It is the Brotherhood again and again, writes Fatemah Farag Some people are just livid with anger. Such as Abdallah Kamal in Rose El-Youssef magazine who this week published a picture taken last week of a new Muslim Brotherhood MP bending over its leader Mahdi Akef's hand and kissing it. Kamal tells his readers, "[A]ll of the members of this group kiss the hand of those above them including the hand of Hassan El-Banna in his grave." He goes on to claim that the true nature of all of the members of "this group" is "submission" and goes on to question how "slaves can ask for democracy and how those who accept commands can call for freedom." Abdel-Qader Shoyayeb in Al-Musawwar magazine warns that soon we will witness open communication between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Americans. "This might lead to the development of a different US position vis-à-vis the Ikhwan (Brothers)..." Which might result, says Shoyayeb, in the Americans suggesting that they [the Brotherhood] have their own political party. Abdel-Wahid Beheiri in Al-Qahira says, "[T]he Ikhwan are, after all, Egyptians like the rest of us. They have the right to nominate themselves without a legal cover or political organisation. And if they reach parliament, that is by our choice. So how can we fear them when it is us who brought them to power through the ballot box?" In the reasoning of Beheiri the Ikhwan are not dangerous if they function within the framework of a civil state. But where did they come from? The press has been full of theories. In "How did the Egyptians vote" Ahmed Nagui Qamha in Al-Ahram on 10 December suggests one factor was the inability of the state to solve immediate social and economic problems. But more specifically he notes that the Brotherhood's success "runs parallel to a strong Islamic revival on the Arab street in general as a result of the loss of Arab rights, the attack against the Arab and Islamic worlds and the result of daily Israeli and American actions in Palestine and Iraq." Nabil Zaki in a front page article in Al-Ahali suggests, "the state apparatus was preparing -- all these past years -- for the arrival of religious fundamentalism. Official efforts to consolidate fundamentalism have been under way since the time the war against civil political forces was announced. The state thought it could use religion and present itself as its protector and thereby absorb popular anger against it." Not that it has worked according to Mohamed Abul- Ghar in Al-Arabi this week. "The last parliamentary elections illustrated the great hatred felt by the Egyptian people towards the NDP and its symbols. I have not met or talked to anyone who did not express the fact that they hate and despise those who rule and their party and I am talking about all social classes... It is amazing that their hatred would reach such levels that people are willing to give their vote to any candidate other than the NDP. And that is why it was easy for the Ikhwan, who have worked with people on the street, alleyway and village for years." Amr El-Zanati in Al-Masry Al-Yom on 19 December suggests that the rise of the Brotherhood is in fact a function of the rise of fascism in Egypt. In any case, what can be done now? Fahmi Howeidi in Al-Ahram on 20 December suggests that people's religious fervour could be used for the benefit and development of our nation as opposed to its destruction. "Religious belief represents a latent power amongst our people. It is a power that cannot be imprisoned or contained. And it is a power that can be used to achieve the most noble of causes..." In Al-Qahira, Samir Abu Zeid suggests the time has come for "Egyptian society to present new, creative ideas [regarding governance]... focussing on how to incorporate conservative Islamic trends into a system built upon the principle of citizenship, how to deal with the problem of the silent majority that do not participate in politics and finally to deal with the lack of value suffered by all of the current political parties." Hazem Munir in Al-Masry Al-Yom on 20 December says the ball is now in the Brotherhood's court. "The ability of the Brotherhood to become part of a civil state in accordance with principles based on the respect of others vs their striving for the establishment of a religious state is a challenge being faced by the group since its establishment 75 years ago. Some are still licking their wounds. "I have been a part of elections in Egypt since 1937 and the forms of forgery have varied over the years," Diaaeddin Dawoud wrote in Al-Arabi, "but the magnitude of what I witnessed and lived through the past month is enough to make the hair on young children turn white." A review of the week would not be complete without reaction to the Judges Club elections. "The results last Friday... were a wonderful and painful kick in the side of the government and the rulers of Egypt who live on corruption and forgery," wrote Ibrahim Eissa in Sawt Al-Umma. In other words, "the legitimacy of this rule is over and the judges, by announcing their decision regarding [the performance of] the Ministry of Interior and the MPs, [made it clear] that... we are now under the rule of an illegitimate usurper of power."
