Sometimes saying “I told you so” isn’t a good thing. “A senior official in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad has just said that if they come to power, they will launch a campaign of Islamic conquest to instate Shari’a worldwide,” Glenn said.

The Blaze reports:

Shehato pledged his support for Al-Qaeda’s ideologies, but he claims that sharia law will not be imposed through violence. Instead, he says it will be instilled through preaching (violence, of course, is reserved to be used against “infidel Arab rulers).

…

The Islamic state he’d like to see Egypt become is an equally concerning picture — a nation that would have no trade or cultural ties with non-Muslims. And because tourists “drink alcohol and fornicate,” all of the sites that have made Egypt a popular destination for foreign vacationers. will be shut down. Art, dancing, singing and other exercises of talent and self-expression will also be prohibited

…..

For anyone worried about the potential radicalization of Egypt, Shehato’s words will certainly be concerning. His vision of Egypt stands in radical opposition to democratic ideals. Of course, there’s no guarantee that his views will become a reality, though extremist theories like these seem to be making their rounds among Egyptian leaders.

Some of the other highlights?

Shehato: "I am not exploiting democracy, since I have never joined and will never join politics or party activity... We believe that implementation of the shari'a [must be accomplished] far from the political game, though some [other] Islamic streams are willing to participate [in this game] in order to achieve the same goal [i.e., implementation of the shari'a]."

Shehato: "The Christian is free to worship his God in his church, but if the Christians make Problems for the Muslims, I Will Exterminate Them"

Shehato: "No, we will implement the shari'a through da'wa [preaching], while violence will be directed only at the infidel Arab rulers. In their case, there is no choice but to use force, though the shari'a does not call it 'violence' but 'jihad for the sake of Allah.' There is no other way... because they have power and weapons..."

Q: "How will the foreign ministry [operate] in an Islamic state?"

Shehato: "There are Muslims and there are infidels. We will have ambassadors in every country. We want to call all other countries to join Islam, and that will be the task of the ambassadors. If [the countries] refuse, there will be war. We will not tolerate mutual trade and cultural ties with non-Muslims."

...wow

You can read more on the interview Shehato gave to Memri.org here

“I'm amazed at his honesty, too, because we've said this from the beginning and it's true but it's weird to see them admit it. The term democracy isn't even in the Arab or Islamic lexicon. It's not even a concept they're familiar with or care about. They've got no interest in democracy and these Egyptians have no interest in democracy,” Pat said.

“Where is anyone in the press that is looking at a guy like this?” Glenn asked his audience.