(New York Times) Michael Slackman - In post-revolutionary Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is at the forefront, transformed into a tacit partner with the military government. When the new prime minister, Essam Sharaf, addressed the crowd in Tahrir Square this month, Mohamed el-Beltagi, a prominent Brotherhood member, stood by his side. "There is evidence the Brotherhood struck some kind of a deal with the military early on," said Elijah Zarwan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. "It makes sense if you are the military - you want stability and people off the street. The Brotherhood is one address where you can go to get 100,000 people off the street." It is also clear that the young, educated secular activists who initially propelled the nonideological revolution are no longer the driving political force. Amr Koura, 55, a television producer, said, "The young people have no control of the revolution anymore. It was evident in the last few weeks when you saw a lot of bearded people taking charge. The youth are gone."
2011-03-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive