Position on democracy (interpreted/supported through varying viewpoints)

Jihadist views on the Muslim Brotherhood:

Al Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri sneers at the Brotherhood for luring thousands of young Muslim men into the lines for election instead of into the lines of jihad.

Jihadists loathe the Brotherhood for rejecting jihad, and embracing democracy.

There is a current within the Brotherhood willing to engage with the United States. pretty significant political gesture.

MB was founded in Egypt in 1928 has sought to fuse religious revival with anti-imperialism and has resisted foreign domination through the exaltation of Islam.

Elections

Notion of slow Islamization (built through tarbiyya (preaching and educating)) an Islamic society, will naturally desire Islamic leaders, and will prove it at the ballot box. In addition to the notion that the umma [Muslim community] is the source of sulta [political authority]. Strategically, the Brotherhood has formed electoral alliances with secularists, nationalists, and liberals.

Oppositional thought: they argue that any government not ruling solely by sharia is apostate; democracy is not just a mistaken tactic but also an unforgivable sin, because it gives humans sovereignty over Allah.

The Muslim brotherhood is seen as too moderate from some radical perspectives of the Middle East - and too extreme by those from the West, which is, at least, seemingly, a misnomer given their embrace of elections, and the Muslim community being the real political authority (the umma is the source of sulta). Fears from the west come from an inability to feel convinced that once given power, the Muslim Brotherhood would still abide to their democratic rhetoric, although, there isnt really enough evidence to assume they wouldnt. The Brotherhood was founded by Hasan al-Banna who was anti-colonialist, and denounced violence in Egypt. It wasnt until the time around the creation of Israel, when Zionists began attacking Palestine that the Brotherhood took up arms, and fought on the side of the Palestinians. Banna believed the British parliamentary model was the closest representation to Islamic principles. In 1949 Banna was assassinated, and the Brotherhood forcefully disbanded, imprisoned, tortured, and exiled in various instances. There is a divide within todays brotherhood though, the older generation who remember its beginnings, and the younger generation who are generally more liberal. Many among these youth are interested in the Turkish model, which has been considered even by the West to be moderate. The Brotherhood are not accepted by the majority of Egyptians though, so attaining power is a struggle, and despite a lot of the rhetoric coming from the West supporting democracy in the Middle East, they are still hesitant to embrace change, as they can generally, better tailor their interests to authoritarian regimes.

Factions of society International support

Although the Brotherhood has some of the best organization of the various groups in Egypt, it has only about 20-25% of support from the Egyptian people. It is this low as a result from its sponsorship of violence at time throughout the past, going against all the democratic ideals it claims to be for most of the time. In 1995, the MB forced a respected Koran scholar, Hamid Nasr Abu Zayd to divorce his wife, against both of their wills, after an Egyptian court deemed some of his reformist views with apostasy. A trait that goes against the founding principles of the Brotherhood, in that declaring it is not mans job to judge.

President Obama has indicated America is open to the Muslim Brotherhood to play a role, and that it would be willing to deal with them politically, citing that the Brotherhood will be an important player in a potentially democratic Egypt. On advice given him, that basically posits the differential: Al Qaeda hates the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Muslim Brotherhood hates Al Qaeda. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Negative/Positive if coming to power Can MB win majority of votes?

Today, the Muslim Brotherhood holds 46% of Egypts parliament. They are flanked by an ultraconservative party who controls another 23%. Top priority on the agenda is the drafting of a new constitution before Presidential elections this June. However, the military council still holds executive power over the nation, and is gaming the political landscape to try to hush protest of the younger protesters who are fighting for representation in the process. Its unclear yet, how closely the Brotherhood and others in parliament will tie themselves to the military machine over this summer.

This ties into the fourth question too. The prospects for the Brotherhood coming to power are still unknown. You have their principles on their word, but actions and words are two very different things. The fight to come pits the MB with the military, and both of them against the youth, who want more drastic reformation(s).

Sources Used

Leiken, R.S., & Brooke, S. (2007). The Moderate Muslim Brotherhood. Foreign Affairs, 86(2), 107-121

Ramadan, T. (2011). Democratic Turkey Is the Template for Egypts Muslim Brotherhood. Washington Report On Middle East Affairs, 30(3), 21-22.

Rubin, M. (2011). The Road to Tahrir Square. Commentary, 131(3), 21-26

Saleh, H. (2012, January 22). New parliament marks radical shift in Egyptian Politics. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4cd4528-44f6-11e1-a71900144feabdc0.html#axzz1nEzaAuXo