Egypt reins in democratic voices

In recent years, the Brotherhood, which hopes eventually to win power through the ballot box and institute Islamic law, has been pragmatic about directly opposing the government. It has held some protests, but only with permission.

Sunday's protest was its first "wildcat" effort in years, and was met with a show of force. The Interior Ministry said it arrested only 45 members of the group for threatening stability and distributing pamphlets opposing Egypt's system of government.

The opposition has been fortified by Mubarak's promise a month ago to amend the constitution to allow a competitive presidential election. Under current rules, only one candidate is nominated by parliament, which Mubarak's National Democratic Party controls.

"We assume that the rules for the election will make it impossible to legally put forth viable opposition candidates,'' says Abdel Halim Qandeel, an editor at the anti-government Al-Arabi newspaper and an organizer behind Kafaya. "But there is an opening here. For the first time, there's open criticism of Mubarak and his family. We need street protests to break the barrier of fear around political activity."

Mr. Qandeel concedes that his movement is "still small," but says Kafaya can take credit for stirring the Brotherhood.

"The Brotherhood is like an enormous body with a very small brain. It takes time to get it moving," he says. Qandeel, a secular socialist whose vision is sharply at odds with the Brotherhood, says he's happy they're becoming more confrontational.

"They don't want to miss out - our pressure forced them to organize their own demonstration," he says. "This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Everyone has to fight Egypt's political stagnation."

In recent weeks, the Brotherhood has been outlining its demands for change. In a new pamphlet, the organization calls for the canceling of all laws limiting freedom of assembly and expression. It particularly wants to abolish Egypt's Emergency Law, which has been used for decades to control the political opposition.

The Brotherhood, which was rooted in Islamic militancy of the mid-20th century, renounced violence in the 1970s. Though officially outlawed, it is partially tolerated. Though it can't run candidates for office, it has about 15 members who ran as independents in the 454-seat parliament, making them the largest opposition group.

Many political scientists say that truly free elections might take the Brotherhood to victory. In the short term, that could complicate US policy in the Middle East.

While the current US position is that democracy will best safeguard US interests, a Brotherhood-led Egypt would probably cool US-Egyptian relations, spur more frequent denunciations of Israel, and suspend Egypt's peace accord with its neighbor.

Reformers in Kafaya are also hostile to the US, and both allege that America has propped up Mubarak and defied democracy here. The US gives about $2 billion a year in civilian and military aid to Egypt, making it the third-largest recipient of US aid after Israel and Iraq.

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