No Consolation for the US and Britain

The American and British reaction to events in Egypt as well as their mounting anxiety over the Egyptian military’s actions, which they have deemed an anti-democratic military coup, are all well-warranted. The victim here is that eldest son, the “Muslim Brotherhood Organization,” which was supported and abetted by both nations over the course of 80 years. This represents a major loss for these two nations, in that the Brotherhood is considered among the largest and most important factions of “political Islam.” It may nowadays be the only one of its kind in the world, all other factions and organizations being militant or jihadist, such as al-Qaida, the Taliban, jihad and other such Islamist groups, all of which operate clandestinely; whereas the Brotherhood is the lone organization that was founded to operate openly by participating in the political life of the nations in which it has a presence. Since Egypt is the nation in which it was established and from where it was disseminated, as well as the seat of its actual leadership, its downfall there signifies the beginning of its demise in other nations, especially the Arab ones. This is the greatest loss that has struck global advocates of political Islam.

Washington and London are now strongly regretting how they pushed the Brotherhood to seize power in Egypt. Throughout its history the Brotherhood never readied itself for actual rule, but only for exerting pressure on the ruling regimes. Power is inconstant and vulnerable to change according to circumstances; this organization was developed to operate over the course of decades. However, due to development of events in Egypt after the fall of the Mubarak regime and fear on the part of Washington, London and Israel of the rise of a revolutionary regime counter to their interests, the Brotherhood was rapidly and suddenly propelled into power. It was not at all qualified for the responsibilities of ruling a country for which it had never prepared itself to overtake, much like one who is able to drive a car suddenly being asked to fly an airplane. Because of this, we maintain that the Muslim Brotherhood was sincere in the beginning when they said that they would not be running in the presidential election, nor would they aim for more than 30 percent of parliamentary seats. This was because the steering forces of the Brotherhood would not permit it to obtain a majority in parliament, so it would not get mixed up in forming a government and rising to power.

After attaining the presidency and parliament, the Brotherhood could not allow the participation of any other political factions, as the agenda imposed upon them by external steering players could not be disclosed to others. Hence came that gross overtake of power, which was criticized even by the organization’s supporting factions.

The Brotherhood’s demise in Egypt is seen by many as the beginning of the end for the organization globally, which will also have a direct influence upon any Islamic-aligned regime. This perhaps explains the Turkish government’s negative reactions to events in Egypt, which it considered to be an assault on constitutional legitimacy on the part of the army.

Washington, London and others who share their criticisms and displays of concern over events in Egypt are not trying to restore Brotherhood rule, for this is a done deal; it was a major misstep on their part in the first place when they pressured the Brotherhood to seize power. All that Washington and London are striving for now is to salvage whatever they can of Brotherhood presence in the Egyptian political sphere, so that the Brotherhood can prepare to remobilize and play the part that it was previously meant to, as a lobbying card upon the ruling regime. Another basic motive behind the Washington-London efforts to maintain the Brotherhood is to prevent its affiliate organizations in other nations from being affected by the downfall of the group in its founding nation and for ruling regimes in other nations around the globe to not feel empowered to nullify and eliminate Brotherhood affiliates, as happened in Egypt.