Muslim Brotherhood Supports Protesters in Egypt

At first blush, the situation in Egypt seems to call for support of the protesters over a suppressive Mubarak regime, a similar situation to what transpired in Iran in 2009. There are some distinct differences, however. In 1979, the Shah was viewed by the people of Iran as an oppressive dictator. He was toppled and a far worse regime filled the void, led by Ayatollah Khomeini and the Mullahs. In 2009, Iranian youths rose up for freedom, to be released from the theocratic regime.

Here, in 2011, the Mubarak regime is certainly oppressive and the inclination is for people to view these protests through a lens similar to what happened in Iran two years ago. A problem with that thinking is that the Muslim Brotherhood has announced that it supports the Egyptian protesters.

Via Jerusalem Post:

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood also expressed support for the demonstrations, raising the prospect that members of Egypt's largest and best-organized opposition group could join Friday's demonstrations in mass. If they do, it could swell the numbers on the streets significantly. But the group has stopped short of an outright call for its backers to turn out.

The Muslim Brotherhood called on its website for protests to remain peaceful. It also called for new parliamentary elections under judicial supervision, the introduction of far-reaching reforms and the lifting of emergency laws in force since 1981.

The Brotherhood is the Sunni equivalent of the Shiite Mullahs in Iran and would be far more dangerous to world stability than Mubarak's regime. The Muslim Brotherhood seeks an Islamic caliphate and the resurrection of the Ottoman Empire.

The Egyptian protests may more closely resemble Iran in 1979, not 2009.

Another prominent figure has publicly announced that he would help to LEAD the protests - Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohammed ElBaradei:

...the grass roots protest movement was getting a double boost likely to energize the largest anti-government demonstrations Egypt has seen in years. Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace laureate and the country's top pro-democracy advocate, was returning to the country Thursday night and declared he was ready to lead the protests. The country's largest opposition group — the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood — also threw its support behind the demonstrations.

Once again, another Nobel Prize winner has some disturbing allegiances.

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