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Politics Arrive in Egypt

(Jerusalem Report) Ehud Ya'ari - It is no longer enough for a regime to maintain stability and act as an ally of the U.S. It must now treat its people as citizens, not subjects. The problem in Egypt, as in the other Arab countries and particularly among the Palestinians, is this: The liberal forces are extremely active but have more bark than bite. Encouraged by funding from the U.S. and Europe, secularist enlightened circles have set up NGOs of various types but not built political parties. A critical imbalance has thereby been created between the potential power of these forces and their capacity for recruitment and organization. The vacuum is primarily filled by the Islamist forces, who have preserved efficient apparatuses through the mosque network. Herein lies the danger: that democratic reform plays into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood who believe they can win by ballots, not bullets.
2005-05-31 00:00:00
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