Egypt: The Fall of " Political Islam " - Assad

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the massive protests against his Islamist Egyptian counterpart brought the fall of "political Islam," in statements posted on Wednesday on his official Facebook page.

"What is happening in Egypt is the fall of what is known as political Islam," Assad said in an interview with Syrian state newspaper Ath-Thawra, excerpts of which were posted on the Internet.

"Anywhere in the world, whoever uses religion for political aims, or to benefit some and not others, will fall," Assad said.

"You can't fool all the people all the time, let alone the Egyptian people who have a civilisation that is thousands of years old, and who espouse clear, Arab nationalist thought," he added.

"After a whole year, reality has become clear to the Egyptian people. The Muslim Brotherhood's performance has helped them see the lies the (movement) used at the start of the popular revolution in Egypt."