The Egyptian government is clearly attempting to portray the current revolt as the work of the Muslim Brotherhood, in an attempt to retain Western support. ‘It’s me or the Islamists’, Mubarak is in effect telling Western leaders. It’s worth reflecting, therefore, on how successive Egyptian regimes, like so many in the Arab world, have relied on Islamists to restrain popular revolt:

Categories: Atheism & Religion, International • Tags: egypt, From Fatwa to Jihad, gilles kepel, islamism, kenan malik's books, muslim brotherhood, nasser, protests, secularism