Via Eygpt Independen by Noha El Hennawy; excerpt--read on.
Experts on Islamist movements and democratization have long held that Islamist groups, if they are allowed to engage freely in the political system, tend to make significant ideological concessions, adopt democratic values, and act pragmatically.Repeatedly referred to in these discussions is the example of the Turkish Islamist movement that culminated in the emergence of the Justice and Development Party. The party recognizes secularism, and this is taken as evidence to show that when Islamists are allowed to compete for power democratically, they find enough incentives to give up some dogma, reaching out to a wider base.
By the same token, these studies held that Arab authoritarianism was a major impediment to the moderation of Islamist groups. The lack of any prospect for rotation of power provides zero incentive to Arab Islamists to move towards the center of the political spectrum.
Then the Arab Spring came along, putting these theories and hypotheses to the test.
Looking back at the performance of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in 2012, these arguments show themselves to be somewhat simplistic.
While in 2011, the group had drawn on a more secular discourse seeking to position itself among liberal and leftist democratic forces in the wake of Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, this year witnessed a major regression in this regard. In their pursuit to assert their dominance against the military and the secular elites, the Brotherhood drifted further to the right, drawing once again on an overtly religious vocabulary. This dualism has exposed the group’s failure to develop a consistent political discourse that could help them build a larger constituency that goes beyond their conventional conservative support base.
From positive to repulsive
Soon after Mubarak’s ouster, the group sent a multitude of assurances to non-Islamists, Christians and Egypt’s western allies. Despite their apparent under-the-table deals with the military — turning many revolutionaries against them — the Brotherhood’s discourse was in no way alarming as far as the relationship between religion and state was concerned.
In the first post-Mubarak poll, it was not the Brotherhood who primarily used religious propaganda to entice voters to back the military-sponsored constitutional amendments. It was the Salafis who employed religion in their campaigns, questioning the faith of the amendments’ detractors, and arguing that a “yes” vote was a vote for Islam.
Even later, in the run-up to the November 2011 legislative elections, the Brotherhood took everyone by surprise when they dropped their old controversial slogan “Islam is the Solution” for a more secular catchphrase “We Bear Good for Egypt.” The slogan attested to the group’s attempt to reach out to a wider audience on concrete rather than divine grounds.
Yet, the year 2012 witnessed a flagrant reversion in the group’s electoral discourse. The Brotherhood’s presidential campaign was a revealing milestone.
The Brotherhood rescinded their initial decision not to field a presidential candidate at the last minute, some suggest, after the generals’ reluctance to cede any power to the Islamist-dominated Parliament became clear. For them, winning the presidency was a life-or-death question. Amid threats that the Supreme Constitutional Court would dissolve Parliament, the presidency was seen as the group’s lifeline in their quest to cement control.
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