Interview with Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam al-Arian

The Muslim Brotherhood made major gains in Egypt’s parliamentary elections in December 2005, making it the biggest opposition to the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, which has dominated politics in the country for more than two decades. Fielding its candidates as nominal independents because it is officially outlawed, the brotherhood secured 88 out of the 444 elected seats in the people’s assembly. The group had only 15 seats in the outgoing assembly. The Muslim Brotherhood was banned in the mid-1950s, when some of its members were accused of trying to assassinate then Interior Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser, who went on to become president of the republic. In the 1970s, however, the group officially renounced violence and its methods have been confined to the constricted political arena ever since. In an interview with IRIN in Cairo, Essam al-Arian, a prominent member and spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood, spoke about the group’s future in parliament and prospective social policies. QUESTION: With 88 seats in parliament, what expectations does the Muslim Brotherhood have for the future? ANSWER: This assembly will be very important. It will prepare the way for constitutional reform. It will be a transitional period for democratic change. Many of our candidates are members now, giving us greater representation and they will objectively discuss all the issues. Nevertheless, we don’t have a real democratic system, so the ruling party still can’t really be challenged. Q: What are the three biggest issues on the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda? A: Our priorities are as follows: issues of freedom and constitutional reform; fighting corruption; and most importantly for Egyptian citizens, dealing with the issue of poverty and unemployment. On poverty, we will concentrate our efforts on the rural areas, where underdevelopment has resulted in mass emigration to the cities. We will try to encourage civil society to help solve the problem, and we plan to discuss in parliament – in detail – what practical steps can be taken to achieve these ends. On political reform, we will push for a new law governing the formation of political parties, in cooperation with the Popular Front for Change [a political bloc composed of a number of smaller independent parties]. We will also, of course, push for an end to the longstanding emergency law. Q: Where does the Muslim Brotherhood stand on the issue of women’s rights? Does the group have many female members? A: We have equal rights for men and women in Egypt, although some local cultures don’t necessarily apply them. The Muslim Brotherhood does apply them, however, and women have continued to be very active within the group. In 1994, we declared very clearly that women should enjoy equal rights with men. There is no contradiction with Muslim Sharia law on this. Q: Where does the group stand on accusations against the government of discrimination against Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority? A: The issue of official discrimination against Coptic Christians is exaggerated. If there is any official discrimination, a case could be made that the Islamists face it more than the Christians. The entire issue has been used by foreign interests for political reasons, as an excuse to interfere in Egypt’s domestic affairs. Q: Some observers have noted a bias against the Muslim Brotherhood in much of the press coverage coming from western, particularly US, sources. Some see western media as trying to depict the brotherhood as an extremist organisation. Would you concur? A: The western media is looking out for its interests in this country and in the region. There are major conflicts of interest here. They try to depict Iraq as a functioning democracy, but look at that country – there’s no democracy there.