Back to square one
The Muslim Brotherhood is in the midst of the harshest
security clampdown it has faced in a decade, the group's deputy supreme
guide tells
Amira
Howeidy
If you had expected the office of the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme
guide to include a picture or replica of the Holy Kaaba you will be
disappointed. There are, however, two images in the modestly furnished
space that stand out for their contemporary relevance.
The first is a large map on the wall titled "Our Islamic Nation". It
displays -- in shades of green -- Muslim populations around the world.
The outcome is an impressive green carpet that stretches from East
Africa to Sinkiang in Far East Asia. The second is a colourful replica
of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Palestine, placed on a side table.
Seven months ago pundits, both here and elsewhere, were marvelling at
the "astonishing" success of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in the November
parliamentary elections. Despite government attempts to stop their
advance the "outlawed" group won 88 seats in parliament, i.e. 20 per
cent of the total.
The debate became even more lively when, in January, the Islamic
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas won 76 of the 132 seats in the
Palestinian Legislative Council. The floodgates opened, and the Western
press devoted acres of space to articles, columns and analyses on the
significance of the electoral success of Islamic groups.
It was in Washington, though, that crucial questions were raised. Was
the US administration ready to deal with Islamic groups? Would their
rise to power have a restraining effect on their radicalism?
The answer to the first question, at least, may be inferred from
recent events in Egypt, where 645 Muslim Brotherhood members, including
six leading figures, have been arrested over the last two months. They
are being held in Tora and Wadi Al-Natroun prisons.
Over 500 of the detainees were arrested while participating in
peaceful demonstrations in solidarity with two judges who were being
tried for exposing vote rigging in the parliamentary elections. The
detainees are accused of congregating in groups of more than five,
prohibited under the emergency law, of promoting sensational and false
allegations that mislead public opinion, of obstructing traffic and
insulting the president.
The remaining detainees were arrested at their homes, offices and at
a summer camp. They face charges of belonging to an illegal
organisation. According to the group's lawyer, Abdel-Meneim
Abdel-Maqsoud, the security forces arrested some of the detainees in
terrifying house raids. In one case the police broke down the door to
the apartment of Ahmed Selim, a university professor and MB member,
though he was not home during the raid.
The latest in the series of security clampdowns targeted a group of
31 Muslim Brothers participating in a summer youth camp in the coastal
city of Marsa Matrouh. Some of the detainees are as young as 18 years
old, says Abdel-Maqsoud.
The arrests, says the group's Deputy Supreme Guide Mohamed Habib,
signal that the regime is hardening its stand towards the Muslim
Brotherhood. They are reminiscent of the 1995 clampdown when the group's
Downtown headquarters was forced to close and 27 members were tried
before military courts.
Habib attributes government actions to "fear and panic" within the
establishment following the Brotherhood's election success.
"Because the government sees us as the only viable alternative to the
[ruling] National Democratic Party it is targeting key figures in the
Brotherhood."
They include Essam El-Erian and Rashad Bayoumi, members of the MB's
Guidance Bureau, the highest body in the group's hierarchy, Mohamed
Mursi, head of the MB bloc in the outgoing parliament, Ibrahim
El-Zaafarani, secretary- general of the Doctors' Syndicate in
Alexandria, Hassan El-Hayawan, a university professor and Brotherhood
leader, and Helmi El-Gazzar, secretary-general of the Doctors' Syndicate
in Giza
Each arrest, and each time a prominent figure is sent to jail, is
intended to send a different message to the group, says
Abdel-Maqsoud.
"Rashad Bayoumi's arrest in March was a message from the government
that it would not change its policy towards the Brotherhood despite its
elections success. The youth camp arrests were to let the Brotherhood
know that such activities won't always be tolerated, and that they're
keeping an eye on us."
The clampdown, argues Habib, is not a purely domestic matter. The
Palestinian elections, he says, demonstrated how, in the "right
climate", Islamists can win a majority in parliamentary elections. "This
is an indication that they are capable of coming to power, which is
disturbing for [Arab] regimes and for the Zionists... they see not only
Hamas, but the Muslim Brotherhood, as a national security threat."
Which is why, says Habib, the Egyptian government extended the
emergency law for another two years and postponed municipal council
elections in an attempt to prevent the group from making further gains.
"At the same time," he adds, "they're antagonising and alienating
significant social sectors, including university professors,
journalists, political parties and the judiciary."
"I believe," says Habib, "that the succession issue [of Gamal
Mubarak] and preparing the stage for this is the cornerstone in all
this."
Despite Gamal's repeated statements that he does not seek, or want,
to succeed his father, the opposition, especially the MB, is sceptical.
Habib points to Gamal Mubarak's visit to the White House in May.
"He got the green light for Egypt to pursue its repression and
discontinue with political reform as long as it performs its allotted
role on the Palestinian, Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese, Syrian and Lebanon
fronts," says Habib. "They want to take us back to square one."
