Powerful Islamic movement sees leadership struggle

Yahoo.com ^ | 10/30/09 | Hadeel Al-shalchi, AP

[NRA2BFree]

CAIRO – The Middle East's most powerful Islamic political movement is undergoing a leadership struggle as young, more moderate activists try to push the Muslim Brotherhood to soften its fundamentalist ideology and become a more democratic force. The direction the Brotherhood takes could have wider implications. The group is the strongest opposition movement in Egypt, though officially banned.

Moreover, it is highly influential beyond Egypt's borders as the father of Islamic movements across the Arab and Muslim world — including the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Egypt's autocratic government has cracked down fiercely on the group, arresting many of its members and branding it a front for extremists. The United States has been reluctant to open up channels to the Brotherhood in deference to the government, a close Mideast ally.

[sheik yerbouty]

“Let the mayhem begin!”