There are few more articulate, dedicated, or courageous advocates of democracy in the Arab world than Egyptian Prof. Saad al-Din Ibrahim. For his troubles he was imprisoned by the Egyptian government from June of 2000 until March 2003 - when an Egyptian court found him innocent of the charges of "defaming Egypt." His Ibn Khaldun Center had, among other things, monitored Egypt's 1996 elections and proved that they were fraudulent. His arrest derailed efforts to monitor the next round and struck fear into Egypt's human rights activists. He is now free and has resumed his efforts.

In The Washington Post of Sunday, March 28 he calls for Arab democracy as the antidote for the Arab world's innumerable ills.

Far be it from me to quibble with this brave and accomplished man. But he mentions that the new Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood has joined the chorus in calling for constitutional and political reform. Despite Ibrahim's praise, this is not a positive development. Ibrahim describes the Muslim Brotherhood as the mother of all Islamic movements in the world. It would be more accurate to say that it is the father of Islamist terrorist groups worldwide. Its Supreme Guide, Mohammed Mahdi Othman 'Akef, when not calling for democracy, has some other interesting things to say. A MEMRI report on 'Akef is linked but here are just a few samples:

"I have a complete faith that Islam will invade Europe and America, because Islam has logic and a mission."

"[America] has no proof. They held no fair trial for those arrested on the charge of the September explosion. All they say is a list of names whom they claim bear the responsibility for the September events. If [the Americans] provided proof of the truth of their version, I would fight together with the Americans and join President Bush in this war."

"We have no relations with the U.S. It is a Satan that abuses the region, lacking all morality and law."

"In Israel, there should be no [differentiation between] a civilian and a member of the military. All are enemies of the Arab homeland and of Islam. They are occupiers and have no right to one handsbreadth of the land of Palestine"

You get the idea. In fairness to Ibrahim. I believe that he views the cause of democracy as so urgent that any allies (even nominal ones who would only subvert democracy when given the opportunity) are necessary. Also, I understand that Ibrahim had a difficult time in prison - he suffered several strokes - and that Muslim Brothers (who he knew from research he had conducted on Egypt's prisons) helped to care for him.

This does not lessen the importance of helping Egypt become a democracy - which should be a major priority because Egypt represents the critical mass economically, politically, and culturally in the Arab world. But it must be done with care. Algeria's civil war was sparked by elections that would have brought Islamists to power.

For my own thoughts on Egyptian democracy see my review of Tarek Heggy's Egyptian Political Essays.