TELL OLD PHAROAH... (via Mike Daley):

A Pyramid of Choices (Yishai Kabaker, 1/04/08, The Stanford Review)

Egypt’s decline is readily apparent in many ways. It is no longer a military power in the Arab world, nor can it influence its neighbors with soft power. Its intellectual movements stem from populist sources rather than the heads of state. Mubarak has now clung to power for twenty six years at the expense of economic progress and democratic freedom. [...]

The Muslim Brotherhood preformed very well in the 1984 elections, which were the freest in Egypt since 1952. After their victory Mubarak regulated and restricted future elections until 1990. In 1995 the Islamists won only one seat in parliament. He has also periodically carried out mass arrests. Recently, the Muslim Brotherhood has tapped the angry poor neglected by the government, earning the support of the majority of the population.

What are we to make of this moderate Islamism? The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced violence, except against Israel and the Ba’ath Regime in Syria, and it advocates democratic Islam. However, it still strongly opposes America as Mubarak’s main supporter through aid. Perhaps we should accept it for the progress and moderation it has accomplished, while still hoping for further shifts towards a more compatible relationship with America and Western values. Egypt’s leaders may no longer possess the influence they once did, but the people can sway the balance in the Middle East either in favor of or against moderation; the choice is increasingly theirs to make.