News+and+politics religion philosophy the cynic librarian: Model for the Future?

Friday, February 03, 2006

Model for the Future?

The Moslem Brotherhood has been active in Egypt since the mid-50s of the last century. It has moved from extremist organization to political party. In the Egyptian elections, it gained enough seats to make it a viable party. ...

Much has changed for a political party whose most famous thinker, Sayid Qutb, is sometimes called "bin-Laden's brain." ...

Just as former independence fighters became leaders in South Africa, N. Ireland, and Israel--fighters once called terrorists--so it seems that the Muslim Brotherhood has found a way to correlate its religious visions of justice with the political system.

Of course, there will always be former believers who will accuse their co-fighters of selling out. This has happened to the Brotherhood, which is now accused of collaborating with the US. The Washington Post reports:

On Jan. 6, Ayman Zawahiri, an Egyptian fugitive who is Osama bin Laden's top aide, issued a video message from hiding in which he attacked the Brotherhood for being an unwitting tool of U.S. policy in the Middle East. "That is the truth of the political game America is playing in Egypt, through presidential and parliamentary elections, to exploit the masses and their love for Islam," he said. "They said they won 30 seats, now they say they have won 80, and in five years' time they will say 100. And so goes strategy to concede them some space."
Of course, Hamas in Palestine now understands the responsibilities of governing. Let's hope that it can walk the fine line between meeting the needs of the people with being true to its visions of justice.

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