My Middle East Channel piece on the MB

… is here.
The editors there took quite a bit of time to turn it around.
If I had had the time I would have tightened up the ending– and also, inserted some of the material from this well-reported article in today’s WaPo.
I would also have noted that on Friday, Essam al-Erian was one of the numerous MB leaders who were arrested and imprisoned by the security forces… and that for most of the weekend, the MB’s main website was down. (That, after the arrest of their webmaster at Cairo airport, Friday.)
However, the website is now back up again, and it’s providing pretty good, regular roundups of news from all around Egypt.
I don’t know if Dr. Erian has been freed yet? I hope so!
… Anyway,the material in that 2007 interview I was using in the MEC piece is still interesting. It certainly provides some good source material for a rational discussion by non-Muslims with (or about) the MB.
Right now, I am very worried that news of the overthrow of the Mubarak regime, and the participation of the MB in the uprising, may lead to a strong new wave of (appallingly ignorant) Islamophobia in the United States, such as the dreadful presidential candidate Mike Huckabee seemed to be trying to stir up during his latest visit to Israel (his 13th.)
Why should westerners be so scared about a party that is both explicitly Muslim and democratic– any more than they/we are of a party that is both explicitly Christian democratic, such as we have had in several west European countries over the years?
Luckily, we do already have a very good example in Turkey today, of a party that is explicitly Muslim, and democratic– and also pro-western, and also, a pretty good example of good governance. (Unlike, say, Italy’s Berlusconi or various other sleazebags of the western world.)
So studying the MB closely, and engaging with it respectfully, seems like me to be a good place to start…

9 thoughts on “My Middle East Channel piece on the MB”

  2. Helena, You were strongly and favorably quoted in a piece on Egypt by Ambassador M.K. Bhandrakuma in today’s Asia Times, regarding the lack of ME experts to advise Obama.

  3. Thank you for the information. I don’t receive this kind of information from the main stream media. Please, please continue.

  4. Regarding Dr. Erian and members of the MB: Al Jazeera noted that 34 members of the Brotherhood had been sprung from jail. According to a telephone interview with one of the members , unknown people attacked the jail, spent some time hacking at the bars, and freed all 34 of them. In another interview, AlJazeera reported that Palestinian prisoners Egypt had been holding in jail had been freed by the people also. In one description, a bulldozer was just driven thru the walls. The release of criminals from the jails is played up in much of the press, but along with the criminals, thousands of political prisoners were freed also.

  5. I have to add my two cents on the MB. As a garden variety tourist in Luxor, I met a couple of Europeans there who run small businesses. They said that they preferred to do business with members of the MB because they knew that they would keep their word and were always fair in their dealings. The MB are honorable men, and that is why they are supported and admired.

  7. I am seeing, to my great dismay, many so-called reputable “alternative” web sites bad mouth the MB. Specifically, saying they are being run by western intel like CIA or MI6 or even Mossad. It really bothers me that they are doing this. My immediate reply to them is, are Hamas or Hezbollah being run by these same western intel ops? Their silence to my question speaks volumes. I would guess that yes, there are some within the MB who have been infiltrated by the western intel groups, but that does not mean that these western intel ops control MB. I think this is an important distinction. Something that must be made clear to a seriously misinformed but sincere public audiance wthin the “alternative” media community. Correct me if I am wrong.

  9. A few years ago, when things seems bleakest for the Arab world, there was discussion at sites like The Asia Times about Saudi Arabia being so disgusted with Bush that it was quietly developing a side channel via Turkey and Pakistan, which being democracies did not carry the onus that the Saud dynasty does.
    At the time I thought that any crack in the American empire was a good thing, but while in some matters the Sauds are more reasonable than us, when it comes to Arab democracy they are the archvillian. I fear that they could pour money into Mubarak’s pockets to keep him in power even through civil war.
    So I hope that in this matter Turkey shows quickly that it enjoys being a successful example of democracy to its southern neighbors. It is beginning to appear that its geostrategic position and relatively healthy economy can put it alongside the BRIC group of nonaligned powers. And obviously the Israeli attack on the aid ship has forced Turkey to pursue principled, legalistic opposition to the Occupation.

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