Though it has been officially banned in Egypt since 1954, the Brotherhood is nonetheless presently tolerated by the authorities and is represented in Parliament, where it holds 88 of the 405 seats, i.e., a bit more than one-fifth. Muslim Brotherhood until recently positioned itself as a democratic party and seemed to have put aside its vague desire to create an Islamic state. Recent events show in any case that the Egyptian authorities have decided to continue a policy aimed at countering the designs of the Muslim Brotherhood. Nearly six hundred Brothers, including some parliamentarians, are now in prison. The financial managers have been brought to court and, by arresting thirty-five members of the Brotherhood at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, the Government is now showing that it henceforth wishes to attack the Brotherhood on grounds where it moved very cautiously till now: religion. This article will try to show how the Brotherhood has tried to put on its best face to win over Egyptians, changing its tactics, and how the authorities initially used the Brotherhood before being forced to oppose it today so as to prevent it from spilling over.

To read this article by Patrick Esteve, visit the ESISC website.