From Homeland Security NewsWire:
Egypt's opposition groups have varied, conflicting agendas
Published 4 February 2011
The opposition to the Mubarak regime is not unified except on one issue: the removal of Hosni Mubarak from power; the five major groups leading the opposition include the pious Muslim Brotherhood, the liberal Al Ghad Party, the nationalist WAFD Party, the socialist 6 April Youth movement, and the umbrella group National Association for Change (NAC), led by Mohamed el Baradei, which includes all these groups, and many more; the Brotherhood enjoys the broadest popular support among Egypt's poor (and the vast majority of Egyptians are poor), and the best organization; to prevent the Brotherhood from coming to power, the WAFD and AL GHAD parties, with the support of el Baradei and some of the smaller members of the NAC, should consider cooperation with Ahmed Shafik, Omar Suleiman, and Sami Annan -- the troika set to succeed Mubarak
Riot van drives through barricade in Cairo // Source: courierpress.com
Television coverage — and what passes today for TV analysis — may give the impression that the opposition to Hosni Mubarak’s regime is unified and well-coordinated. It is not. Fox News correctly reports that, in fact, the opposition to the current regime in Egypt consists of several groups that often have varied and conflicting agendas. Here is a short background on the five key opposition groups in Egypt:
The Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood is the most prominent opposition group in Egypt. Though it seems they were not the ones to organize the wave of protests, they have exploited them to voice their agenda: to form a state governed by Islamic law.
This Sunni movement was founded in 1928, partly in response to the British occupation in Egypt, and became one of the first and most successful movements advocating Islam as a political program. Over the years the group gathered many supporters and established branches throughout the world (Gaza-ruling Hamas party originated in the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.)
There was never proof of the group’s involvement in terror acts (although individual members of the Brotherhood were brought up on charges of terrorism). The group’s motto is: “Allah is our objective; the Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”
The movement has been banned in Egypt since 1954 after being accused in the assassination attempt of President Gamal Abdel Nasser (a charge the Brotherhood has always denied). Still, the Brotherhood operates openly within limits that vary at the whim of the authorities.
Until last year, members of the movement running as independent candidates held one-fifth of the seats in parliament, but after loosing many seats in the 2010 elections, which were marred by serious fraud, the group boycotted the second round of elections and announced it would shift its political struggle to the streets.
The Brotherhood has huge influence on the Egyptian public. The group emerging as the ruling party in the post-Mubarak Egypt is perceived as a very possible scenario. Some fear the group could threaten U.S. interests on issues, including Arab-Israeli peace efforts, if they gain power.
El Baradei and the National Association for Change (NAC)
The National Association for Change is an ad-hoc umbrella organization of the Egyptian opposition groups of all political affiliations and religion. The goal of the group is to bring about political
reform based on democracy and social justice. This organization was set up by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed el Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who returned to Egypt on 27 January to lead the protests.
El Baradei has been calling for democratic reforms in Egypt for quite some time and keeps declaring his wish not to rule Egypt but to be a “tool for reform” — or, in other words, lead the transition government when or if Mubarak resigns.
Because the NAC includes parties like the religious Muslim Brotherhood, on one hand, and Liberal political parties like Al-Ghad, on the other hand, it has so far found it impossible to agree on a cohesive strategy. The only thing they various member groups do agree on is the removal of Mubarak from power.
El Baradei currently enjoys the support of the majority of the opposition groups in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood — and he also appears to enjoy the tacit support of the United States — but it is hard to tell whether he could get elected beyond that.
6 April Youth movement
Fox News notes that this is a left-wing socialist Facebook group — or at least it started on Facebook — and moved to the real world. They were the main organizing force behind the original demonstration on 25 January.
The group was established in 2008 in support of a workers’ strike in an industrial Egyptian town, but continued its activities well past that strike. The group’s Facebook page today includes almost 90,000 supporters, predominantly young and educated members, most of whom had not been politically active before.
Ahmed Maher, one of the founders of the group, was arrested by the Egyptian authorities several times in the past years. The group’s main ideology is free speech and anti-nepotism.
WAFD party
The WAFD party is a nationalist liberal party. It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt (the original WAFD movement was created in the wake of the First World War). It supports political, economic and social reforms, promoting democracy, ensuring basic freedoms and human rights, and maintaining national unity. It has led the official opposition in parliament, but it chose to boycott the 2010 elections because of widespread voting fraud.
AL GHAD Party
This is another active political party established in 2004. It is a centrist liberal secular party.
Its founder, Ayman Nour, was imprisoned by the Mubarak government for three years after the 2005 elections, in which he garnered 7 percent of the vote, coming in second to Mubarak. His imprisonment received harsh criticism in Egypt and by European and American leaders.
Nour has been taking part in the demonstrations that started last week, but he does not seem to enjoy the same high profile he had in the past.
Prospects
The Brotherhood enjoys the broadest popular support among Egypt’s poor (and the vast majority of Egyptians are poor), and the best organization. To prevent the Brotherhood from coming to power, the WAFD and AL GHAD parties, with the support of el Baradei and some of the smaller members of the NAC, should consider cooperation with Ahmed Shafik, Omar Suleiman, and Sami Annan — the troika set to succeed Mubarak
Egypt's opposition groups have varied, conflicting agendas
Published 4 February 2011
The opposition to the Mubarak regime is not unified except on one issue: the removal of Hosni Mubarak from power; the five major groups leading the opposition include the pious Muslim Brotherhood, the liberal Al Ghad Party, the nationalist WAFD Party, the socialist 6 April Youth movement, and the umbrella group National Association for Change (NAC), led by Mohamed el Baradei, which includes all these groups, and many more; the Brotherhood enjoys the broadest popular support among Egypt's poor (and the vast majority of Egyptians are poor), and the best organization; to prevent the Brotherhood from coming to power, the WAFD and AL GHAD parties, with the support of el Baradei and some of the smaller members of the NAC, should consider cooperation with Ahmed Shafik, Omar Suleiman, and Sami Annan -- the troika set to succeed Mubarak
Riot van drives through barricade in Cairo // Source: courierpress.com
Television coverage — and what passes today for TV analysis — may give the impression that the opposition to Hosni Mubarak’s regime is unified and well-coordinated. It is not. Fox News correctly reports that, in fact, the opposition to the current regime in Egypt consists of several groups that often have varied and conflicting agendas. Here is a short background on the five key opposition groups in Egypt:
The Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood is the most prominent opposition group in Egypt. Though it seems they were not the ones to organize the wave of protests, they have exploited them to voice their agenda: to form a state governed by Islamic law.
This Sunni movement was founded in 1928, partly in response to the British occupation in Egypt, and became one of the first and most successful movements advocating Islam as a political program. Over the years the group gathered many supporters and established branches throughout the world (Gaza-ruling Hamas party originated in the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.)
There was never proof of the group’s involvement in terror acts (although individual members of the Brotherhood were brought up on charges of terrorism). The group’s motto is: “Allah is our objective; the Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”
The movement has been banned in Egypt since 1954 after being accused in the assassination attempt of President Gamal Abdel Nasser (a charge the Brotherhood has always denied). Still, the Brotherhood operates openly within limits that vary at the whim of the authorities.
Until last year, members of the movement running as independent candidates held one-fifth of the seats in parliament, but after loosing many seats in the 2010 elections, which were marred by serious fraud, the group boycotted the second round of elections and announced it would shift its political struggle to the streets.
The Brotherhood has huge influence on the Egyptian public. The group emerging as the ruling party in the post-Mubarak Egypt is perceived as a very possible scenario. Some fear the group could threaten U.S. interests on issues, including Arab-Israeli peace efforts, if they gain power.
El Baradei and the National Association for Change (NAC)
The National Association for Change is an ad-hoc umbrella organization of the Egyptian opposition groups of all political affiliations and religion. The goal of the group is to bring about political
reform based on democracy and social justice. This organization was set up by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed el Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who returned to Egypt on 27 January to lead the protests.
El Baradei has been calling for democratic reforms in Egypt for quite some time and keeps declaring his wish not to rule Egypt but to be a “tool for reform” — or, in other words, lead the transition government when or if Mubarak resigns.
Because the NAC includes parties like the religious Muslim Brotherhood, on one hand, and Liberal political parties like Al-Ghad, on the other hand, it has so far found it impossible to agree on a cohesive strategy. The only thing they various member groups do agree on is the removal of Mubarak from power.
El Baradei currently enjoys the support of the majority of the opposition groups in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood — and he also appears to enjoy the tacit support of the United States — but it is hard to tell whether he could get elected beyond that.
6 April Youth movement
Fox News notes that this is a left-wing socialist Facebook group — or at least it started on Facebook — and moved to the real world. They were the main organizing force behind the original demonstration on 25 January.
The group was established in 2008 in support of a workers’ strike in an industrial Egyptian town, but continued its activities well past that strike. The group’s Facebook page today includes almost 90,000 supporters, predominantly young and educated members, most of whom had not been politically active before.
Ahmed Maher, one of the founders of the group, was arrested by the Egyptian authorities several times in the past years. The group’s main ideology is free speech and anti-nepotism.
WAFD party
The WAFD party is a nationalist liberal party. It is the extension of one of the oldest and historically most active political parties in Egypt (the original WAFD movement was created in the wake of the First World War). It supports political, economic and social reforms, promoting democracy, ensuring basic freedoms and human rights, and maintaining national unity. It has led the official opposition in parliament, but it chose to boycott the 2010 elections because of widespread voting fraud.
AL GHAD Party
This is another active political party established in 2004. It is a centrist liberal secular party.
Its founder, Ayman Nour, was imprisoned by the Mubarak government for three years after the 2005 elections, in which he garnered 7 percent of the vote, coming in second to Mubarak. His imprisonment received harsh criticism in Egypt and by European and American leaders.
Nour has been taking part in the demonstrations that started last week, but he does not seem to enjoy the same high profile he had in the past.
Prospects
The Brotherhood enjoys the broadest popular support among Egypt’s poor (and the vast majority of Egyptians are poor), and the best organization. To prevent the Brotherhood from coming to power, the WAFD and AL GHAD parties, with the support of el Baradei and some of the smaller members of the NAC, should consider cooperation with Ahmed Shafik, Omar Suleiman, and Sami Annan — the troika set to succeed Mubarak
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