Cairo: It operated from underground for decades, but not anymore. Now it is expected to be among the major players in Egyptian politics.
From a small apartment in Al Manial, one of Cairo's working-class neighbourhoods, with no sign on it, they used to work. It was not possible for them to declare their membership with a group that was legally banned for so long.
However, after the January 25 revolution, they are expected to be among the top winners in the first post-revolution elections.
"There are many major differences between the current elections and previous ones," said Mohammad Gozlan, an executive Bureau Member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Speaking from his office in a new multi-storey building with the motto of the brotherhood on top of it in Mukatam area, a hilltop overlooking Cairo, Gozlan added, "The general atmosphere has totally changed".
"We are living now an environment of freedom that differs from the past. The personal political mood of the people differs from the past. Previously, people wouldn't vote in elections because they knew there would be forgery, but they are voting now because they know their votes have value."
Unlike in the past when the now dissolved former ruling party, the National Democratic Party, dominated and was accused of election fraud, the current elections are being held under judicial supervision to ensure fairness.
In previous elections, those who voted didn't exceed six million, according to Gozlan. This year elections, conducted on three phases starting from this week until January, are expected to attract nearly 30 million out of 50 million eligible voters.
Because of the high turnout in this week's elections, the hours of voting were extended by two hours every day, and the first results are expected a day after the earlier schedule.
Top winners
Though Gozlan said it will be difficult to predict the number of seats the Brotherhood will win, all indications show that they will be among the top winners. Two-thirds of the 498 lower house seats will be allocated proportionally by party lists and a third will go to individuals.
All the Brotherhood candidates are running under the "Freedom and Justice Party", the political arm of the group which was established nearly 80 years ago in Egypt. But during most of those years it was banned under different presidents.
Many Egyptians are concerned by the emergence of the Brotherhood and other Salafists in this year's election because of fear that if they came to power they would ban alcohol and force women to cover their heads. However, senior Islamists dismissed such fears, accusing the former regime of Hosni Mubarak of "tarnishing their reputation" and spreading these fears.
In the past 20 years, "45,000 members of the brotherhood were jailed, and hundreds from the top leaders were put on trial in military courts and sentenced to long periods of time. I am one of those, and I spent nearly five years in jail," Gozlan said.
He acknowledged that the Brotherhood has gained experience from practising politics in the past 80 years, unlike the Salafists who were "oppressed for 30 years, and quit politics…they dealt only with each other, and their experience of dealing with others [almost] doesn't exist," Gozlan said.
Social services
Almost all the Islamist parties, in Egypt and other parts of the region, gained huge public support due to their charity work and social services. "This is a behaviour that was not created by the Brotherhood, but it originates from Islam, which tells me in the political field, you should guarantee freedom, justice and equality, and in the social field, you should guarantee freedom and justice, and take care of the weak and orphans. It is just a natural thing for all things to happen together," he added in reference to the way the Brotherhood operates.
Asked whether the coming years are going to be the golden age for Islamists in the region, especially after they won in both Tunisia and Morocco, and their expected leading role in Egypt, Gozlan said, "The whole region by nature is an Islamic region."
He added that previous regimes of other ideologies have failed, including capitalism and socialism and people have suffered under dictatorships. "Now, all are looking for a system that ... offers freedom, social justice and peace during lifetime and after," Gozlan said.
