Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is the largest Islamist movement in the Arab world. The movement started as a religious social organisation, but then turned to politics.

All citizens must now live under a set of laws that do not punish them or discriminate against them…- Abdelmawgoud Elhabashy

Since the 1970s, the movement has disavowed violence and has sought to participate in Egyptian politics. It was tolerated but this did not save its members from repeated arrests and crackdowns until the revolution of January 25 last year.

The revolution of January 25 created a more amenable political and legal environment, which offered the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, and Islamists in general, a rare and historic opportunity to involve themselves in Egyptian political life as a main player. They founded five political parties similar to the ones in Turkey and Morocco, and this raised the hope that Arab countries can produce Islamic democrats, the same way Western countries have produced Christian Democratic parties in the 19th and 20th century.

Now Islamist parties control 73.7 per cent of the seats in the Egyptian parliament, of which the Muslim Brotherhood, now Egypt’s new power brokers, got 47.1 per cent. This result was expected, in the light of what had happened in Egypt during the last years, namely:

1. The failure of successive secular governments and the escalating crisis, whether political, economic or social, forced Egyptians to try other alternatives. This favoured the Muslim Brotherhood, as it was the only organised power on the political arena after the revolution.

2. The banning of the Muslim Brotherhood for more than 60 years obliged them to concentrate on charity and social services in poor areas and shanty towns. They provided needy residents with free food and medical care, at a time when the state failed to reach them. Consequently the Islamists won the support of those living in these depressed areas.

3.The failure of liberals to mobilise Egyptians to support their ideas about a secular state, and the failure of their discourse to reflect Egyptians’ national identity.

After their historic victory Islamists are now at a crossroads – they face serious challenges, their future will depend on how willing they are to accept different views, how they could contribute to Egypt’s renaissance and how they could stop ideological battles. I am sure they will do their best to succeed and to achieve the revolution’s goals, taking into account that:

The Muslim Brotherhood is changing and its new discourse is more open and the realities of practical politics have pushed the majority towards moderation;

Younger members of the Muslim Brotherhood who interacted with the tools of their time, which exposed them to a variety of alternative ideas, obliged the old generation to change much of its ideas in order not to be ignored or become stagnated;

The Muslim Brotherhood’s priority is to achieve strong economic growth because that is the only alternative that makes everything possible;

They want to be remembered as the builders of a new democratic, constitutional, parliamentary, republican Egypt, with a strong commitment to the principles of freedom and equality.

Many abroad (think tanks, academics) are apprehensive of an eventual Islamist takeover especially now that they control a majority in Egypt’s parliament. In my opinion such apprehension and worry is groundless for various reasons.

The participation of Islamists in actual political life, with its attendant responsibilities, should make them move to the political centre ideologically. In other words, the Islamist trend can be contained in the context of a more open political society.

Emerging Islamist political parties, such as Freedom and Justice of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Nour Party of the Salafi movement will be obliged to maintain some distance from the Islamic movement from which they emerged, if they wish to broaden their appeal, otherwise they will fail to achieve any political success.

Islamists do not belong to a single bloc: they include leftists, liberals and enlightened Muslims.

Many Western intellectuals and international media are concerned about the status of non-Muslims in Egypt under any government formed by the Muslim Brotherhood, keeping in mind what various fundamentalists are saying.

But this concern is misplaced because it ignores some basic facts.

Any Muslim is obliged to respect other faiths and other holy books and prophets sent by God.

The Muslim Brotherhood have repeatedly emphasised their belief in human rights and in the equality of men without regard to region, creed, colour or ethnicity. This means that they see Christians in Egypt as equal partners. In their daily prayer Muslims must recite the words: “Peace be upon Abraham and the family of Abraham”.

The vice-president of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, in fact, is a Christian, like many others elected to parliament on the party list.

Moreover, Islamists realise that one of the most iconic images to come out of the January 25 revolution was that of an Egyptian Muslim carrying a copy of the Quran beside an Egyptian Christian Copt carrying the cross and in front of them an Egyptian flag flying on top of an army tank, symbolising the struggle of all citizens in which a single Egyptian identity is prevailing. It is this identity of active citizenship which must act as the building block of the new Egypt.

The revolution’s momentum ignited a potent form of active and inclusive Muslim-Christian participation, which must be taken advantage of and used as the foundation of the new Egypt.

An Egypt that struggled for so long due to a skewed perception of egalitarianism cannot and should not be rebuilt on a foundation that fosters in-equality between Muslims and Christians.

All citizens must now live under a set of laws that do not punish them or discriminate against them because of their faith or other differences.

Mr Elhabashy is the Ambassador of Egypt to Malta.

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