A surprise showing has given the Muslim Brotherhood its strongest political foothold ever heading into the second round of Egypt's parliamentary elections yesterday -- a vote that is hinting at what democracy might look like in the Arab world's largest country.
Secularists and Christians, however, were unsettled by the Brotherhood's showing in the first round where the country's oldest Islamic fundamentalist group took 34 seats, doubling its presence in parliament.
The victories have established the Brotherhood as the leader of the opposition and have proven what the government has always feared: that the banned group is popular among Egyptians despite -- or because of -- frequent crackdowns and the government's media campaign against it.
The unanswered question remains: Does the Brotherhood's success stem from its platform -- summed up in its slogan, "Islam is the solution," vague but appealing to some in conservative Egypt -- or to widespread discontent with President Hosni Mubarak's government?
Stunned by its own showing, the Brotherhood expected to win more in yesterday's vote and the Dec. 1 third round, which are being held in provinces that include its traditional strongholds.
Some members of the Coptic Christian community find it alarming that the Brotherhood is gaining ground.
Georget Qelliny, a Copt and a former lawmaker, said: "What worries me is the [Brotherhood's] vague call for implementing Islamic law."
She added she was skeptical of the Brotherhood's pledge to protect the rights of all citizens.
Rafik Habib, an Evangelical Coptic Christian and social scientist, said his co-religionists were worried about the Brotherhood's slogan, "Islam is the solution." But Habib, who has studied and written extensively about the group, discounted such fears.
"The Brotherhood was never anti-Coptic ... It's important to open a real dialogue with Brotherhood, and the Islamic trend in general," he said.
Secular observers such as Magdi el-Galad, the editor of the independent daily al-Masry al-Youm, was not so sanguine.
In a recent column he opined that the Mubarak government was allowing the Brotherhood to make non-threatening political gains against the ruling National Democratic Party as part of its campaign to "wave with the `Islamist scare' once again ... without taking into consideration the repercussions, and without being able to put the `scare' back in the bottle."
"Whatever is the secret or the reason, what is happening now puts Egypt on edge of danger," he warned.
But secular pro-democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim says greater freedoms in Egypt means recognizing the Brotherhood's influence. He wrote a controversial column entitled "Islam can vote, if we let it."
"I know Copts, women are alarmed, the US will be concerned," Ibrahim said. He said there is no reason for that as "it's a very pragmatic group."
"If we are true democrats, we have to accept the outcome of elections," said Ibrahim, scoffing at the group's critics that say, if they come to power, this will be the last elections.
"This is nonsense, the group has never been in power, never tested,'' he added.
The US has been urging Mubarak, its steadfast ally in the Middle East, to allow greater democracy in a country he has ruled nearly unquestioned for 24 years. But US officials are also eyeing the Brotherhood with concern
"I think there are some serious questions about the extent to which some of those parties would defend those rights, if they were in power,'' especially the rights of women and religious freedom, Elizabeth Cheney, US deputy assistant secretary of state for the Near East, said in an interview earlier this fall.
"A willingness to participate in the democratic system isn't proof of that somebody is a democrat. You have to be willing to protect that system and defend the rights of others," she said.
The Brotherhood won 34 seats in the first round, up from only 15 in the outgoing parliament. The ruling NDP seized 112, after joining candidates who ran as independents, in the 454 member legislature.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS