#beltagy

[akio]

Where the Brotherhood sings about martyrdom and the caliph, their jihadi cousins have, and will continue to commit to action. All the while, Salafists will inject Egypt’s public space with a Saudi form of rigid, outdated, and intolerant Islam.

Ed Husain, Council on Foreign Relations, The rise of intolerant Salafists in Egypt – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs

[akio]

So far, the powerful Muslim Brotherhood has declined to join the Tahrir protests, though some individual members are participating. Their reluctance is believed to be because of worries the demands for the military's exit will lead to a postponement of parliament elections, in which the group is expected to make a powerful showing. Some of the secular protesters in Tahrir are worried the vote will give too much power to the fundamentalist group.

Monday afternoon, a prominent Brotherhood figure, Mohammed el-Beltagy, visited the square and was met by heckling and volleys of thrown water bottles from protesters angry at the group's refusal to join.