Heshmat: The West Must not Be Wary of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood

Heshmat: The West Must not Be Wary of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood

J. Scott Carpenter, deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that conducting quick presidential or parliamentary polls in Egypt will make Islamists come to power significantly, indicating that they are only entitled to do so at the moment, and that this is the most common concern that haunts Washington about the Egyptian revolution.

In exclusive statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Carpenter emphasized that Egypt’s new president may be against America and that the Muslim Brotherhood will take power in Egypt if elections are held now.

Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Shura Council member Mohamed Gamal Heshmat told Ikhwanweb that "America must not give rise to a new scarecrow in Egypt because the people are becoming genuinely unconvinced with such allegations as intimidation and the use of the Brotherhood as a scarecrow at home and abroad by the ousted Mubarak’s dictatorial regime fade away.

Heshmat added: "The United States will always stand behind Israel’s security and for US interests in the region as everyone in Egypt has the right to express their opinion freely, especially since the people have absolute power.

He also noted that Islamists in Egyptian society are diverse and that the Brothers are on top of the moderate Islamists and that the US must not be subject to the whims of Israelis."

Heshmat reassures the West that the Brothers have often confirmed that they do not seek power and do not want to get a majority in parliament at the moment in order to provide space for all to participate in and establish a true civil state.