Walking through the streets of downtown Cairo and Tahrir Square almost everyday, one could have never imagined that this would be the place that would once witness a revolution that will bring down a 30-year old regime that was once seen as one of the strongest and perhaps the most repressive in the Arab region. Sparked by the aspiration to end a 30-year rule that vigorously repressed freedom of expression and opposition while still calling itself “democratic,” January 25, 2011 came to mark the day in Egypt’s modern history that opened the door for freedom and democracy in Egypt. None of the protesters that went down on the street held a single religious slogan, such as the Muslim Brotherhood’s most renowned slogan “Islam is the Solution.” Slogans mainly focused on calling for socio-economic rights and most importantly political reform that was seen as the necessary precondition for the realization of the long-denied human rights in the country.

Banned since 1954 after being accused of plotting a failed assassination attempt against President Abdel Nasser, the Muslim Brotherhood – the oldest and largest Islamic group in Egypt – has been operating underground for over 50 years. Established by Hassan Al-Banna in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood first started off as a social group calling for the preservation of Islamic morals and teachings, but slowly started to be involved in politics especially in the fight against British colonialism in Egypt. As the movement started to gain momentum in the 1940s it soon was accused of engaging in bombing and assassination campaigns across the nation that in 1948 resulted in the group being officially dissolved, especially after being accused of the assassination of then Prime Minister Mahmoud Al-Nuqrashi.

Throughout the years, the group has both been oppressed and used in the political game under the successive political regimes. This forced them to continue working and growing underground, especially among the youth and the poor. Under the religious slogan “Islam is the Solution” the Brotherhood attracted a large spectrum of the society and was believed to have become the largest, strongest and most organized opposition group in Egypt under Mubarak. Given that it has always been operating underground no one was ever able to actually see how large this ever-growing political force has become. Unlike all initial speculations, it was reported that the Brotherhood was not behind the initiation of protests throughout the country and has in fact only joined the protesters as the demonstrations started to gain momentum and achieve results.

With the fall of Mubarak’s regime, all has changed for the Brotherhood: for the first time in over 50 years it is no longer banned, won legality to “play” politics and is now even allowed to form a political party that they came to call “Freedom and Justice” – fulfilling an aspiration that the Brotherhood had for decades. Unlike what most would expect from the Brotherhood, the party is open for men, women, Muslims as well as Christians, as recently declared by Brotherhood media representative Saad Al-Katatni. Mohammed Al-Beltagi, a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, further declared that it has “no ambition to run for presidency, or posts in a coalition government.” In fact, as indicated by Al-Katatni, the Brotherhood mainly aims to fulfil the ambitions of the Egyptian people in democracy and freedom. This stands in an obvious contradiction with the group’s draft political platform published in 2007, which raised controversies when it called for the establishment of a “Supreme Ulama Council” – a council of religious scholars – set up to approve all laws passed by Egypt’s civilian institutions and prohibited Christians and women from running for the office of president or prime minister in the country.

During the revolution the people have clearly confirmed their interest in establishing a civic state that is free from any religious or military tendencies and the Brotherhood seems to be “reinventing” itself to fit with people’s ambitions thus putting its slogan “Islam is the Solution” at least temporarily to sleep. Egyptian experts sketch a scenario of a shift towards establishing a parliamentary system of government with limited presidential powers. With the Brotherhood’s interest to run for parliament and make it their main playground to enter the political arena, there are legitimate worries and fears among intellectuals and liberals that the Brotherhood will end up riding the wave, exploiting the revolution and eventually taking over, especially in light of their recent announcement that “they won’t separate between religion and politics.”

Among all existing political parties that have been weakened throughout the years by a political regime that left almost no room for opposition, the Brotherhood as a political force stands as the strongest and most organized. Thus the chance for it to win a majority in parliament should not be underestimated, which would raise the question of whether the hopes for democracy, human rights and equality would truly be realized. Would this mean replacing one dictator with another that categorizes and denies the rights of minorities and women in the name of Islam thus becoming another Iran or Saudi Arabia?

This is the time in Egypt’s history when religion and politics should go their separate way; a time when Islam is certainly not the solution.