استمعوا
إلى جماعة الإخوان المسلمين
بقلم:
جوشوا ستاشر وسامر شحاته- بوسطن
غلوب
هيرالد
تريبيون - 26/3/2007
Hear
out the Muslim rotherhood
Joshua
Stacher and Samer Shehata The Boston Globe
Published:
March 26, 2007
CAIRO
:
On a quiet, one-way street in
Cairo
's
middle-class Manial district, two bored security guards
sit sipping tea. The building behind them houses a small
apartment that serves as the main offices of the Muslim
Brotherhood, the oldest Islamist group in the
Middle East
. In
Egypt
, the Brotherhood is the country's largest opposition
group and its best-organized political force. No one
would know it from the headquarters' modest appearance,
but the Brotherhood is likely to be the dominant force
in Egyptian politics in the future. Yet the
United States
stubbornly refuses to deal with the Brotherhood, taking
its cue from the sclerotic and hopelessly corrupt regime
of Hosni Mubarak.
According to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the
United States
does not deal with the group because it is illegal under
Egyptian law. But basing policy on an authoritarian
government's legal manipulations is not in
America
's interests. If
U.S.
policy is to be credible in the region, the
United States
should engage with the Muslim Brotherhood, the most
popular and organized political movement in
Egypt
. Rice is scheduled to be in
Egypt
this weekend to meet with Mubarak, so now is an ideal
time for talks with the Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood is a mainstream nonviolent organization that has operated
responsibly and predictably within
Egypt
for decades. Founded in 1928, it has survived British
colonialism, Gamal Abdel Nasser's Arab nationalism and
intense repression, and Anwar Sadat's rapprochement with
the West. It is likely to outlive the Mubarak regime and
its ruling National Democratic Party. In
Egypt
's partially open 2005 legislative elections, the
Brotherhood won 20 percent of the assembly's seats,
making it the largest opposition bloc in Parliament. So
it makes sense for
U.S.
officials to sit across the table from Brotherhood
representatives, just as the the
United States
does with other political forces and opposition parties
in the country.
Islamist political groups are incredibly popular in the
Middle East
. As the oldest of these groups, the Brotherhood has continuing ties to
other regional Islamist parties and movements. The
United States
currently lacks access to some of these Islamist
organizations. Engaging with the Brotherhood would open
up new channels of communication with Islamist groups.
It would also signal that the
United States
is open to talking with all groups that are committed to
peaceful political participation.
The Brotherhood has demonstrated a commitment to working peacefully within
Egypt
's legal framework - despite years of repression. Unlike
other Islamist organizations, such as Hamas or
Hezbollah, the Brotherhood has no armed wing, and
neither the U.S. State Department nor the European Union
considers it a terrorist group.
Indeed, despite its illegality under Egyptian law, the regime tolerates many
of its activities, including a wide network of social
welfare services, religious activities, and professional
and civic organizations.
Opening a relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood would signal to ruling
regimes and opposition groups in the region that the
United States
is committed to promoting democracy - not just to
supporting those who are friendly to
U.S.
interests.
Furthering contacts with the Brotherhood would not constitute a drastic
departure for
U.S.
foreign policy. Despite the lack of a relationship now, American officials
have had occasional contact with the Brotherhood in the
past. American officials last held talks with the
organization in late 2001, under the current Bush
presidency. Although the Egyptian government has
occasionally expressed displeasure at such meetings, the
American-Egyptian relationship has not suffered as a
consequence.
Egypt
receives billions of dollars a year in aid from the
United States
, and
Washington
has a responsibility to meet with all of
Egypt
's relevant political organizations. After the
Brotherhood's success in the 2005 parliamentary
elections and the increasing popularity of other
Islamist groups in the region, the
United States
needs to consider an open and frank dialogue with
moderate, nonviolent Islamist groups. And there is no
more important moderate Islamist group in the region
than
Egypt
's Muslim Brotherhood.
Joshua Stacher is an adjunct history lecturer at the
American
University
in
Cairo
.
Samer Shehata is assistant professor at the Center for
Contemporary Arab Studies at
Georgetown
University
. This article first appeared in The
Boston
Globe.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/26/opinion/edstach.php
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