Egypt Gets Muslim Brotherhood President

Tens of thousands of Egyptians spent the night in Tahrir Square on Sunday in a joyous celebration of Mohammed Morsi’s election to the presidency.

Morsi was declared the winner of Egypt’s first free presidential election in its modern history, following a tight race with Hosni Mubarak’s last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq. Morsi is also the first Islamist to be elected as head of state in the Arab world.

Morsi was the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, an increasingly powerful Islamist organization. The Trumpet has warned for almost two decades that radical Islamists would gain control of Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood faces a daunting struggle for power with the country’s still-dominant military rulers. The military took over after a popular uprising last year that led to Mubarak’s ouster. The military council has dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament, undercut the authority of the president and granted military police broad powers to detain civilians.

However, the Egyptian military is now facing intense pressure—both domestically and internationally—to yield its power to Egypt’s elected officials.

The power struggle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood may continue, but in the end, the Muslim Brotherhood will come out on top. For more detail on what the Muslim Brotherhood victory means for the future of Egypt, read our article “Egypt in Chaos.”