Will Muslim Brotherhood intransigence split the Islamist vote, asks Amani Maged During the countdown to presidential elections the Muslim Brotherhood has seldom been far from the centre of controversy. First it broke its oft-repeated pledge not to field a candidate, nominating first Khairat El-Shater and then Mohamed Mursi. Now it is turning its back on calls to agree on a single, national unity, candidate, unless, of course, that candidate is Mursi. But Mursi is far from being a consensus candidate, even in Islamist circles where worries are growing over the Muslim Brotherhood's possible hegemony. This applies to a significant segment of the Salafis, supporters of the now disqualified Sheikh Hazem Abu Ismail, and to many young Muslim Brothers, who favour Abul-Fotouh. Outside the Islamist camp, among liberals, leftists and the revolutionary coalitions, concern that the Brotherhood's intention is to gain control of all the levers of power has long been intense. What many characterise as the Muslim Brotherhood's arrogance is now casting a heavy shadow over Mursi's electoral chances. To understand why requires a close look at the whole Egyptian political spectrum, from the various shades of Islamists, including the Sufis, to the liberals, leftists and Arab nationalists. The Salafist trend consists of an array of different schools and groups, each defined by the sheikh they follow. The best known Salafist groups are the Salafist Calling and the Sharia Organisation for Rights and Reform. The Salafist Calling spearheaded an initiative to choose a single Islamist candidate in an attempt to prevent any split in the Islamist vote, forming a Shura Committee for this purpose. The Salafist Calling is currently engaged in talks with other Islamist forces and hopes to engineer a series of live debates between candidates, conducted away from the media, after which a single Islamist candidate can be chosen. The Salafist Calling has drafted a list of criteria that any prospective Islamist president must meet. The list includes personal qualities -- the candidate should not be impetuous or confrontational, narcissistic or megalomanic. He should be rational, wise and erudite, and possess political experience and good leadership skills. He must not be domineering, stubborn or dictatorial. There can be no doubt about his commitment to the Sunni creed, he must be the proponent of a comprehensive project for national salvation, support the legitimate demands of the revolution and be committed to protecting the Islamic calling from its adversaries. He must be capable of rallying patriotic Egyptians from all segments of society behind the reconstruction of Egypt. Mursi's foremost rival, here, Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, has indicated that he will withdraw from the race if Islamist forces agree on a candidate other than him. He said he only decided to run in order to help the Islamist project succeed and if a better man for the job emerges he would happily stand aside. Mohamed Selim El-Awwa, the Islamist candidate with the slimmest chances, issued a similar statement. Although Salafist Calling leaders have met with Abul-Fotouh twice they have yet to meet with Mursi, the latest Muslim Brotherhood candidate. He has met with the Sharia Organisation for Rights and Reform, however, and pledged that he would implement Sharia law. Many analysts believe that while much of the Salafist trend will back Mursi, especially the more hardline Salafis, because of his conservatism, a large proportion of Salafist youth will continue to favour Abul-Fotouh. This prediction is not necessarily at odds with reports of a proposal to field an Islamist presidential team headed by Abul-Fotouh, who would become president if the team won, while the Muslim Brothers would be handed the premiership, and by extension, control of the government and day to day responsibility for running the country. According to the reports, the Muslim Brotherhood has reservations about the proposal. Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya is among the Islamist groups objecting to the Muslim Brotherhood's behaviour. Safwat Abdel-Ghani, a member of the Al-Gamaa's Shura Council, announced that, after canvassing the opinion of its members, the organisation was backing Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh. If the Muslim Brotherhood seems solidly behind Mursi, a number of cracks are becoming apparent. They were visible during Mursi's Sunday visit to Daqhaliya. The Muslim Brotherhood mobilised its rank and file to give Mursi a warm and enthusiastic welcome, but the chants of the opposition, including some young Brothers, though heavily outnumbered cast a shadow over the occasion. But if Mursi's candidacy has run up against formidable obstacles within the Islamist camp, liberals are in a worse position, unable to agree a candidate and lacking the grassroots organisation of the Islamists. This situation, too, could favour Abul-Fotouh, widely viewed as the most convincing consensus candidate. He is an Islamist, but does not represent a political party or group that threatens to promote its own interests over the higher interests of the nation. He is widely respected within Islamist circles as a whole, enjoys some support within the Muslim Brotherhood, and can appeal to liberal and left-wing circles by virtue of his open-minded, liberal spirit. What he lacks is the organisational backing that the Brotherhood provides for its candidate. The Sufis, who number millions, remain an unknown quantity. They are being courted by the Muslim Brotherhood but Sufi leaders have so far remained silent over which candidate they support. A majority of commentators expect that the first round of polls will be inconclusive, with many predicting a run-off between Mursi and Abul-Fotouh, ie a face off between the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate and the man it expelled for announcing he intended to run when the Brotherhood was telling anyone who would listen that it had no intention of fielding a candidate.
