Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 February 2000 Issue No. 467
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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'Too early to decide'

By Amira Howeidy

Sitting in his office at the Physicians' Syndicate in Qasr Al-Aini Street, Essam El-Erian, a leading figure of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, looks anxious as he responds to the warm welcome of his colleagues. Until his arrest on 22 January, 1995, El-Erian, a former MP and assistant secretary-general of the Physicians' Syndicate had played a crucial role within the group and on the political scene at large. Today, at 46, El-Erian's face looks worn, his white moustache and thinning hair appearing to tell of his experience during the past five years.

Arrested along with 27 members of the group in 1995, El-Erian was referred six months later to a military court which sentenced him to five years imprisonment with hard labour for "belonging to an underground group that aims at suspending the constitution". The sentence coincided with the then upcoming parliamentary elections which El-Erian, along with many other active Brotherhood members, was planning to contest. It was the first time members of the outlawed group had been put on military trial since 1965.

Inevitably, the sentence had an impact on the Muslim Brotherhood. Of 150 members contesting the elections, none made it to parliament. A few months later, a younger group of Brotherhood activists, lead by assistant secretary-general of the Engineers' Syndicate, Abul-Ela Madi, applied to establish a political party under the name of Al-Wassat (Centre). The group had not notified the Brotherhood's leaders, and the ensuing war of words between the two groups resulted in the mass exit of the Wassat group. More security crackdowns on the Brotherhood occurred and the professional syndicates in which they held a majority position were put under sequestration.

El-Erian's release coincided with the referral to military courts of another group of Brotherhood figures who are members of the boards of several professional syndicates.

Despite the obvious weakening of the group, El-Erian argued that "there is no means whereby one can measure the strength or weakness of the Brotherhood". The Brotherhood "always sought a partisan umbrella that would allow them to be active politically and they've always been supportive of mutli-party systems. The [Wassat] problem had nothing to do with the concept of applying to be a party... Rather it was related to evaluation of the situation, is it the right timing or not? Are they the suitable people for that or not?"

He contested the widespread view that his absence contributed to the weakening of the Brotherhood and its relative isolation from the political scene. "The group never relied on one person or persons for that matter. Not even the death of its founder [Hassan El-Banna] while in his forties affected the group or its existence," he argued.

On the deteriorating relationship between the Brotherhood and the government El-Erian offers this analysis. "There are two parties involved here. I believe that the Brotherhood's position towards the government has not changed and the group maintains every respect for the president and the establishment. Our minds are still open to any dialogue or communication and correcting any misunderstanding related to the Brotherhood."

He takes heart in an interview recently broadcast on TV with Interior Minister Habib El-Adli, who said that the Brotherhood does not resort to violence. "He said that the Brotherhood are trying to run in the elections. This statement is not the first of its kind, former Interior ministers have made similar statements asserting the fact that we do not resort to violence," El-Erian says.

Will he contest the coming legislative elections and will he run for the Physicians' Syndicate elections next year?

"It is too early to decide yet and one doesn't know what changes will occur from now till then. I think I need to observe the situation. I would be honoured if the syndicate's members wanted me to represent them, but there are many good doctors in Egypt. Changing faces and introducing new blood is a healthy thing to do. In fact, it's necessary... My position remains the same regarding the parliamentary elections. It's still premature for me to decide anything."

For the time being El-Erian, who graduated from medical school and obtained an MS in Clinical Pathology and a degree in law, is completing his mid-term exams in both Al-Azhar's Faculty of Islamic Shari'a and Law and the Faculty of Arts' History Department. "I'm in the final year in both faculties and this is one of the positive things I did while I was imprisoned."

Although his prison treatment was, in his own words, "normal", El-Erian is concerned about "prison conditions in Egypt, which need to be reconsidered completely".

"I know that El-Adli is concerned with that issue and I'm prepared to talk to him about it and give a real picture to him," said El-Erian.

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