Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of two commentary articles written by members of the opposition to the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. This article is written by Ibrahim El-Houdaiby, a member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The second installment will be penned by a member of the secular wing of the Egyptian opposition. CAIRO, Egypt -- The latest escalation by the Egyptian regime against the Muslim Brotherhood has been widely portrayed as a conflict between a "secular" government and a religious-Islamist opposition. This is hardly the case. It is rather part of a larger conflict between an authoritarian, tyrannical regime and a pro-reform opposition. Labeling the Egyptian regime as "secular" gives it unwarranted credit. In fact, the regime is neither secular nor Islamist. It is not liberal, conservative, or socialist for that matter. The only term that could accurately describe the Egyptian regime is "authoritarian."
Egypt’s Two-Faced Regime: Not Secular, Not Islamic, Authoritarian
