Brotherhood charts future
CAIRO - The Muslim Brotherhood is devising a blueprint for a parliamentary democracy that would overturn Egypt's tradition of strong heads of state, flexing its muscles after emerging as the country's dominant political force.
The plan has emerged since the Islamist movement won the seats in parliament, allowing it to challenge the generals ruling Egypt since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February 2011 in a popular uprising.
For now, the Brotherhood has avoided a power struggle with the army, saying that would delay a return to political stability, bolstering the widely held belief that the two have a tacit understanding so their interests do not collide.
The Brotherhood will not field a presidential candidate, but was free to deploy its formidable grassroots campaign machine unhindered in the parliamentary vote and won almost half of the seats in the lower house.
It appears, for now, to accept the idea of a strong president who enjoys the army's backing. But under a plan outlined by senior officials in the movement, the presidency would be downgraded to a largely ceremonial role within four years and parliament would gradually take control of defence and foreign affairs from the army.
"We want a system where the prime minister liaises with parliament to pick the cabinet," Mohamed Saad al-Katatni, secretary-general of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said.
The current constitution gives the president powers to pick the cabinet.
The Brotherhood said it will not field a candidate in the presidential poll and expelled a senior Brotherhood member, Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, when he said he would run.
Many Egyptians suspect that the military, which provided Egypt's rulers for six decades, wants to hang on to power from behind the scenes.
Pointman
Here comes another theocracy which will send Egypt back to the dark ages. Womens rights and person freedom will be curtailed under these mullahs. From frying pan to the fire for Egyptians.Report Abuse
Newplanet
The Arab world never had a good record when it comes to Women rights and dignity, all they want is sharia law. Some pretend to uphold women rights but it shows.imagine driving a car by a woman being illegal.You ain't seen nothing yet. Egypt will be a difficult place for women to develop and improve their lives.Massive influence by religion will affect the laws of the country negatively to a larger extent.
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JO22112
FANATICS IN THE MOSLEM FAITH ARE THE GREATEST ENEMIES OF THE WHOLE WORLD . THEY DO NOT EVEN ALLOW ANY FREEDOM TO THEIR OWN WOMEN . AT A MOSLEM WEDDING ONLY THE MALE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY ARE ALLOWED AT THE MOSQUE .Report Abuse