Despite their pledge not to seek top office, the Muslim Brotherhood recently nominated their chief strategist and financier Khairat el-Shater as candidate for Egypt's first president since Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest political opposition organization that was outlawed until recently, has such a large grassroots following that Shater immediately became the front runner in the race. Shater is a multimillionaire business tycoon who was recently an imprisoned political prisoner. If Shater does win the election, the Muslim Brotherhood will gain control of the presidency, the Parliament, and the committee writing the new constitution (Kirkpatrick). .
"We decided that Egypt now needs a candidate from us to bear this responsibility," said Mohamed el Morsi, president of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. "We have no desire at all to monopolize power" (Kirkpatrick). .
Mahmoud Hussein, the Brotherhood's secretary-general, agreed, "We affirm that the Muslim Brotherhood does not seek power in order to reach a position or to achieve wealth or status, but seeks to fulfill the purpose it was created and worked for in the past year, which is satisfying God" (Hassieb). .
The Brotherhood's announcement is sure to cause an uproar for Egyptian liberals and the temporarily ruling, military-led government. The Brotherhood has already called for the existing government to be abolished. They also vowed not to nominate a candidate in fear that they will gain too large a share of the power. By going back on their word, many critics and even members themselves said their credibility will begin to diminish (Kirkpatrick).
Shater is a conservative but a pragmatist that advocates tolerance and democracy, free trade, and open markets. He was also a strong voice in guiding the Brotherhood through its peace agreement with Israel. Although most Egyptians are satisfied with these measures, they disagree with Shater's argument for an explicitly Islamic government because they believe that democracy could be sacrificed.
