CAIRO: Although results of Egypt's first presidential elections are not yet official, the Muslim Brotherhood has already claimed victory for their candidate, Mohamed Morsi. Morsi is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the father of two American citizens. He is an expert on precision metal surfaces and has worked at NASA on the development of space shuttle engines. More recently, Morsi has been leading the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc as well as the Freedom and Justice Party. While some characterize this victory as a step forward and away from military rule, Egyptian activists as well as western governments worry about what an Islamist government will mean for their interests. The Muslim Brotherhood has tried to reassure the public that they have liberal intentions and will protect personal freedoms better than Mubarak did. Jihad Haddad, a spokesman for Morsi, stated in a recent interview that “all personal freedoms will be safeguarded" and that people “will have complete freedom in every one of their choices, even religion." Hossam el-Dein, a young Muslim Brother, added that “freedom of belief is granted under the law and constitution, and neither Muslim brotherhood nor anybody else can violate this." El-Dein also noted that the vice-president of Freedom and Justice Party – Rafik Habib – is an Evangelical Christian. Morsi himself wrote an uplifting opinion in the Guardian, claiming that he would not be a tyrant since he had been jailed by one. Moreover, Morsi promised to distribute his presidential power to numerous vice-presidents and aides and even appoint a woman as one of the vice-presidents. Interestingly, in a 2010 interview with the Brookings Institute Morsi claimed that Egyptian liberals were “tiny and irrelevant" and he did not understand why they were always asking for so much. Moreover, at a recent news conference, Morsi discussed his life in the United States and depicted a society in moral decay with young mothers in the hospitals “who had to ‘write in the name of the father'." Further, at an election rally in Mahalla, the Brotherhood's supreme guide compared Mosri to one of the Prophet Mohamed's most revered companions. Lastly, questions arise over how effective of a leader Mosri is likely to be. Even as the head of the parliamentary bloc, Mosri failed to command respect across party lines and did not resemble someone who liked making concessions. In a recent interview Saad Ibrahim – an activist and political commentator who was jailed alongside Morsi – he stated that he “did not see [Mosri], frankly, as a leader." Ibrahim said that the Muslim Brotherhood had other, more effective leaders. On the other hand, el-Dein stated that Egypt does not need a leader-like personality. Egypt has already had that in Gamal Abdel Nasser, “who pushed the country in many unwanted, unjustified wars and prevented [Egypt] from having a real democracy. “What Egypt needs," he claimed, “is a good manager and that is what Morsi is good at."
