Muslim Brotherhood and Unites States: Crisis or summer cloud?

TOWARDS the end of March and as I wrote these words, anger and criticism shook the streets of Egypt and the international sphere with accusations directed at the Muslim Brotherhood regime that they are stifling freedom of expression in the country.

With the United States' criticism on top, governments and international rights groups also expressed concern, immediately following the Egyptian prosecutor-general's order to arrest and interrogate prominent satirist Bassem Youssef.

The president-appointed prosecutor accused the famous television host of the weekly show Al-Bernameg of contempt of religion, insulting the standing of the president and disturbing public order and peace.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland quickly then expressed the American government's concerns following the release of Youssef on L.E. 15,000 bail. "We have concerns that freedom of expression is being stifled," she said.

"The government of Egypt seems to be investigating these cases while it has been slow or inadequate in investigating attacks on demonstrators outside of the presidential palace in December 2012, other cases of extreme police brutality and illegally blocked entry of journalists," she added. "There does not seem to be an even-handed application of justice here." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had also addressed the issue with Mursi, according to Nuland.

Moreover, in solidarity, prominent American television host Jon Stewart dedicated a segment of his Daily Show to Bassem, where he told President Mohamed Mursi: "You are the president of Egypt. The inheritor of one of the greatest lands and people in recorded history. Your people invited civilisation."

Bassem, who was hosted by Stewart last year, had admitted that the idea for his show was inspired by the Daily Show that has aired for more than 15 years. "What are you worried about? You're the president of Egypt, you have an army. He has puns and a show. You have tanks and planes -- we should know, we still have the receipts. Silencing a comedian doesn't qualify you to be president of Egypt," Stewart told Mursi on his show. "Without Bassem and all those journalists and bloggers and brave protesters who took to Tahrir Square to voice dissent, you President Mursi would not be in a position to repress them," he added.

In a strange twist of events, the official Twitter account of the US embassy in Egypt posted Stewart's sarcastic commentary on Youssef's arrest, to which the Egyptian presidency responded by saying: "It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda." The account was later shut upon an order by US envoy in Cairo Anne Paterson.

Bassem Youssef's case stirred up many questions and concerns over current and future ties between Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood, with its representative in the presidential palace, and the American administration.

Among the most important questions that pop in one's mind are: (i) Is the honeymoon of the Brotherhood and the US really over? (ii) What is the real root of this mutual interest between the two countries (whether the Egyptian government is in the form of a military, dictatorship or now religious)? (iii) Is it possible that the White House will eventually remove its political cover from over the Muslim Brotherhood like it did with Hosni Mubarak's government during the 2011 uprising? (iv) How effective could the influence of the US and the international community and media be in wearing out the legitimacy of the Muslim Brotherhood's regime that rules the Middle East's most populous country?

Prominent Egyptian political analyst and journalist, Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, has insisted that the US gave the green light to the arrival of political Islamism to power in Egypt -- through President Mohamed Mursi who was once a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Heikal insisted that the Brotherhood's keenness to reach power forced them to cooperate with the United States, pointing out that the spread of headscarves and even niqab (full body veil) in Egypt had given the international community the impression that political Islamism had the support of the majority.

Heikal also claimed that the White House sent the now-toppled Mubarak regime a letter, before the 2005 parliamentary elections, asking it to grant the Brotherhood a chance, which the government agreed to. It was then that Washington decided to facilitate the Brotherhood's gradual road to power -- but only to be surprised with how quick and aggressive the grip was.

The US government has cooperated with non-jihadist Islamist groups since the beginning of the 21st century. It had become clear to President Bush, at the peak of the War on Terror, that the popularity of non-Jihadist Islamist currents were gaining momentum and were able to draw the masses, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.

No matter what the identity of the ruler is, certain things are set in stone: Egypt's commitment to the peace treaty with Israel, steady petroleum transfer through the Suez Canal, strategic cooperation between the two countries in fighting terrorism, maintaining the status of Egypt's army so as to keep regional balance of power in check and finally respect for freedoms and minorities.

Some analysts argue that the Obama administration is currently using its favourite strategy; buying time. To avoid military confrontations in the region, the US tends to create a facade of failed dialogue between different factions, such as in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Egyptian journalist Emad AlDin Adeeb, there are three advantages to this strategy; the US avoids the high expenses of waging a war and focuses on its domestic economic struggles and not foreign policy (unless it's concerned with Asia, in particular China, Japan and Korea).

While some people wish that the army would return to save Egypt from the tight grip of the Islamist group, others believe that such move requires the consent and support of the US who would only signal it when its own interests are at stake.

It is no secret that the Mubarak regime lost its ability to survive once the US publicly declared that the time for change had come. It was then that Mubarak's power started to really shake from beneath him and his regime felt as if it had lost its backbone while faced with the raged masses of protesters.

Will the same scenario soon play out against Mursi?

The writer is Managing Editor, Al-Ahram newspaper.
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