On September 13, the independent Al-Khaleej daily carried the following report: “The events and repercussions of last Friday (9-9-2011), which was dubbed the “Friday of the Course Correction,” placed the Muslim Brothers group in Egypt along with their party, the Freedom and Justice Party, in a double impasse in front of the other political forces, namely the civil forces. The [MB group] refused to take part in the massive protest of that Friday, which aimed at defending the revolution and its principles and dealing with the defects of the cabinet performance especially when it comes to the security situation and fears from possible deviations in the trial of former President Honsi Mubarak and the members of his regime… 

“The success of the Course Correction massive protest on Friday, and the flooding of the Tahrir Square with political forces calling for a civil state, and the absence of MBs and other Islamic forces such as the Salafis are all factors that represented a challenge to the Brothers and to the restoration of the political balance… On the Friday of the Course Correction, two important messages were sent. One was sent to the Brothers and the rest of the Islamic groups who failed to take part in the massive protests. And the other message was sent to the higher council of the armed forces… The slogans of that Friday stressed on these two messages… During the protest, some demonstrators shouted some slogans such as: “Down with the military rule,” and the “military rule is wrong…” and “no military and no brothers…”

“The amassment of hundreds of thousands in Tahrir Square constituted a challenge to the Brothers. The demands of the political forces during that Friday increased the Brothers’ embarrassment… The Brothers lost a lot because of their absence from this massive protest, which highlighted two things: first, that the political forces are capable of gathering massive popular groups without being affected by the absence of the Brothers and other Islamic groups; and second, that the Brothers are ready to sacrifice their principles in order to obtain gains. The losses grew even larger as large numbers of MB youth and Islamists joined this massive protest in defiance of the MB group and the Freedom and Justice Party…

“The second impasse that the Brothers are now facing concerns the way that they will employ to deal with the new problematic situation produced by the repercussions of the Course Correction Friday, especially the repercussions of the raiding of the Israeli embassy and the attack against the Al-Giza security directorate and the ministry of interior…

“What will the Brothers do regarding all this? The Brothers only have two, very embarrassing options. They can either side with the new security policies and positions and stage a coup against the revolution…or side with the revolution and thus lose all the rapprochement efforts with the new Authority and the higher council of the armed forces. Both options are difficult for the Brothers and their political projects. Their choices are so far unclear and hard to understand…and this is the nature of their difficult impasse.» – Al-Khaleej, United Arab Emirates

On September 13, the independent Al-Masry al-Yawm daily carried the following report: “Well informed sources revealed that heavy disputes have occurred between the members of the military council and the Muslim Brothers group in the past few days because of the clinging of the military council to a [specific structure] for the founding committee for the preparation of the constitution. The committee is to be formed following the elections of the people’s council and the Shura council by members who do not belong to the parliament. However, the Muslim Brotherhood group is adamant on the selection of a large number of MPs to be included within the committee. 

“The sources told Al-Masry al-Yawm that Dr. Ali al-Silmi, the Vice Prime Minister for political development affairs and democratic dialogue, has interfered in order to induce a rapprochement of the points of view between the two sides. He suggested that the committee includes an up to 50% quota of MPs from the elected Shura and People’s council MPs. However, no agreement has been so far reached on this suggestion between the two sides because Al-Silmi suffered a health problem that necessitated his transfer to the Wadi al-Nil hospital for an emergency surgery.

“The negotiations between the military council and the Muslim Brothers group, which is represented by the Freedom and Justice Party, had witnessed a difference in the visions during the past phase over the “announcement of the constitutional principles,” and the law of the “electoral departments,” and the formation of the founding committee for the preparation of the constitution recently. The military council is keen on reaching an agreement on the formation of this committee with the political forces that can affect the elections in order to guarantee the passing of a balanced constitution representing the majority of the Egyptians regardless of the elections’ results. Therefore, the military council suggested that all the committee’s members should come from outside the two councils [the people and the Shura councils]. However, the Muslim Brotherhood group was not pleased with this suggestion and it is insisting on the presence of its MPs within the founding committee.

“Clause 60 of the constitutional announcement had failed to define the identity of the members of the founding committee. It only specified the number of members, which should amount to 100 members. It also indicated that “all the members, who are not part of the People’s and the Shura council, must hold a joint meeting in response to the call of the higher council of the armed forces within the six months following their election. The aim is to elect a founding committee of 100 members in order to prepare for a new constitution for the party within six months following the date of the committee formation. Fifteen days after its preparation, the bill must be presented to the people and a referendum must be held. The constitution comes into force after the announcement of the people’s acceptance during the referendum.” – Al-Masry al-Yawm, Egypt