Al-Ahram Weekly Issue No. 247 16 - 22 November 1995
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has no legal sanction as a political party, and yet it is a major contender in this month's elections. Amira Howeidy reviews its history and repeated confrontations with successive governments, interviews Mustafa Mashhour, one of its leaders, and invites political experts to assess its performance

Expedient democracy?

Three months ago, the Muslim Brotherhood issued two important statements. One was on democracy and the other on women. On the question of democracy, it seems evident that the Brotherhood was come to accept a procedural understanding of democracy: it accepts free elections, majority rule, freedom of thought and expression: the freedom of the press etc.- all within the framework of the group's understanding of shari'a . However, there is a need to differentiate between acceptance of 'procedural' understanding of democracy. Is democracy a number of concepts or a number of procedures?

I think that the problem here is with the interpretation of shari'a. If, for example, it means the application of hudoud (e.g. the amputation of limbs for convicted thieves) as mentioned in the Qur'an and hadith , then this would lead to clear violations of human rights. In the case of women too, a rigid interpretation and application of shari'a could violate human rights.

The problem is that the Brotherhood have yet to announce what their interpretation of shari'a actually is. If it follows traditional jurisprudence, then it violated human rights, but if it is a live and dynamic understanding ofshari'a , then this is a different issue.

There is another major question: how far is the Brotherhood's talk of democracy compatible with its real intentions? This question has to be asked in relation to the experiences of Pakistan under Zia Ul-Haq, the Islamic regime in Sudan and the civil war in Algeria. Could the Brotherhood's 'democratic' discourse be a step on the road to monopolising authority by using democratic tools to attain power and then revoking democracy itself? Although this is the main question asked in relation to the Brotherhood, it is important to stress that it applies to all political forces. The 'secularists' for example, who call for the prevention of the Brotherhood from reaching positions of authority- in case they revoke democracy- are themselves being undemocratic. The statements mark an important stance, which rejected democracy. Regardless of the Brotherhood's intentions, we should follow its progress carefully, so we can measure its future commitment to democracy.

Mohammed El-Sayed Said
Expert at Al-Ahram Centre for political and strategic studies

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Can democracy be learnt?

The Muslim Brotherhood has been suppressed by successive regimes. It was banned by King Farouk in 1948, by Gamal Abdel-Nasser in 1954, and its leaders were arrested by Anwar El-Sadat in 1981. Some of its leaders are currently being tried by a military court. Nevertheless, the group has survived all these attempts to suppress it.

In the 1980s the Brotherhood modified its practices, espousing- for the first time in its history- a method of peaceful political action to attain its objective of establishing an Islamic order in Egypt, as this order is interpreted by the group's leaders. Its members have won the majority of seats in professional syndicates, student professor's clubs. This achievement was due to the skill of Brotherhood members, and their ability to master the techniques of electioneering to much higher degree than their rivals.

Its success reflects the growing frustration among the educated middle class who find their living standards declining and who see no other way for the moral salvation of the nation except through the group's recommendations.

However, the group is viewed as being intent on monopolising representation on all elected bodies, refusing to be associated with other political groups who do not share its ideology. Some statements by the group's leaders have done nothing to dispel the fears of many that if the Brotherhood were to come to power, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom of association for other groups, might suffer.

The Brotherhood's participation in open political action is the only way for it to learn the necessity of compromise in politics and to appreciate the necessity of associating with other political forces.

Mustafa Kamel El-Sayed
Political science professor at Cairo University

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Thoroughly modern

We, as observers, did not have a definite idea about the true size of the Islamist trend, in comparison to other forces on the domestic political scene. But the number of candidates nominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Labour Party in the coming elections indicates that together they represent the second largest political force in this country.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) has fielded 439 candidates, the Muslim Brotherhood approximately 150 and the Labour Party between 110 and 120. So we were talking about between 260 and 270 Islamist candidates- second in number to the NDP. The Wafd Party, with 180 candidates, comes third.

So, in practical terms, the Islamist trend, with their slogan of "Islam is the solution", is the second largest political force in this year's elections. But this will not necessarily be reflected in the results; its importance is an indicator in any analysis of the domestic political scene. After all, the ability to nominate a large number of candidates reflects an ability to exist.

The second point related to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Islamist trend generally, is that its candidates are elected for their ideology, and not their person. With other political forces, the "personal factor" is of paramount importance in the elections, which, from a Western perspective, is an indication of backwardness. But, as happens in the West, Islamist candidates are elected for their ideas. So we are contradicting ourselves when we describe the Islamist trend as traditional, because its methods are very modern.

Diaa Rashwan
Expert at Al-Ahram Centre for political and strategic studies

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