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Muslim Brotherhood Raises Syria Profile

(Wall Street Journal) Nour Malas - Despite years of shifting alliances and a recent internal struggle for leadership, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's role as one of the oldest organized antigovernment movements could prove effective amid the power void of Syria's opposition. Last summer, Muhammad Riad al-Shakfa succeeded Ali Bayanouni as the Syrian Brotherhood's leader, raising concerns that gains made under Bayanouni to shift the movement to the center would be reversed. The party under Shakfa, seen as taking a harder line, found itself "sitting on the sidelines of history" as the Arab Spring swept into Syria. "People on the street are getting tired, they're running out of resources, and they don't have that much experience," said one protest coordinator outside Syria. "They recognize, and we have to recognize, that the Brothers are better organized and better funded."
2011-05-19 00:00:00
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