In the wake of president Hosni Mubarak's ouster last February, the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political arm, has claimed the lead in the final stage of parliamentary elections after leading throughout.
Liberal and secular opposition parties have fared poorly.
"It's clear that they (the Brotherhood) are now the only game in town," and US officials must talk to them, said Marina Ottaway, who heads the Middle East program in Washington for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Even before the elections began, the United States knew it had to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood, the best organized political movement in an Egypt which is no longer dominated by Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said before the polls that the United States had pursued "limited contacts" with the Brotherhood as Washington was "re-engaging in" a six-year-old policy in light of Egypt's political changes.
Ottaway said president George W. Bush's administration stopped talking about its Freedom Agenda of democracy promotion after candidates backed by the Brotherhood gained 20 percent of parliamentary seats in the 2005 election.
The administration, she told AFP, "essentially bought Mubārak's line" that the Brotherhood and its links to Islamist militants were a threat to Egypt's and the region's stability, even though it had renounced violence decades ago.
The most populous Arab country, Egypt has been the lynchpin of US policy in the Middle East since 1979 when it became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Ahrām, Jan. 9, p.3] Read original text in Arabic
Ihāb 'Ādil Ramzī, a Copt who won an individual seat in the People's Assembly elections on the list of the Freedom Party in the first constituency North of al-Minya, denied that his victory was helped by only Coptic votes or that the church has contributed to his win.
"Coptic votes alone would not be enough to help a candidate make it to parliament, particularly in light of the split in Coptic and liberal votes," said Ramzī, the first Coptic member of parliament in the Upper Egyptian governorate of al-Minya, in statements to al-Misrī al-Yawm.
He added that he joined list of a fledgling party in order to avoid "playing on sectarian chords," noting that he won with Muslims' votes before the Copts'. [Teresa Kamāl, al-Misrī al-Yawm, Jan. 9, p. 7] Read original text in Arabic
Dr. Moná Makram 'Ubayd, a professor of political science, said there have been changes for Copts since the January 25 revolution like the Copts' first ever intensive participation in politics after a long period of isolation.
"The other positive thing for Copts is that they now can protest outside government institutions, which has never been the case in the past," said 'Ubayd in an interview with Dream 1 Channel's Sabāhik Yā Masr talk show. ['Ādil Ismā'īl, al-Akhbār, Jan. 9, p. 5] Read original text in Arabic
Meanwhile, the Maspero Youth Union objected the excesses that took place during the Coptic Orthodox Christmas at Saint Mark Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-'Abbāssīyah, criticizing the reactions by the cathedral's security personnel against young Copts who objected to Pope Shenouda III's welcoming of the members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) during the Mass.
"The use of violence against activists after they chanted slogans against (SCAF Chairman) Field Marshal (Muhammad Husayn) Tantāwī, during the mass is unacceptable and we will never remain silent over the cathedral security men's violations," said the Union in its social networking Facebook page. [Monica 'Ayyād, al-Wafd, Jan. 9, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
On the other hand, a number of representatives of movements and parties on Sunday (January 8) to set up a national accordance committee to prepare a joint working paper regarding a mechanism to elect a constituent panel to draft a constitution. [Mustafá 'Abīdū, al-Jumhūrīyah, Jan. 9, p. 2] Read original text in Arabic
