Magazine

Israel should not fear an Islamist Middle East

04/30/2012 12:35 By STEFAN KIRSCHNER

The rise of Islamist regimes proves that an honest enemy is better than a false friend.

Photo by: REUTERS/Amr Dalsh

As a result of the increasing power of the Muslim Brotherhood and the even more extreme Salafi parties, the outcome of the ongoing Egyptian elections is looking grim and many westerners are deeply concerned. Although Khairat el-Shater of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hazem Salah Abu Ismail of the Salafi Al Nour party have now been disqualified, the Muslim Brotherhood nevertheless has 105 seats in the Shura Council and together with the Salafi Islamic Bloc’s 45 seats, they occupy a majority of the 270 seats. In the People’s Assembly, which will draft the new constitution, they have 235 seats and together with the Salafi Bloc’s 123, they completely dominate the 508 seat Assembly.

Israel is monitoring the outcome with acute scrutiny since Egypt is Israel’s immediate neighbor and also the largest Arab state. The Egyptian army’s lack of control over the Sinai Peninsula—demonstrated by recent attacks on Israel as well as rampant smuggling and the infiltration of refugees—point to the rise of anarchism in that region. The question of whether Egypt will uphold the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty remains to be seen as well. Last month, the People’s Assembly voted to stop exporting gas and to cut diplomatic ties with Israel, while on the other end of the spectrum, Amr Darrag, a founding member of the Freedom and Justice party (FJP) - the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood - was quoting as saying, “his country will uphold its peace treaty with Israel.” After the elections, however, it is not unlikely that the rhetoric coming from Cairo will change.

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Israel should not fear an Islamist Middle East

The rise of Islamist regimes proves that an honest enemy is better than a false friend.

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