CAIRO - The Muslim Brotherhood's Shura Council's selection of Mohamed Morsi as the head of their new Freedom and Justice Party, Essam el-Eryan as its deputy head and Saad el-Katatni as its Secretary-General, has been condemned by a number of Brotherhood members. Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood's former Deputy Supreme Guide, says that this selection means that the group's leadership is imposing their full control on the new party. "We were hoping the party would be independent, approved by the majority. A new party is a new experience and we need to carefully gauge public opinion," adds Habib, who criticises the decision taken by the Brotherhood's Shura Council to contest 50 per cent of the seats in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. According to Amar Ali Hassan, an expert on Islamic movements, the Muslim Brotherhood “are lacking a clear vision”. “The group also have foreign investments and perhaps they could be suspected of receiving funds from foreign organisations,” he adds. “They are also suspected of training militias, as many their younger members, who are divided over the relationship between the group and the new party, have certainly engaged in military-style shows of physical strength in the past.” Shorouq el-Shawaf, one of the young Brotherhood members, says that she is satisfied with the leaders proposed for the new party, while Gamal Hishmat, a member of the Brotherhood's Shura Council, stresses that the new party's leaders will only serve for a transitional period of four years. Hishmat denies that there is a 'relationship' between the Supreme General and the new party, adding that there will only be co-ordination on major issues, such as presidential elections and their stance on international accords. He also calls on the public to stop complaining about the new party, so it can get down to some serious work, as Egypt enters a new phase of political life. In the coastal city of Alexandria, following their declaration about forming a new party, the Brotherhood announced that they would contest 50 per cent of the seats in the next parliamentary elections. Many politicians are worried about this, because the Brotherhood originally said they'd only contest 30 per cent of the seats. Before Hosni Mubarak stepped down, the Brotherhood said they were only interested in social and religious activities. Al-Sayyed Bassiouni, a prominent political activist in Alexandria, told Al-Ahram semi-official newspaper that the Brotherhood, in announcing they intend to run for 50 per cent of the seats, have indicated that they want a religious state. “They are also opposed to the revolutionary idea that young people should participate more in political life,” he added. Prominent Brotherhood leader Nageh Ibrahim says that the group have made a great mistake in announcing they will contest 50 per cent of the seats, rather like what the dissolved National Democratic Party did in the last parliamentary elections.
