Muslim Brotherhood Gets Active

First of all, in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is making a noise about the involvement of the military vis-à-vis the writing of a new constitution.  Secondly, the same organization is getting busy with the provision of free meals to the poor each night for the month of Ramadan. It used to be – in the latter case – that these meals were provided by the bigwigs from the National Democratic Party led by Mubarak, but that party probably has quite a bit too much to contend with at the moment without worrying about meal provision.

Brotherhood Challenges Council

When the Muslim Brotherhood told the military council to butt out, it was an unprecedented move since the ousting of Mubarak six months ago.  According to a Yahoo news article, it came after a government official claimed “the military council will soon set out certain principles outlining who is eligible to draft a new constitution.”  There is also concern that the military wants to “enshrine a political role for itself in the constitution.”

Getting Involved in Street Activities

Perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood has an ulterior motive with regards to its involvement in the meal organization for Ramadan as well.  According to an article in the Oman Observer, a member of Kefaya, the protest group, Ahmed Baha Eddin Shabaan said that the organization along with the “Salfists [ultra-conservative Muslims] are organizing Iftar banquets to court the people ahead of the coming elections later this year.”  He finds such banquets to be an “affront to the Egyptians’ dignity.”

So, it looks like the Muslim Brotherhood has its work cut out for it.  The organization is definitely showing itself as a vociferous force to be reckoned with in recent weeks and only time will tell how its activities will play out in the near future in the Islamic political world.