(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL #225 - Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood, this paper tiger (fr)

After the fall of Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood began the conquest of power in Egypt. 
They take advantage of internal conflicts Egyptian ruling class, they face more and more 
anger classes. ---- The early 1990s saw the rise of the influence of the Islamist Muslim 
Brotherhood in several areas. They were in fact already at the head of several unions, 
student unions and several were under their influence. In economics, investment banks 
Islamists were well established despite the relentless law used against them. Mubarak was 
waging a war without thank you against the Muslim Brotherhood: this war was waged in the 
countryside as well entrenched in Cairo, where physical liquidations were committed 
against members prominent politicians and intellectuals. This outburst safe destabilized 
the Muslim Brotherhood as part of the opposition at that time.

Unless at the same time, the left had the moral socks because of the collapse of the USSR. 
Everyone believed that the Muslim Brotherhood were very close to taking power. The only 
person who was suspected Rifaat Said, representative of the eternal Party Rally left he 
said that the Muslim Brotherhood never could gain power without overthrowing Mubarak. This 
is always true, in the sense that, even with the end of Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood is 
the inability to have control over the bodies of the Egyptian state.

The collapse of the legend

Among the myths that have long stuck to the reputation of the Muslim Brotherhood, there 
was the belief that their organization was of iron, their executives do not count, they 
had as members a number of representatives of the scientific elite and intellectual as 
their key strategy was to settle in all parts of the state. Except that these myths have 
evaporated after groping to power. Instead of a strict and disciplined organization, we 
saw standing internal conflicts on issues of power, and an inability to have a ministry 
entirely under their control. The organization suffers from a lack of policy frameworks 
and technocrats, its political and economic in the large blur. Add to that the discontent 
of the population begins to emerge: a wide range of different social categories is now 
opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood, whether entrepreneurs, workers, and residents of the 
inhabitants cities, those campaigns, etc ...

Political organization or Mafia?

In general, any political organization established on the basis of class, religion, 
ethnicity, or other. This database is the source of its policies. This rule does not 
really apply to the Muslim Brotherhood because, in a sense, they are able to overcome 
these divisions: they keep a report class patronage, to the extent that workers are 
forbidden es when they are members organization, and where corporate interests (at the 
expense of employee-es) are defended when their owners are also members. All this favors 
rejection among different classes, making it difficult for the brothers to make alliances, 
including with business people (including the military) who see a dim management "mafia" 
of economy, and especially their aggressive competition.

A multifaceted power

Think that the power of Mubarak has been destroyed is a profound illusion, because the 
corrupt and tyrannical power still standing. This power is characterized in part by the 
alliance of two great giants, capitalism "patronage" and the complex affairs of the army, 
and secondly by a huge bureaucratic structure. It maintains full knowledge of the areas of 
influence of the areas it controls, and not letting them kill each other. Indeed, if 
Mubarak was abandoned by the army, that he wanted such enlarge the pie for his new band 
ultra-liberals at the expense of the military. Thus, competition is fiercely fought 
Brotherhood when it begins to take place. The military replica violently to any criticism 
of their own, even from Morsi. The Ministry of Interior also resists pressure from Muslim 
Brotherhood to use it as a weapon against the people. The bureaucratic apparatus remains 
adamant against the will of domination by not giving to senior Brotherhood that positions 
without influence. The old regime got rid of Mubarak and his clique highlighting, 
voluntarily or not, the Muslim Brotherhood, which showed a lack of understanding of the 
game of handicapping "powerful" giants. Worse, they put a large segment of the working 
class back then that part of it they were not initially hostile, leaving the prices of 
essential commodities blaze, and pushing the state to abandon support for social services.

The question of the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in power will be answered in their 
ability or inability to pacify the "arena" social they are currently unable to do. They 
are caught between the anvil of anger classes and the hammer of military despotism and the 
big bourgeoisie. The opportunism of the current opposition and its inability to create a 
real force against-power and internal conflicts among the military, give more power to the 
power of the Muslim Brotherhood. In addition, the United States they are very favorable in 
the context of their plan to support moderate Islamism in the Middle East under the 
tutelage of Turkey, despite the current failure of this plan in Egypt and Tunisia.

Yasser Abdelkawi (Egyptian Libertarian Socialist Movement)

translated from the Arabic by Marouane (Northeast AL Paris)