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Banned Islamic Movement Now the Main Opposition in Egypt
"Ayman Nour's trial, like the violence against voters in the parliamentary elections, is a terrible advertisement for President Mubarak's supposed reform agenda, and for Egypt's judiciary," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "In the courtroom as at the voting booths, there is little tolerance for challenges to the ruling party's hegemony."
On Thursday night, demonstrators holding candles, orange balloons and banners gathered to protest Nour's detention. They were hemmed in by police and prohibited from leaving a sidewalk at Talat Harb Square. "The government wants to eliminate people like Ayman so they can offer Egyptians only two choices: the NDP or the Brotherhood," said Gamila Ismael, Nour's wife. "It is the choice of extremes."
  Riot police blocked supporters of a candidate from the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood from polls in Mansoura in the prior round of elections on Dec. 1. (By Amr Nabil -- Associated Press) |
Nour faces a new charge in court: insulting Mubarak during an interview on al-Jazeera television.
One Tomorrow Party member won a parliamentary seat. Nour has said the victor was supported by the ruling party to unseat him as party leader.
Other parties fared equally badly. The Wafd party, an 80-year-old group, won six seats; the leftist Tagammu ended with two; and the Nasserites, named after Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt's leader of the 1950s and '60s, secured none.
Kifaya, which ran no candidates, is rethinking its tactics. The movement succeeded in challenging bans on public demonstrations and broke taboos against criticizing Mubarak. But some supporters say the protests have reached a dead end. "We became addicted to demonstrations," said Wael Khalil, a Kifaya activist. "We have to organize to make ourself relevant across the country. We simply don't have deep roots in Egypt."
The Muslim Brotherhood faced obstacles as well. The organization was forced to run its candidates as independents because of its outlawed status, and police rounded up 1,300 members and sympathizers during the election, Erian said.
Brotherhood leaders were quick to calm fears that the group would run roughshod over the secular opposition. The Brotherhood ran in only 150 districts to assure Egyptians it was not trying to seize power immediately, Erian said. If legalized, he said, the Brotherhood would become a political party. In parliament, it will launch an anti-corruption campaign, he added.
Erian attributed the Brotherhood's electoral success to fieldwork and social activism. Members provide social services and medical care in several areas throughout Egypt. "We are visible in ways other parties are not," Erian said. "This is a moment of truth. Egyptians will see whether we are a genuine reform movement or not."
As for the United States, Erian said it should avoid trying to mold Egyptian democracy in its own image. 'They should learn they are not in charge of the world," he said.
Members of the ruling party put a positive spin on the outcome. Mohammed Kamal, a reformer in the party, said the Brotherhood must now show its true face. "They are integrated into the system, and this is a positive step in dealing with political Islam," he said. "Is it scary? We will see."
