The Right to Democracy

The need for new, democratic government is constantly growing and gaining support amongst Islamists as well as a select number of liberals in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood currently holds approximately fifty percent of seats in Parliament, more than any other political group. Their spokesman, Mahmoud Ghozlan, spoke recently about the Brotherhood’s desire to appoint a prime minister. They believe that the SCAF has not been successful in controlling violence and facilitating progression into democracy. They want to appoint a prime minister who will take the next step and provide security for the Egyptian people.The only catch is that they want the official to be a member of the Brotherhood.

Symbol of the Muslim Brotherhood

While instating a new prime minister would ensure the SCAF has less power, the prime minister would then have the ability to form a new government. Plus, if the prime minister can only be chosen from a pool of Muslim Brotherhood members, is this real democracy? The Brotherhood had the clear upper hand in parliamentary elections because of previous experience in politics/elections and also had connections to the Egyptian people. Therefore the Brotherhood needs to recognize that it is not fair to the people to only be able to choose from the Brotherhood members.

Also, the thinking of the Brotherhood is not completely correct in their assertion that instating a new prime would automatically bring about more control and peace. Putting a person in a high powered position with large responsibility could lead to disaster if the person has little experience or undemocratic motives. While it may seem like a good idea, there are underlying factors that the Muslim Brotherhood needs to consider before appointing a new prime minister.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood does seek democracy, when they speak of appointing a member of their party, they "other-ise" the rest of the Egyptian population who isn't Muslim. While Egypt is a predominately Muslim country, they do have a large Christian population (as well as other religious sects). And with the recent clashes between Copts and Muslims, this idea is not one that will sit well with the Christians. Differences in religion will always separate Egyptians to some degree, but policies a predominately Muslim government will make will increase the differences between them. In this time of change, the last thing Egypt needs is further tension.