Egyptions Vote To Accept Changes to their Constitution

[Sheilbh]

And in any case, while there is always a risk the Muslim Brotherhood may be lying through their teeth, the fact that they make an effort to appear harmless and pluralistic is at least a sign that Egyptian people are not sold on an islamist republic. Plus, from what I read, the younger echelons of the brotherhood are far from being fanatical, and in fact are clamoring for the brotherhood to adopt a more democratic programme in the first place (making them not unlike a "Christian" party in the Eastern Europe).

I think the younger 'moderate' Islamists have formed their own party.  But I believe there is a split between the older leaders and the new generation, though not necessarily ideological.  Basically the younger ones think that, like so many other parts of Egyptian society, the Brotherhood ossified a great deal in the Mubarak era and they want a bit of dynamism.

My understanding of the Brotherhood is that they're largely split between people who want to focus on it as a religious movement - which is how it was founded - and there are politicians and that they're not entirely comfortable with one another.  They've emphasised something of a moderate face in recent years and they're not Qutbists or Khomeinists, though they're still a group I'd oppose I don't think they're necessarily a giant worry.  Not least because I think good hard-line revolutionaries need something of the element of surprise which I don't think the Brotherhood can have, given that they're the oldest political party in Egypt (unless you count the Wafd, I think) and they're very well-known in Egypt.