Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: An Islamist group in flux (Feature)

By Shabtai Gold Feb 3, 2011, 14:30 GMT

Cairo - Prior to the unrest, Egypt's largest organised opposition group was the Muslim Brotherhood, a party with deep roots in the country, stretching back to its founding in 1929.

Some people in the West - and more than a few Egyptian liberals - fear the current political turmoil could see the Islamist party gain in power and impose religious doctrine.

But the group is also in the process of a metamorphoses, and its rhetoric often fails to match its actions. Moreover, indications are there is internal debate over its political positions, and the final direction it will take is unclear.

It has a strong contingent of followers, in part because it runs conservative religious and social programmes across the country. But the group has also thrown its weight behind the liberal Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, backing him as the opposition's lead negotiator in efforts to force President Hosny Mubarak to step down.

And ElBaradei, by no means a backer of religious law, has indicated he is not overly concerned by the Brotherhood's involvement in politics.

Though officially banned in Egypt, the group ran independents for the 2005 parliamentary elections and garnered 20 per cent of the vote.

But it failed to win a single seat in elections held in November 2010, which were widely seen as rigged in favour of the ruling National Democratic Party.

Despite having expressed vehement opposition to 'any agreement with this rapacious entity Israel,' once in a position of influence in parliament the group said it would not touch the issue.

'We do not recognize Israel, but we will not fight it. We will respect all the treaties (which Egypt signed with Israel),' said Mohamed Mahdi Akef in 2005, at the time the leader of the Brotherhood.

Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

Israel officials are quick to point out that their relationship with Egypt is a 'cold peace,' but most appreciate having a deal with the most populous Arab state.

The Brotherhood has branched out from being just an Egyptian group, and sister wings have sprouted up throughout the Arab world. In the Palestinian territories, the group most closely affiliated with it is Hamas, the militant Islamist faction.

A key distinction, however, is that the Brotherhood is not on Washington's list of terrorist groups and it renounced violence in the 1970s.

Israel, nevertheless, is watching developments in Egypt with concern given the ties between the two groups.

While Akef refrained from making Israel the centre of his attention, focusing instead on core domestic issues, some Brotherhood members have regularly attacked Cairo's economic relations with the Jewish State, especially the flow of natural gas from Egypt to Israel.

And when tensions flare up in the Gaza Strip, Brotherhood officials slam Israel, and often refer to the war of 2008-2009 as a 'slaughter' or 'massacre.'

Many in Egypt believe that if the group was engaged politically, it would not seek to impose an authoritarian regime on Egypt.

Perhaps more significant, if Egypt's political structure was opened up to a multi-party system, the Brotherhood is expected to lose influence, as many people now are seen to back the group solely as a way of protesting against President Mubarak.

When Mubarak clamped down on political activity, and Arab nationalism failed to bring the desired rewards, many turned to religion. If the political atmosphere was freer, it is hard to say how Egyptians would respond.

And in any case, the group is a far cry from any Taliban style organisation, though still a very conservative Muslim group with a strong following - and that is what worries liberals within Egypt.

Officials in the movement once said they would never accept a woman or Christian as president of Egypt. But when he appeared on al- Arabiya recently, Akef said many of his remarks were made a long time ago, and the political context has changed.

Mohamed Badie took over as leader from Akef last year, but has not yet articulated his political doctrine.

The Brotherhood, over 80 years old, seems to still be deciding exactly what it wants to be.

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