 |
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509 
| ||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
| ||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Watch this space
By Amira Howeidy
Of the 442 members of the forthcoming People's Assembly elected so far, 17 are affiliated to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, meaning that it will be the largest force in parliament after the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). This is despite the fact that the group not only lacks legal status, but remains the one political opposition force the government is not prepared to tolerate.
The Brotherhood's victory took everybody, including the group itself, by surprise. Its poor performance in the 1995 elections, coupled with systematic security clampdowns against its members, had made any form of victory seem unlikely. The question now has become what the Brotherhood will try to achieve in its new capacity as a serious parliamentary opposition group.
A meeting held earlier this week between prominent members of the group and a number of Islamist-oriented intellectuals attempted to draw up a clear strategy for dealing with the group's sensitive relationship with the government, and their response to their status, a source who attended the meeting told Al-Ahram Weekly. The objective is to make the most of their parliamentary victory, but only to the extent that they do not provoke a backlash from the government.
The government itself has made its position regarding the Brotherhood crystal clear. This was evident from the harsh verdicts passed on Sunday by a military court, when 15 active Brotherhood members received sentences for periods ranging from three to five years. In 1995, a military court also sent a large number of prominent Brotherhood figures behind bars.
In this context, will the group's leaders feel confident to apply for a political party license?
According to Essam El-Eryan, a leading Brotherhood figure, "all issues of national concern, including political and economic reform, top the Brotherhood's agenda." However, he went on to suggest that the group would avoid direct confrontation with the government by saying that since the group's candidates ran as independents in the parliamentary elections, "they will remain independent MPs in parliament, which means that each has his own individual political platform."
Observers believe that, contrary to widespread expectations, Brotherhood MPs will not necessarily clash with the government or sharply criticise its policies. In the 1984 and 1987 parliaments, Brotherhood MPs occasionally raised controversial issues. These ranged from direct calls for implementing Islamic Shari'a through modifying laws to various interpellations for the culture minister and TV officials about programmes broadcast during Ramadan. The 1987 parliament included 37 Brotherhood MPs, but observers believe that only nine of them were outspoken and experienced, such as El-Eryan, Mohamed Habib and Mukhtar Nouh. They voiced their concern mainly about the continuation of the state of emergency, which has been in force since the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat in 1981.
Abul-Ela Madi, a former member of the Brotherhood, predicts that the same issues will top the agenda of their 2000 parliament members.
"The Brotherhood is under the mistaken impression that their concerns are the same as the people's and, in this context, I believe that they will make a point of taking up for discussion the situation of the professional syndicates under judicial sequestration and the issue of placing civilians on trial before military courts," he told the Weekly.
Although the 1987 Brotherhood MPs called for "the return of the Muslim Brotherhood as a legal group," Madi said he did not believe that they would revive the same call in the coming parliament, despite recent statements by their leaders that they were seriously considering application for a political party license.
"Brotherhood figures know very well that they will open a Pandora's box if they make such a move because they will be faced with questions such as: Who will head the party? Will it be someone from the old guard? And what will their platform be like? They don't have answers to these questions because they suffer from internal problems." Madi added that since the group's founding in 1928, it has never attempted to establish itself as a political party. "The only reason they're talking about it now is because they want the publicity," he argued.
However, El-Eryan insists that the idea of becoming a political party is "the subject of serious study" within the group itself. The Brotherhood, he added, has no plans for making alliances with any of the opposition forces in parliament. Yet, "we welcome with open arms any initiatives from the others." Although the group shares common ground with the Nasserists on pan-Arab and anti-Zionist subjects, El-Eryan rejected speculation that his group would join forces with the Nasserists in particular. "We share common ground with all opposition forces," he claimed.
"The Brotherhood will have to make the most of their chances this time," said Abdel-Ati Mohamed, an expert on Islamist movements. "They will have to adopt a more liberal approach to the legislative process, because they have been away for so long. For instance, it is unlikely that they will press the government to implement the full weight of Shari'a."
Noting "advances" regarding their positions on women and political participation, Mohamed said that by contrast the government's position on the group remains the same.
"But we're talking about a group that knows how to operate politically. Not only do they have the experience of the 1984 and 1987 parliaments, but their performance in the 2000 elections was outstanding and they used excellent campaigning tactics," he said.
Only one thing is for certain: the Brotherhood's success at the polls has prompted calls for the government to resolve the ironic situation of an illegal group winning the second largest number of votes after the ruling party ó all despite a security clampdown.
"How absurd can this situation become?" asks El-Eryan. "People have voted for us. Shouldn't we now be allowed to have legal status?"
Related stories:
Capitalising on the clampdown 16 - 22 November 2000
Registering the aftershocks 16 - 22 November 2000
A new page for the Brotherhood? 9 -15 November 2000
Against the odds 2 - 8 November 2000
The Brothers' last sigh? 5 - 11 October 2000
See Elections 2000
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
