The victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's presidential elections last week has raised serious questions about future political and economic relations between Cairo and the West. Concerns have been raised about the Brotherhood’s commitment to civil and minority rights.Some in the UK have argued that the Muslim Brotherhood is moving towards the European Christian Democrats mode – socially conservative, with religious roots, but ultimately respectful of other rights. This sounds like wishful thinking.
However, the dilemma facing the movement is that foreign governments are reluctant to treat it as a regular political group. The vast majority of its members have joined it because it is a religious group, devoted to the ethics of Islam. In order to become an active member and progress into its hierarchy, you must be a practicing Muslim. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for non-Muslims to join the group, and for the movement to represent citizens from other ethnic and ideological backgrounds.
The group’s tactic in gaining massive popular support prior to the Egyptian revolution was largely psychological – understanding the society’s conservative orientation. Having been in opposition ever since its foundation, the group managed to portray itself as a victim of oppressive acts by consecutive authoritarian regimes – an act that was perceived by the layman as an assault on his religion.
There are several worries about the group’s approach to democracy and plurality. Its participation in elections does not mean that it has accepted pluralism, or that it will accept or recognise minority rights. Indeed, a number of illiberal measures were enacted in the Islamic-led parliament and the judicial system influenced by the emergence of the Brotherhood.
For instance, Egypt’s cultural scene has been affected by the rise of the movement. The country is known to be the beacon of art and cinema in the Arab world, and yet a prominent comedian, Adel Emam, known as the “Woody Allen of the Orient”, has been sentenced to three months in prison after being charged with mocking Islam in his popular movies. He was involved in series of films that criticised Islamic extremism and the attacks on tourists in the 1990s. Large number of film-industry members decided to leave the country if Mohamed Morsi was elected.
While the Islamist movement has said that it will defend civil and minority rights, it is not clear that it will do so. The first test will come when negotiations over the formation of the new government begin. The key issue will be to what extent the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, consults all sectors of society, including Christians, Leftists and secularists. There is concern in the Coptic community that they may be subject to increased restrictions and even "special taxes". Many Copts actually voted for Shafiq in the second round of the elections, because of concerns about the Brotherhood’s intentions – compared to Shafiq who promised to increase privileges to Christians and women’s representation in the executive.
More worryingly the dissolved Islamist-dominated parliament has passed measures that appear to attack women’s rights, including reducing the marriage age for women to 14 years, and restricting a woman’s right to end abusive and unhappy marriages. There have also been increased calls for women to dress modestly in public places with a particular focus on tourist hotspots. Those operating in the tourism sector have expressed concern about efforts to further Islamify public spaces, given the negative impact that this could have on tourism, which is Egypt’s main source of foreign currency revenue, at more than £2 billion a year.
Historically, the group has usually reverted to holy texts for translating complex political situations, an approach that may not help the organisation running office and in conducting negotiations with foreign powers. But it remains to be seen whether the movement will downplay its religious and Islamic identity to meet the challenges of a modern government.
