Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Who's afraid of the Brotherhood?

The election result in Egypt should instruct us that the search for secular oppositions of importiance in the Arab is futile, at least in this era. If the a reform project moves forward, it will be with the Islamists not despite them.
Al-Ahram Weekly | Front Page | Who's afraid of the Brotherhood?: "Meanwhile the MB is keeping a close eye on the ballot, monitoring and analysing the results. Leading MB member Essam El-Erian distinguishes between 'positive' votes that went to MB candidates and the 'protest' votes, like Khalil's, that seek to punish the government. According to El-Erian, of the 35 to 40 per cent of the electorate that voted for the MB 'approximately 15 to 20 per cent of the votes were protest ones.' In addition to its highly-organised campaign and media liaison team the MB has deployed thousands of members to conduct a survey of voters' intentions. The group's on-going polling activities, which will be completed when the elections end, suggests that the vast majority of MB supporters are from the middle classes, said El-Erian"

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