CAIRO - To the Muslim Brotherhood, I am afraid, the word of God comes second to the profitable assuming of power. Throughout its 83-year-long history, the fundamentalist group has always been willing to offer those in power a tempting compromise, in order to get a slice of the ‘ruling cake'. Propelled by the principle that the end justifies the means, the fundamentalist organisation has lent its unwavering support to kings and dictators alike. The group's high commanders are not fussy about which rulers they support. They also have a reputation for reneging on their promises. In the name of God, they rebel against the rulers they support, if they (the rulers) refused to give them a slice of the cake. For example, they turned against King Fouad and his son, King Farouk. In 1952, they collaborated with the Egyptian revolutionaries, led by President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who promised its influential leaders that they could participate in ruling, at the expense of the political parties at the time. However, Abdel-Nasser had to keep his former fundamentalist comrades at a distance when he realised that they were getting too powerful. Retaliating, the fundamentalist group hired a hitman to try and assassinate Abdel-Nasser in Alexandria. He miraculously survived the assassination attempt and vowed revenge. He locked the Brothers up in jail and threw away the key. They were kept in jail until Abdel-Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat sought the help of fundamentalists (represented by the Muslim Brotherhood), when Egypt's communists started playing up. He decided to support the organisation's members to silence his foes. These Brotherhood members reciprocated. But things began to unravel when the fundamentalist organisation launched a sectarian war against their traditional adversary - the Copts. A violent sectarian war erupted and it was too late to lock up radical Muslims and throw away the key, as Abdel-Nasser had done. The fundamentalists then rebelled against Sadat when he declared peace with Israel. This time they mobilised a militant offshoot, the Jamaa Islamiya (Muslim Group). Although Sadat was the Muslim leader of a Muslim state, this did not deter the fundamentalists from gunning him down during a military parade in October 1981. Apparently learning the lesson from his royal and republican predecessors, disgraced ex-President Hosni Mubarak sent many Muslim fundamentalists to prison, hours after marching in the funeral procession for Sadat, his predecessor. Mubarak, who is charged with the abuse of power and killing demonstrators in the recent revolution, formed a brutal security system to suppress Muslim radicalism. When young Egyptians organised mass demonstrations against Mubarak's regime, the Brotherhood initially declined to take part. Accordingly, the fundamentalist organisation wasn't represented at mass demonstrations on January 25. Four days later, however, as the anti-Mubarak demonstrations picked up steam, the organisation changed its mind. Orders were given to its members in Cairo and other cities to take to the streets and mix with the young demonstrators. Without the Muslim Brotherhood's help, the revolution would not have succeeded in ousting Mubarak. Admittedly, the organisation fought bravely in the Battle of the Camel on January 28, which the demonstrators in Al Tahrir Square were brutally attacked by pro-Mubarak thugs on camels, armed with knives, guns and petrol bombs. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed and many more injured in the battle. Many suffered serious eye injuries. Mubarak, his associates and several businessmen have been charged with killing the demonstrators. Apparently satisfied with their gains in the successful revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood typically decided to distance itself from the mainstream demonstrators. Their gains came in the form of many rank-and-file and senior Brotherhood members being released from prison - a lot of them had been behind bars for decades. The fundamentalist group was also given the floor in the political street. It has now formed a political party and has been participating in television debates and mass rallies, with the purpose of drawing up a ‘roadmap' for the New Egypt. The Brotherhood declined to take part in the demonstration on Friday (27 May), dubbed the ‘Second Friday of Anger'. Severing relations with yesterday's friends, the organisation's spokesmen insulted their former revolutionary colleagues by portraying them as ‘enemies of the state', who planned the demonstrations to try and anger the armed forces and foment unrest. The organisation's voluble speakers and preachers have also condemned yesterday's friends for acting against the nation's supreme interests. The organisation's refusal to resume its contacts with the young revolutionaries has cost it much of the popularity it had gained a short time ago. This loss will inevitably have an impact on the group's chances in the next parliamentary elections in September, although it is confident of easily winning at least 40 percent of the seats.
