution of Egypt. Morsi fav ored a constitution that protects civil rights, yet that enshrined Islamic law.[ 48] In a speech to supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 30 June 2012, Morsi briefl y mentioned that he would work to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, along with the many Egyptian s who were arrested during the revolution.[49] A Brotherhood spokesperson later said that the extradition was for humanitarian reasons and that Morsi did not in tend to overturn Abdel-Rahman's criminal convictions.[50] On 10 July 2012, Morsi reinstated the Islamist-dominated parliament that was dis banded by the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt on 14 June 2012. According t o Egypt s official news agency, Morsi ordered the immediate return of legislators elected in 2011, a majority of whom are members of Morsi s Freedom and Justice Par ty and other Islamist groups.[51][52] A Morsi spokesman announced that the presi dent-elect would appoint a Christian and a woman as vice-presidents,[53] but eve ntually appointed Mahmoud Mekki, a Muslim. On 22 December 2012, Mekki resigned.[

54] After Kamal Ganzouri's resignation, Morsi tasked Hesham Qandil with forming the new government.[55] On 2 August 2012, Qandil was sworn in as Prime Minister.[56] Morsi also objected to a constitutional provision limiting presidential power.[ 57] On 12 August 2012, Morsi asked Mohamad Hussein Tantawi, head of the country's ar med forces, and Sami Hafez Anan, the Army chief of staff, to resign.[58] He also announced that the constitutional amendments passed by the Supreme Council of t he Armed Forces (SCAF) restricting the president's powers would be annulled.[59] Morsi's spokesman, Yasser Ali, announced that both Tantawi and Anan would remai n advisers to the president. Morsi named Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, currently serving as chief of military intelligence, as Egypt's new defense minister.[60] The New York Times described the move as an "upheaval" and a "stunning purge", given th e power that SCAF had taken after the fall of Mubarak.[60] Al Jazeera described it as "escalating the power struggle" between the president and military.[59] On 14 August 2012, Mohamed Salem, an Egyptian lawyer, filed a legal challenge over Morsi's removal of Tantawi and Anan, arguing that Morsi planned to bring back t he totalitarian regime.[61] Morsi fired two more high-rank security officials on 16 August 2012: intelligenc e chief Murad Muwafithe and the commander of his presidential guards.[62] On 27 August 2012, Morsi named 21 advisers and aides that included three women a nd two Christians and a large number of Islamist-leaning figures.[63] He also ap pointed new governors to the 27 regions of the country.[64] On 19 October 2012, Morsi traveled to Egypt's northwestern Matrouh in his first official visit to deliver a speech on Egyptian unity at el-Tenaim Mosque. Immedi ately prior to his speech he participated in prayers there where he openly mouth ed "Amen" as cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi Mansour, the local head of religious endo wment, declared, "Deal with the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse th em, rend them asunder. Oh Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them. Show us Your omnipotence, oh Lord." The prayers were broadcast on Egyptian stat e television and translated by MEMRI. Originally MEMRI translated the broadcast as "Destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them as under," but later revised their translation.[65][66] Morsi did not attend the enthronement of Coptic Pope Tawadros II on 18 November 2012 at Abbasiya Cathedral, though Prime Minister Hesham Qandil did attend.[67] November 2012 declaration Main article: 2012 13 Egyptian protests On 22 November 2012, Morsi issued a declaration purporting to protect the work o f the Constituent Assembly drafting the new constitution from judicial interfere nce. In effect, this declaration immunises his actions from any legal challenge. The decree states that it only applies until a new constitution is ratified.[68 ] The declaration also requires a retrial of those accused in the Mubarak-era ki llings of protesters, who had been acquitted, and extends the mandate of the Con stituent Assembly by two months. Additionally, the declaration authorizes Morsi to take any measures necessary to protect the revolution. Liberal and secular gr oups walked out of the constitutional Constituent Assembly because they believed that it would impose strict Islamic practices, while members of the Muslim Brot herhood supported Morsi.[69] The move was criticized by Mohamed ElBaradei who said Morsi had "usurped all sta te powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh."[70][71] The move led to ma

ssive protests and violent action throughout Egypt,[72] with protesters erecting tents in Tahrir Square, the site of the protests that preceded the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. The protesters demanded a reversal of the declaration and the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. Those gathered in the square called for a "huge protest" on 27 November.[73] Clashes were reported between protesters a nd police.[74] The declaration was also condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House.[75][76][77][78] Eg ypt's highest body of judges decried the ruling as an "unprecedented assault on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings."[79] Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, a prosecutor appointed by Hosni Mubarak, declared the decree "null and void."[68] Morsi further emphasized his argument that the decree is temporary, and said he wanted dialog with the opposition.[80] Morsi's statement failed to appease eithe r the judges or citizenry dissatisfied with his decision and sparked days of pro tests in Tahrir Square.[81] Though the declarations's language had not been altered, Morsi agreed to limit t he scope of the decree to "sovereign matters" following four days of opposition protests and the resignation of several senior advisers. Morsi's spokesman said an agreement, reached with top judicial authorities, would leave most of the pre sident's actions subject to review by the courts, but preserve his power to prot ect the Constituent Assembly from being dissolved by the courts before it had fi nished its work. President Morsi also agreed there would be no further retrials of former officials under Hosni Mubarak, unless new evidence was presented.[82] On 1 December 2012, the Constituent Assembly handed the draft constitution to Mo rsi, who announced that a constitutional referendum would be held on 15 December 2012.[83][84] On 4 December 2012, Morsi left his presidential palace after a number of protest ers broke through police cordons around the palace, with some climbing atop an a rmored police vehicle and waving flags.[85] On 8 December 2012, Morsi annulled his decree which had expanded his presidentia l authority and removed judicial review of his decrees, an Islamist official sai d, but added that the effects of that declaration would stand.[11][84][86][87][8 8][89] A constitutional referendum was still planned for 15 December. George Isa ac of the Constitution Party said that Mursi s declaration did not offer anything new, the National Salvation Front rejected it as an attempt save face, and the 6 April Movement and Gamal Fahmi of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate said the n ew declaration failed to address the "fundamental" problem of the nature of the Assembly that was tasked with drafting the constitution.[11] 2013 Egyptian protests and dismissal declaration Main article: 2013 Egyptian coup d'tat On 30 June 2013, massive demonstrations were held across Egypt calling for Presi dent Morsi's resignation from office[90]. Concurrently with these anti-Morsi dem onstrations, his supporters held demonstrations elsewhere in Cairo.[91] On 1 July, the Egyptian Armed Forces issued a 48-hour ultimatum which gave the c ountry's political parties until 3 July to meet the demands of the Egyptian peop le. The Egyptian military also threatened to intervene if the dispute was not re solved by then.[92] Four Ministers also resigned on the same day, including tour ism minister Hisham Zazou, communication and IT minister Atef Helmi, state minis ter for legal and parliamentary affairs Hatem Bagato and state minister for envi ronmental affairs Khaled Abdel Aal[93], leaving the government with members of t he Muslim Brotherhood only. On 2 July, President Morsi publicly rejected the Egyptian Army's 48-hour ultimat

um and vowed to pursue his own plans for national reconciliation and resolving t he political crisis.[94] On 3 July at 21:00 (GMT+2), Abdul Fattah el-Sisi announced a road map for the fu ture, stating that Morsi was removed and that the head of the Constitutional Cou rt had been appointed the Interim President of Egypt. [95] As of 4 July, his whereabouts are unknown, although he is rumored to be at the h eadquarters of the Republican Guards.[96] Foreign policy

Mohamed Morsi meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Cairo, Egyp t, July 2012 Arab world His first official foreign visit was to Saudi Arabia on 11 July 2012.[97] During this visit, Morsi stated that he intends to strengthen ties with the oil-rich m onarchy, which also maintained close ties with the Mubarak government.[98] Morsi has seen strong support from Qatar which has maintained long-held ties wit h the Muslim Brotherhood,[99] of which Morsi was a member until his election. Qa tar has declared that it would provide Egypt with US$2 billion just as Morsi ann ounced the reshuffle in the cabinet on 12 August 2012.[100] Meanwhile investors from Qatar have pledged to invest 10 billion in Egyptian infrastructure.[99] Syria As a staunch supporter of the opposition forces in the Syrian civil war, Morsi a ttended an Islamist rally on 15 June 2013, where salafi clerics called for "holy war" in Syria and denounced supporters of Bashar al-Assad as "infidels".[101] M orsi, who announced at the rally that his government had expelled Syria's ambass ador and closed the Syrian embassy in Cairo, called for international interventi on on behalf of the opposition forces in the effect of an establishment of a nofly zone.[102] Although he did not explicitly call for Egyptians to join the opposition armed f orces in the Syrian conflict, President Morsi's attendance at the 15 June rally was seen by many to be a implicit nod-of-approval for the Islamist clerics' call s for holy war in Syria.[103][101] Morsi was criticized by Egyptian analysts for attending and speaking at the rally, while the Supreme Council of the Armed For ces (SCAF) released a statement the day after the rally saying that its only rol e is to protect Egypt's borders, in an apparent ruling out of support for interv ention in Syria.[101] Morsi's attendance at the rally was later revealed to be m ajor factor in the largely secular SCAF's decision to side with anti-Morsi prote sters over the Morsi government during the widespread July 2013 anti-Morsi prote sts.[101] China Morsi visited China in August 2012. He signed various cooperation agreements dur ing his visit.[104] Morsi was believed to be trying to attract Chinese investors and tourists,[104] and diversifying Egypt's foreign policies currently focused on the United States.[105] Iran

During his tenure, Morsi strengthened ties with Iran following pre-revolutionary years of animosity between the two countries. However, his actions were met wit h Sunni Muslim opposition both inside and outside Egypt.[106] Russia Morsi visited Russia in April 2013. During the visit Morsi hailed the ties that bound Egypt and Russia since Soviet times and he said that he would like to stre ngthen both economic and political ties with Russia. Morsi also hoped for Russia n assistance in developing the Egyptian energy sector. [107] Morsi also wanted Russia to help build nuclear power plants in Egypt and to attr act Russian tourists and investors as he is hoping to diversify Egypt's foreign and economic policies which are still linked to the U.S.[108] Israel and Palestine In October 2012, Morsi wrote a friendly letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres . The letter largely followed standard diplomatic language. Morsi called Peres " a great and good friend" and went on to call for "maintaining and strengthening the cordial relations which so happily exist between our two countries." Morsi c losed the letter by expressing "highest esteem and consideration." Gamal Muhamma d Heshmat asserted that the letter was "fabricated" saying that "Zionist media h ave leaked baseless statements by Morsi in the past." However, Morsi spokesman Y asser Ali told Egyptian state-run newspaper Ahram that the letter was "100 perce nt correct."[109] Previously, in July 2012, Morsi had refuted a fabricated lette r.[110] Morsi said in his victory speech that he would honor all of Egypt's internationa l treaties, which was thought to be a reference to Egypt's treaty with Israel.[1 11] On 14 November 2012, when Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaz a Strip in response to Hamas rocket fire, Morsi's government condemned the opera tion and called for a halt to airstrikes.[112] Morsi sent Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to Gaza to express solidarity with Gaza and Hamas,[113][114] a stark cont rast to Hosni Mubarak's treatment of Hamas as an enemy in the 2008 9 Gaza War.[115 ] Egypt, along with the United States mediated the ceasefire with Hamas and Isra el.[116] Descendants of Apes and Pigs controversy In January 2013, statements made by Morsi in 2010 gained wide attention in the W estern media, following a report in Forbes magazine on 11 January that criticize d big media outlets for having ignored it.[117] In videos posted by MEMRI, Morsi had declared "The Zionists have no right to the land of Palestine. There is no place for them on the land of Palestine. What they took before 1947-8 constitute s plunder, and what they are doing now is a continuation of this plundering. By no means do we recognize their Green Line. The land of Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, not to the Zionists."[118] In September 2010, calling the Israelis "blood-suckers", "warmongers" and "descendants of apes and pigs", Morsi said "T hese futile [Israeli-Palestinian] negotiations are a waste of time and opportuni ties. The Zionists buy time and gain more opportunities, as the Palestinians, th e Arabs, and the Muslims lose time and opportunities, and they get nothing out o f it. We can see how this dream has dissipated. This dream has always been an il lusion... This [Palestinian] Authority was created by the Zionist and American e nemies for the sole purpose of opposing the will of the Palestinian people and i ts interests."[119][120][121][122][123][124][125] White House spokesman Jay Carn ey tried to downplay Morsi's remarks, saying that U.S. policy is focused on acti

ons, not words. Morsi later contended that his remarks were "taken out of contex t", and his exchange with a delegation headed by John McCain was made public: Morsi told the delegation he was committed to freedom of religion and belief, hi s spokesman said, adding: "his Excellency [Morsi] pointed out the need to distin guish between the Jewish religion, and those who belong to it, and violent actio ns against defenseless Palestinians."[124][125] During a visit to Germany in January 2013, Morsi again stated that his remarks w ere taken out of context, insisting that they were intended as a criticism of Is rael's policies toward the Palestinians. Addressing reporters, Morsi stated that "[I am] not against the Jewish faith or the Jewish people. My comments were abo ut conduct that sheds blood and kills innocent people things neither I... nor an yone condones... My comments were about the conduct and manners, the killings an d the aggression by tanks and warplanes and cluster bombs and internationally ba nned weapons against innocent people." Morsi also stated that "[I] cannot be aga inst the Jewish faith or Jews or Christianity and Christians," pointing out that the Quran requires Muslims "to believe in all religions."[126] International summits African Union Morsi attended the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa from 15 to 16 July 2012; this was the first visit to Ethiopia by Egypt's president in 17 years since the attempted assassination of Hosni Mubarak in June 1995.[127] Later, in June 2013, politicians called by Morsi were overheard suggesting attac king Ethiopia to stop it from building a dam on a Nile tributary.[128] Non-Aligned Movement Morsi attended the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran at the end of August 2012, in a visit that could resume normal relations for the countries. Their diplomatic relationship has been strained since Egypt signed a peace trea ty with Israel in 1979.[129] Morsi made a speech against the Syrian government and called on the Syrian oppos ition to unite during the Syrian civil war. His comments about Syria, however, w ere not covered by Iranian media clearly.[130] He sparked controversy saying tha t it is an "ethical duty" to support the Syrian people against the "oppressive r egime" in Damascus.[131] Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit Morsi hosted the Islamic summit in Cairo with the presence of 57 Leaders of Musl im nations. The summit declared support for the unity and territorial integrity of Mali and condemned terrorism in the west African state but said nothing of Fr ench military intervention to drive out Islamist fighters. The summit called for a "serious dialogue" between Syria's government and an opposition coalition on a political transition to put an end to the devastating civil war.[132][133] Morsi awarded Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Order of the Nile, which is Egypt's highest state hon or.[134] Personal life Morsi is married to his cousin, Naglaa Ali Mahmoud.[135] She reportedly stated t

hat she does not want to be referred to "First Lady" but rather "First Servant [ of the Egyptian public]."[136] Morsi has five children:[137] Ahmed Mohammed Morsi, who is a physician in Saudi Arabia; Shaima, a graduate of Zagazig University; Osama, an attorney; Omar has a bachelor in commerce from Zagazig University; and Abdullah, high school student .[138] Two of Morsi's five children were born in California and are U.S. citizen s by birth.[139] Morsi has three grandchildren.[138] His third son, Omar, was ap pointed to the Holding Company for Airports, a state-owned company, six months a fter his graduation.[140] However, he declined the job offer due to many rumors and attacks in the media and press.[141][142]