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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Egypt fears Muslim Brotherhood may follow Hamas example

CAIRO — The government has been concerned over how the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip would affect the Islamic opposition in Egypt.

Officials and government-sponsored analysts have expressed concern that the Hamas victory would encourage the Islamic opposition to develop military capabilities in an effort to overthrow the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. They said the Interior Ministry has already been examining options against the Muslim Brotherhood, the sponsor of Hamas and the largest opposition group in Egypt.

"The Hamas military victory in Gaza is not what Egypt wanted," a senior official said. "It makes everything more dangerous."

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The officials said Mubarak has assessed that the Hamas takeover would halt the prospect of a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. They said Cairo regarded the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip as a victory for Iran and Syria.

"In Egypt, there are those seeking to reproduce what Hamas did in the Gaza Strip," Tariq Hassan, a columnist for the Egyptian state-owned daily Al Ahram said. "For anyone who has the slightest doubt about this and wants proof, it is enough to consider statements by Brotherhood representatives in parliament."

Hassan said the Hamas victory marked a setback for any Arab country that sought peaceful relations with Israel. The Egyptian analyst said the opposition has compared Cairo to the Palestinian Authority and the Brotherhood to Hamas.

"The Brotherhood holds the same positions and uses the same ideas and statements with which Hamas conducted a coup against the [legitimate] government, and through which it declared the Gaza Strip a rebel region under its rule," Hassan said.

In April, the Brotherhood began training young men for what officials asserted was a militia. Egyptian authorities arrested more than 30 people after Islamic students held a military-style parade at Al Azhar University that featured the green flag of Hamas.

"For the first time, the Egyptians felt fear when they saw the Al Azhar University students conducting combat displays with the same methods as Hamas, and in the same clothes, with the same slogans and means," Karam Gabar, chairman of the Egyptian government weekly Ruz Al Yusef, wrote. "The public felt the danger growing under its skin, flowing in its blood, and touching its nerves — a real danger flowing from the depths, and not something imported from abroad."

Mohammed Al Ibrahim, editor of the state-owned daily Al Gomhouriya, said Hamas comprised the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood. Al Ibrahim said the Brotherhood was guiding Islamic insurgency groups throughout the world.

"It is possible that Hamas will receive orders from Iran and fulfill them, and then it will drag the region into a destructive total war," Al Ibrahim said. "It is also possible that Teheran will convince Hamas leaders to repeat Hizbullah's experience."

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