As the Muslim Brotherhood breaks yet another promise and fields a presidential candidate, analysts argue over whether it has SCAF's blessing or not, writes Amani Maged A year ago the Muslim Brotherhood stated publicly that it would not field a presidential candidate. For twelve months it held the line, in public at least. Now its Deputy Supreme Guide, multi-millionaire businessman Khairat El-Shater, is standing for Egypt's highest office. The U-turn has raised many questions over the group's intentions. Despite reassurances from its leaders in countless public statements insisting the group had no intention of monopolising power, its actions are beginning to tell another story. What, many people are now wondering, does this mean for its relationship with SCAF? Some see the move as one more link in the chain of the Muslim Brotherhood's "deal" with SCAF, others see it as a sign of a new confrontation between the two while a third group maintains that it is indicative of no more than a convergence of interests between them. The National Association for Change (NAC) sees the El-Shater nomination as yet another betrayal of the revolution on the part of the Muslim Brotherhood, in cooperation with SCAF. The Muslim Brothers, say NAC spokesmen, have revealed their true face. The group is determined to grab at all the levers of power. NAC has called on all Egyptian patriots to obstruct El-Shater's presidential bid by supporting a revolutionary candidate such as Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, Hamdeen Sabahi or Khaled Ali. The Kifaya Movement's Yehia El-Qazzaz sees El-Shater's nomination as a "life raft" for both the Muslim Brotherhood and SCAF after both found themselves at a dead end, their popularity and credibility steadily eroding. As part of their ongoing attempts to undermine the revolution, he argues, the Brotherhood and SCAF have fabricated crises between them, the latest being the "showdown" over the El-Ganzouri government. The confrontation, says El-Qazzaz, was choreographed by SCAF and the Brotherhood. When the former refused to dismiss the government, the latter announced that under such circumstances it would be forced to withdraw its earlier promise not to field a presidential candidate. Then lo and behold, when the Brotherhood named El-Shater and it was pointed out that a convicted criminal could not stand, it was announced that he had been pardoned weeks before by SCAF. For some reason the amnesty had been kept secret but it had been issued and there were no legal encumbrances to El-Shater's nomination. El-Qazzaz argues that El-Shater's recent meetings with US officials are corroborating evidence of the stitch up. Two months ago El-Shater met with members of SCAF in the presence of US officials. He has offered reassurances that were warmly welcomed by an American congressional delegation that visited the FJP and Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo, and which were repeated in an article that appeared in the British Guardian and subsequently on the Muslim Brotherhood website. The article, in which El-Shater appealed to the West "not to be afraid" of the Muslim Brothers, was a clear attempt to open channels of communication. "In a very short time, and with the help of SCAF, El-Shater was able to present his letters of credential to the West," says El-Qazzaz. Others argue that between them the Muslim Brotherhood and SCAF plan to split the Islamist vote. El-Shater's candidacy, they say, is intended to spoil the chances of both Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and Hazem Abu Ismail, opening up the field and enhancing the prospects of the candidate -- El-Shater -- that receives the backing of the military. Commentators who shy away from such conspiracies argue that El-Shater's nomination ratchets up an ongoing game of brinksmanship between the Brotherhood and SCAF. The conflict, they say, will soon break out in the open now that the Muslim Brotherhood has reneged on every one of its pledges to the generals. The promise not to nominate a presidential candidate was merely the last in a string of broken vows that includes the Brotherhood's undertaking to stand in no more than 30 per cent of parliamentary seats, and not to pack the constituent assembly charged with drafting a new constitution with its placemen. While the Muslim Brotherhood has as much right to nominate a presidential candidate as any other political force, says MP Amr El-Shobaki, the group's willingness to turn its back on earlier pledges -- a result, he thinks, of its oppositional history -- could easily backfire. "The Muslim Brotherhood, which since its inception has worked in conflict with existing rulers, made a difficult decision in nominating a candidate. It was also a hasty one, and is certain to cause problems in the immediate future. With the nomination of El-Shater the competition will be intense within the Islamist camp." Leading FJP member Ahmed Abu Baraka insists the Muslim Brotherhood's relationship with SCAF is based on national interests. "We are determined to build a state based on the rule of law and which respects the sovereignty of the people and the sovereignty of the law. Our position towards SCAF is based on the extent to which the generals are committed to such sovereignty."
