From: abde@troi.cc.rochester.edu (Tamer A. Abdelgawad)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic
Subject: Re: The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (was Re: Egypt and the Arab world)
Summary: "Brotherhood" is not a serious alternative.
Keywords: Muslim brotherhood, Egypt
Date: 10 Nov 92 02:34:27 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)

In article <BxDJ5q.7tL@newsflash.concordia.ca> ilyess@ECE.Concordia.CA (Ilyess Bdira) writes:
>
>I am not Egyptian, so I have no say in who should rule Egypt, but I know
>that Egypt is very similar to my country Tunisia.. In particular:
>1)Both people display the same attitude towards tyrants: They joke about
>them, and hope for change to come from the sky.. If a secret ballot is 
>given, they would vote against the government, but they would not sacrifice
>to defend their choice, if as always the election is rigged, Both people by
>the way think they are smarter than other Arabs (which I believe is not
>the case)..
>2)Both governments are supported by foreign intelligence organization and
>have a very advanced security apparatus themselves. While so far the Egyptian
>goverment has killed systematically only Jihad-Islamists, the Tunisian one
>did not hesitate to eliminate members of Annahdha who are more moderate in 
>their views but more determined in their demands.
>3)Both ruling gangs are involved deeplyin all sorts of illegal activities
>(drug deelings, receiving foreign money to give favors to some companies,
>etc..)
>
>So, I see the Muslim brotherhood as the leading opposition to the
>corrupt ruling party, why should not I root for them if I was Egyptian?
>They could not be worse than the current government!
>
>The brotherhood, or any Islamic movement, if they win elections will
>probably engage in a big debate about the issues you mentioned... But they
>are sincere, which you cannot say about the current rulers.

To focus the discussion, let me summarize my position:

1.  Egypt faces serious economic problems.  These problems are the daily
    concern of Egyptians, and the main objective of any Egyptian 
    government should be the solution of these problems.

2.  The only serious alternative to the current "Watani" party government
    is the "wafd" party.  The "Wafd" enjoys significant popular support
    and their daily newspaper is one of the most widely read in Egypt.
    They also have a large enough minority in the "assembly" that their
    views are at least heard, if not necessarily acted upon.

3.  The major defect in the "Wafd" party (at least in their current 
    incarnation) is that they have devoted most of their efforts to
    exposing corruption in the current "Watani" party government.  While 
    this is an extremely important task, it does not give me a reason to
    want them as the ruling party.  (If there are any "Wafdists" out there,
    I would be interested in a discussion/reference about the "Wafd" 
    political platform)

4.  The "Muslim Brotherhood" has nothing to offer as a ruling party in
    Egypt.  Being "sincere" (and I only have Mr. Bdira's word on that)
    was never a sufficient reason to want to elect someone to office. 
    I need to know their positions on the crucial issues.  And if they
    subscribe to the type of economic beliefs Mr. Bdira expressed in earlier
    posts about (and I paraphrase) 'an economy based on investment, not
    on lending', then that alone is sufficient to disqualify the 
    "brotherhood" from any serious consideration as a viable alternative.
 

Tamer Abdelgawad
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic