Assessing the MB: from Jadaliyyah

Comrade Bassam: "In the view of many reasonable people, including otherwise sympathetic onlookers, the Brotherhood appears like a walking political and economic disaster. Thanks to Morsi’s tenure, this stance is much less controversial now. There is much evidence for this incompetence, but the group is not where true power in Egypt lies. Designating the Brotherhood as the ultimate culprit is both immoral and analytically wrong.  It is also a recipe for inviting the real culprits* with real power to rule with impunity or to invite civil war *(i.e., army, coercive apparatuses, their fuloul and business partners, and their external supporters and relations/agreements). More importantly, the precedent that was set this past month in terms of use of force is itself a liability for any notion of “popular revolution,” under different circumstances.  This is not to ignore the dehumanizing voices of the Brotherhood and the reactionary views often held and propagated against those not of the same ilk. However, those who can exterminate the other are usually the ones to watch for. You can incite people to be intolerant and to burn churches. However, given the power imbalances, the incitement of a security state backed by a popular movement is more structurally lethal."