Bashing the Muslim Brothers

Egypt's rulers are giving their Islamist compatriots an even worse time than usual.

Worse than usual? What can be worse? Hanging them like Qutb was?

There are understandable reasons not to love the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist group did eschew violence in the 1970s, and now proclaims a belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Yet the Brothers still declare that death in the cause of God is a wonderful thing. Their enthusiasm for violent jihad and their constant framing of Islam as a faith threatened by vicious enemies have helped spawn more radical Islamist groups, from Hamas in Palestine to the suicidal mass-killing zealots of Iraq.

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Violence alone is hardly the reason!!

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This is why quite a few Egyptians nodded agreement when their president, Hosni Mubarak, recently chided the Brothers for “hiding behind religion to turn back the clock”.

Turn back the clock indeed!! Back to the dark ages!

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So the current campaign against the Brotherhood, which remains officially outlawed despite members having won a fifth of seats in the last parliamentary elections as independents, has brought the group widespread sympathy. Aside from the mass arrests, the crackdown has included the transfer of some 40 leaders to trial before military courts, bans on travel for other leaders, confiscation of personal assets, and harassment of Brotherhood-affiliated schools, summer camps and clinics.

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I suppose it is just the panic resulting from them winning all those seats which caused the recent crack-down, but they won them because the voters were grateful for schools, clinics, housing etc in their areas, a void the government can't / wont fill.