Reply #18: Some interesting bits in this regard: [View All]

[bemildred]

Who is behind the Egyptian protests?

The role of the Muslim Brotherhood

Existing in uneasy alliance with the secular groups, of course, is the Muslim Brotherhood. Founded in 1928 in Ismailia by Hassan al-Banna, the secretive Ikhwan ("Brothers") has long been Egypt's most powerful opposition group. From the 1930s through the 1960s, the Ikhwan had a paramilitary adjunct and carried out assassinations of top officials and police. But its back was broken under Gamal Abdel Nasser, and in the 1970s Anwar Sadat rehabilitated the Ikhwan and, with strong support from Saudi Arabia, the organisation re-established itself. Since then, it has eschewed violence, and in 2005 candidates supported by the Muslim Brotherhood won scores of seats in parliament. In the recent upsurge in Egypt, the Brotherhood has been at pains to stay in the background, though its decision this week to take part in Monday's outpouring signalled, perhaps, that the balance had tipped irrevocably against the Mubarak regime.

Both inside and outside Egypt, there is concern that the Muslim Brotherhood, which is tightly organised, well funded and maintains a cell structure – along with decidedly reactionary views on social issues and a strong strain of antisemitism – might hijack Egypt's revolution and impose an Islamist order. Yet the core leadership of the revolt, from April 6 on down, cannot be said to have Islamist leanings, and most experts on Egyptian affairs do not believe that Egypt would readily swallow the ultraconservative views of the Brotherhood's leaders, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s. In addition, the Egyptian Brotherhood is utterly unlike either the Taliban or Iran's clerical regime in its outlook. Yet it provides muscle and organisation discipline to the anti-Mubarak movement, and leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed al-Beltagui, was quietly included as a member of the leadership committee.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/02/who-is-behind-egyptian-protests

An Iran-style outcome for Egypt? Why there are key differences.

Egypt protests: People to watch

Experts who know both Iran and Egypt say there are distinct differences, however. They note one critical lesson from Iran’s revolution that should inform Mubarak’s handling of the crisis: so far, the Muslim Brotherhood – for decades Egypt’s largest opposition grouping – has played a small part in the protests, compared with the critical role that militant followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini played in Iran in 1979.

But a more important takeaway from Iran may be the events of Sept. 8, 1978, when security forces of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi fired on antigovernment demonstrators with helicopter gunships and tanks. The opposition claimed the death toll from Black Friday to be 4,000, with 500 dead in downtown Jaleh Square alone.

“If Mubarak stays for awhile and there is a crackdown – then the dire predictions would come true,” says Ervand Abrahamian, a historian at Baruch College, City University of New York.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0202/An-Iran-style-outcome-for-Egypt-Why-there-are-key-differences