Out of Shadows, Into the Spotlight

Nobody, not even the Muslim Brotherhood’s members, expected the semi-underground Islamist group to emerge so powerfully in this fall’s Egyptian parliamentary election.

The organization announced Thursday that its candidates had won 88 seats in parliament, nearly 20% of the body’s 454 seats, after weeks-long balloting.

The victories, which make the Muslim Brotherhood a serious force in the legislature, were achieved despite widespread complaints that some supporters were attacked with tear gas, bullied and barred from voting.

The surprise gains offer a compelling insight into long-standing questions about how deep the Muslim Brotherhood’s support runs among Egypt’s massive but scantily polled electorate.

The apparent eagerness to back an Islamist alternative speaks of widespread frustration with economic and political stagnation in the Arab world’s most populous state but also dovetails with political Islam’s electoral gains elsewhere in the Muslim world since the Sept. 11 attacks.

“It’s this whole thing of dividing the world into two camps, with America and the West on one side and Muslims on the other,” said Diaa Rashwan, a specialist in Islamist movements with the Al Ahram Center for Political & Strategic Studies. “It gives everybody the impression that Islam is in danger and our identity is in danger, so we should choose a way to build ourselves up. Then Islam is the answer.”

After decades in which Egyptian politics were marked by an antagonistic, often bloody relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the state, the elections herald a shake-up. For the first time, President Hosni Mubarak’s government will be forced to deal with the group as a legitimate opposition party rather than a subversive band of outlaws.

Instead of, or perhaps in addition to, rounding up and jailing members of the Brotherhood, the government will square off against the Islamists in parliament.

But the Brotherhood also will be challenged to rise to the occasion. Members of Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party often accuse the group of hiding behind a vague but popular slogan -- “Islam is the solution” -- instead of formulating a coherent political platform.

Because membership in the Muslim Brotherhood is illegal, its candidates ran as independents. Members have been elected as lawmakers in the past, but never has the group had such a large bloc in the legislature. The Brotherhood boasted just 17 members in the last parliament.

Among secular-leaning Egyptians and the Cairo intelligentsia, the election provoked hand-wringing over the failure of other opposition parties to mobilize voters -- and what the Brotherhood would do if its candidates came into a greater share of power. There is fear that women or Christians could be further marginalized, liquor banned and censorship heavier. Many Egyptians fear the Brotherhood would like to impose a strict version of Islamic law, or Sharia.

“Democracy cannot progress in Egypt without deciding what to do with them,” said Mohammed Kamal, a member of the ruling party’s policy secretariat. “If they’re underground, you can’t deal with the issue. Now they’re in the open, they’ll have to take a stand. We’ll know who they really are, what their true colors are.”

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood wants to be taken more seriously, not just at home but abroad. The United States has long resisted dealing with the organization, pointing out that it is illegal under Egyptian law. But this has left the Bush administration in the uncomfortable position of snubbing Egypt’s most powerful opposition group while encouraging democratic reform.

“We want one thing from the Americans: Respect the will of the people. Deal with the people, not the government,” said Brotherhood leader Essam Erian.

“They’re still dealing with dictators.”

In Cairo, the election returns sparked a debate over the provenance of pro-Brotherhood ballots. How many of the group’s voters were disaffected but not necessarily Islamist? People eager to back any viable alternative to Mubarak’s rule?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that its support is profound. The Muslim Brotherhood has spent decades strengthening its presence on campuses and in trade unions. In a nation where political rallies are generally taboo, this campaign season has seen the Brotherhood flood the streets of small towns in the Nile Delta with thousands of chanting supporters.

To Gasser Abdel Razek, a board member of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the Brotherhood’s success is a measure of the government’s failure to provide basic services. He pointed out that the Islamist group was able to muster 25,000 election volunteers.

“I can tell you a good number of those people probably finished their education because of the after-school tutoring program provided by the Brothers in outlying areas,” he said. “The Brothers manage to fill the gap left by the state.”

Although the Brotherhood may draw votes by capitalizing on general dissatisfaction, Islam nonetheless remains a powerful force in this conservative and deeply religious country. The ruling party complains that the Muslim Brotherhood exploits religion. The group retorts that it simply is giving the people what they want.

“If you go to the streets and ask people, they are all proIslamic,” said Erian, the Brotherhood leader.

“They are all in favor of even tough Islamic principles. They want change, even if they get the Taliban.”

But even Erian acknowledged that as many as half the votes for his candidates may have been lodged to protest the status quo. With its trademark organizational dexterity, the Brothers have launched a door-to-door survey to figure out who voted for them and why.