Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to Be Political Party

[Rheo]

NY Times:

CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood, the outlawed Islamic group that has long constituted Egypt’s main political opposition, said Tuesday that it would apply to become an official political party as soon as the necessary changes were made to the Egyptian Constitution.

Those changes, which are expected to establish a democratic process in advance of elections in six months, had been widely anticipated in the aftermath of the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

The ousted leader saw the Brotherhood as a chief political rival and initiated the renewal of a crackdown since 2005, when the group ran independent candidates in parliamentary elections and won many races.

The current Constitution bars any political party based on a religious identity, a provision that precluded the Brotherhood from forming a legally recognized party.

In a sign of the Brotherhood’s increasing official legitimacy, the military government said Tuesday that a panel of experts drawing up changes to the Constitution over the next 10 days would include one member from the banned group.

The Brotherhood strongly reaffirmed its commitment to rejoining the political process, saying in a statement released Tuesday on its Web site that it “envisions the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures of freedom and justice, with central Islamic values serving all Egyptians regardless of color, creed, political trend or religion.”

[Sabre86]

I'm shocked I tell you, shocked.

 

Despite their claims, everyone knew this is where it was heading.

[Valin]

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