CAIRO: Detained blogger Magdy Saad has been released and is now at his home, says Muslim Brotherhood blogger Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud.
Saad, a Muslim Brotherhood blogger, was detained last Wednesday at Cairo International Airport along with fellow Brotherhood member Abdel Rahman Ayyash. The two were returning from a conference in Turkey when they were detained by State Security, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information.
Ayyash is reportedly still being held by Security Services, says Mahmoud.
Another Islamist blogger, Ahmed Abu Khalil, was also arrested last week after security forces apprehended him at his home. There is no news of his whereabouts.
The reason for the bloggers’ arrest is still unknown.
“The trend seems to be that, rather than picking on the most widely-read bloggers – whose arrests, like Wael Abbas’ routine interrogations in airports or the incarceration of Alaa Abdel Fattah and other power-bloggers, are always widely publicized, criticized, and more importantly, internationalized – the harassment is reaching the smaller independent thinkers, in a clear attempt to intimidate everyone, says blogger Mohamed of the blog the Traveller Within.
He adds, “If they’re willing to arrest Ayyash and Saad, they’re willing to arrest anyone!
But the impact of the recent crackdown extends beyond the blogosphere.
The past few weeks have seen the arrest of nine Muslim Brotherhood members on charges of belonging to an illegal group, terrorism, and money laundering. Notice of these arrests has not been confined to the local scene.
Instead, it has garnered attention from Middle East analysts internationally.
According to analyst Marc Lynch in a recent article published by American magazine Foreign Policy, detention of the bloggers “is part of a wider crackdown which has directly targeted the most moderate and pragmatic figures within the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
Among those arrested is Abdel-Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Executive Bureau. Fotouh is widely regarded to be one of the leading moderates within the organization.
Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood has long played a large role in Egypt, both socially and politically. Recent years have seen the growing influence of the organization in parliament, rivaling the president’s National Democratic Party. The Brotherhood has also earned the reputation of being Egypt’s most formidable opposition bloc, in regards to representation in parliament as well as overall popular support.
As Egypt speculates change in the coming years, moderates and reformists within the group have become increasingly popular.
“Moderates are effective in attracting young people, says blogger and journalist Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud of the blog Ana Ikhwan (I am a Brotherhood). “Egyptians by nature are religious, and they like the moderate version of Islam rather than the extreme one.
“The crackdown on the moderates is because the government assumes they pose a greater threat than the radicals or the ancient leadership, says Michael Dunn, editor of the Middle East Journal. “The young, more open and tech-savvy types are more likely to make the Brotherhood relevant to the 21st century.
According to Khalil Al-Anani, an expert on political Islam and deputy editor of El-Syasa El-Dawlia journal, “the regime wants to give the conservatives within the Muslim Brotherhood the upper hand.
Al-Anani says that keeping control of the organization in the hands of the conservatives and old party members would weaken the organization’s widespread appeal, essentially isolating what is currently a very popular group.
In contrast to the relatively unpopular, more conservative members of the Brotherhood, Al-Anani believes that “the reformists have a strong relationship with the general public as well as political parties.
Mahmoud agrees, “Extremists and conservatives are easier to attack than moderates, because we already have this negative image of them.
According to Mahmoud, the Muslim Brotherhood bloggers in particular play a large role in both attracting support as well as promoting reform. Though the Muslim Brotherhood bloggers are not large in numbers, they are very effective, he says.
The bloggers have a large readership within the Muslim Brotherhood, with many members turning to blogs for answers, says Mahmoud. Additionally, young bloggers within the organization are receiving a lot of attention from the West, with scholars and analysts contacting them for inside information on the Muslim Brotherhood.
The crackdown comes at a time when Egypt is rife with rumors related to a possible deal between the Egyptian government and the Muslim Brotherhood. Independent daily Al-Shorouk speculated in a report this week that the deal related to an end of a government crackdown on the Brotherhood – on the condition that the organization minimizes its participation in the political scene. Officials from the Muslim Brotherhood were quick to deny the allegations.
Mahmoud believes that this increased activity against the Brotherhood comes at a sensitive time for the government.
“The regime is in a transition period, so it’s more scared of its adversaries than at any other time, he says.
“Why now? asks Dunn. “I’m not sure. Maybe the rumors about possible dissoluton of the People’s Assembly and new elections could have something to do with it, if those are more than rumors. Or speculation that Mubarak might somehow leave office early.
