[Der Spiegel-Germany] The Islamist international network of the Muslim Brotherhood has, for the first time, become the sovereign power over a piece of territory. Gaza has suddenly become a laboratory for political Islam in the Middle East. For many Muslims, Hamas is the tip of the Brotherhood's spear. The neighboring secular Arab regimes see it as a threat to their very existence. The newspaper Al Ahram, which acts as an Egyptian government mouthpiece, commented that "the problem of Hamas isn't limited to Gaza. Here in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood does not recognize the legitimacy of the government, the constitution and the law. Whoever ignores that takes us to the gates of Hell, which Gaza has opened." Political Islam - with the Muslim Brotherhood at its vanguard - is now a power in both its moderate and militant manifestations from the shores of the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
2007-07-04 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive