Summary
Edward Stourton asks if the Egyptian revolution spells the end of old-style Islamism. As groups like the Muslim Brotherhood embrace democracy, how will they - and Egypt - change?
The overthrow of Hosni Mubarak has been described as the Middle East's first "post-Islamic" revolution: there were no religious slogans or chanting in Tahrir Square and the protestors we saw on television were largely young, seemingly secular liberals. But Islam is likely to play a major role in the development of post-revolution Egypt, with the Muslim Brotherhood the biggest and best organised political force in the country.
Edward Stourton asks what kind of society Egypt's Islamists want to create and explores how they are changing as they form political parties and prepare to contest their first fully democratic elections.
Transcript
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| 0:46.4 | This week in analysis Edward Stirtan asks if the Egyptian revolution |
| 0:51.4 | spells the end of old-style Islamism. The biggest surprise of the demonstrations that brought down Hosni Mubarak in Egypt |
| 1:05.8 | was that they happened at all. The second biggest surprise, to outside us anyway, |
| 1:10.5 | was their apparently secular character. |
| 1:13.0 | There was no Islamist slogans during the demonstration. |
| 1:17.0 | They didn't say anything about Islam, about an Islamic state, |
| 1:20.0 | about an Islamic revolution, about Sharia and so. And by the way there was nothing really |
| 1:25.9 | religious in the demonstrations. Professor Olivier Gua is one of the world's leading experts on |
| 1:31.2 | political Islam. Fear of political Islam or Islamism |
| 1:35.0 | has cast a shadow over Western foreign policy since the Iranian Revolution more than three |
| 1:39.9 | decades ago. The attacks of 9-11 made it the dominant factor in American foreign policy and |
| 1:46.2 | over the past 10 years it's loomed increasingly large in our own domestic policies too. |
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