Is this the beginning of the Brotherhood’s incapacitation?

I write this article whilst all signs in Egypt indicate that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi has booked his place in next month’s Egyptian presidential run-off, whilst there is competition between General Ahmed Shafiq – who is currently in second place – and Mr. Hamdeen Sabahi – who is in third place – over the remaining run-off spot. This is how the situation stands as I write this article, although things may change and Sabahi could find himself in second place and taking part in the presidential run-off against the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. These results show that a broad section of Egyptian society has taken the decision to incapacitate the Muslim Brotherhood, out of fear of the establishment of a religious state, not to mention Muslim Brotherhood – Salafist control of the Egyptian parliament, and, of course, the Brotherhood’s positions on the drafting of a new constitution. All of these issues are alarming in the eyes of a broad section of the Egyptian people, and they cannot be underestimated or played down. If the Muslim Brotherhood wins the Egyptian presidency, this not only means that Egypt will become a religious state, it will become the “Muslim Brotherhood State of Egypt.” Therefore the initial results from the Egyptian presidential elections, until now, show that the biggest election losers are the Egyptian people themselves. According to reports, Egyptian presidential election turnout is at 50 percent of all eligible voters, namely 50 million Egyptians; this means that approximately 25 million Egyptians voted in the elections. Of course, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate will not be able to win outright during this election-round, namely he will not be able to obtain 50 percent of the vote of 50 percent of the Egyptian electorate, and this is the opposite of what the Muslim Brotherhood achieved during the parliamentary elections, particularly with regards to the Egyptian People’s Assembly. Therefore it is clear that there is a form of uprising in Egyptian society against the Muslim Brotherhood, as it appears today – at least from the initial results of the presidential election – that the Brotherhood now represent no more than 20 to 25 percent of Egyptian society, and this is something of a defeat for the Muslim Brotherhood, over a relatively short period of time, namely since the departure of former president Mubarak until today. This is a very important indication, particularly as during the last days of the Mubarak regime and the rise of the Egyptian revolution, many people refused to even criticize the Muslim Brotherhood, saying: we have had enough of the Muslim Brotherhood being used as a “scarecrow”. However what is happening today confirms that the Muslim Brotherhood is a genuine source of fear and concern, not just regionally, but also within Egypt itself. The best example of this can be seen in the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood candidate is a “backup” whose electoral campaign is associated with Khairat al-Shater; this reveals that the Muslim Brotherhood candidate is not an independent figure, but rather the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood General Guide and organization, not a titular political figure in his own right! Therefore this, of course, represents a loss for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and this is a loss that has been caused by the Muslim Brotherhood themselves, because they have revealed their true intentions, which has caused everybody to distrust them and fear for the future of the country. So if the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt believe that their candidate progressing to the presidential run-off is a victory for them, then this is a victory that no doubt tastes of defeat, because a broad section of Egyptian society– and without the influence of the Mubarak regime which is out of the game – are now against them. What a paradox it is that the Egyptian people only rose up against Mubarak after 30 years in power, whilst they are rising up against the Muslim Brotherhood today, less than one year after the Egyptian parliamentary elections!