Since last February I have predicted that the Muslim Brotherhood would win elections in Egypt. People have thought me very pessimistic. Now the votes are starting to come in, and … it’s much worse than I thought. My prediction that the Brotherhood and the other Islamists would gain a slight majority seems to have been fulfilled, and then some. According to most reports, the Brotherhood is scoring at just below 40 percent all by itself.
TOMIYA, Egypt—In this rural hamlet 100 miles southwest of Cairo, farmers turn their fields with ox-pulled plows and ferry their daily harvest to market on carts pulled by swaybacked donkeys. Nine months after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, this village's politics remain similarly stuck in a previous era.
Here, as in much of rural Egypt, two political forces appear poised to dominate Monday's parliamentary vote, just as they have for much of the past century: the Muslim Brotherhood and a small clique of powerful families, feudal landowners with longstanding ties to the former ruling party and security services. (Click here to continue reading)
If it’s really true that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is picking up 40 percent of the vote while the Salafists are winning another 25 percent, the West and especially Israel need to brace for serious trouble.
I’ve always scoffed at those who describe the Muslim Brotherhood as moderate. It’s not at all an objectively moderate organization, and certainly not by any Western standard. Conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans are moderates. These guys are authoritarian theocrats. If a Christian counterpart existed in the United States, they’d be called fascists.
They really are moderate compared with the Salafists, though. The Salafists are the Taliban-style totalitarians that produced Al Qaeda.
Liberal and secular parties are doing better than they did in past elections that were stacked by Mubarak’s regime. Previously, the the only viable options were the Brotherhood and the now-banned government party. Egytpians have more choices this time for parties that are not suppressed. The liberal parties blossomed in their own miniature springtime. That’s something, but it isn’t enough, not if they only represent one third of the country.
With Islamist groups expected to do well in Egypt's parliamentary elections, many Coptic Christians are concerned that their limited rights will come under greater threat.
The trash of millions of people collects in Cairo's Garbage City, the narrow lanes filled with plastic, metal, wood - anything the district residents can resell to eke out a living. (Click here to continue reading)
The new parliamentary elections in Egypt are enjoying a record turnout and exciting the citizens, but the Coptic Christians minority in the country fear the situation may only get worse for them.
Many of them live in the outskirts of Cairo, in the capital’s slums, and survive as trash collectors. They endure in poverty and discrimination, selling scraps of metal, wood and plastic, and have lived in these conditions for a long time, Voice of America reported. (Click here to continue reading)
Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood says its bloc is leading the first stage of parliamentary elections and challenged the country's military generals by claiming the high turnout signifies a popular demand for civilian rule.
The Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party said Wednesday early indications showed its coalition ahead, followed by the ultra-conservative Salafist al-Nour party and the liberal Egyptian bloc in third.
Demonstrators are in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a 5th day and fresh clashes are reported. At least 35 people have been killed during the past five days in clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo and other main cities.
"We will not leave, we are here until we see changes, but now nothing has changed, we will not be fooled," said protester Khaled Samir. "The previous president attempted to deceive the people but he failed and finally responded to our demands." (Click here to continue reading)
Egypt's military leader is promising a faster transition to civilian rule. But that doesn't appear to be satisfying tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's central square. They've been calling for the ruling military council to leave now.
Egyptians don't have it easy. But Copts, the Christian minority in Egypt, have it worse. In the last month, Coptic Christians were attacked while marching to mourn the victims of past sectarian violence. And a looming question -- What does such treatment of Copts mean for the Arab Spring? -- remains unanswered.
In this video, two Coptic women share their stories about the hardships of being religious minorities in Egypt.
