Reporting from Cairo —
Mohammed Sharaf Eldin and Ahmed Usama joined the Muslim Brotherhood as young men in the belief that the organization’s vision of political Islam was the way forward for Egypt.
But as they left their university years behind and settled into adulthood, they took slightly different paths. Eldin, 32, decided that the country’s largest opposition group was too constricting; Usama, 33, vowed to reform the movement from within.
Both believe in working with secular parties. They both talk of a need for compromise in politics. They are fully engaged with the West, and at the same time deeply pious. Together, they represent a new generation of Islamists who have branched out in the 21st century.
After the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, some observers have predicted that Islamists will try to turn Egypt into an Islamic state. Others say that a generation raised in a global economy and exposed to satellite television and the Internet will foster a proliferation of parties, Islamic and otherwise.
“We are seeing a new Egypt,” said Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. “The old descriptions will not apply. We will have more Islamic parties than just the Muslim Brotherhood. We will also have more liberal parties, and more national parties.”
Full Story: Egypt: Egypt sees a new breed of Islamists – latimes.com