Gaza: Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Zahar spoke to Gulf News in a frank interview and said that people should not be afraid of governments led by Islamist parties.
He said often times Islamic groups get a bad reputation due to some political players who do not wish to see them succeed and taint the group's image by making people fear Muslim movements.
What do you think of the demonstrations in Tahrir?
Those who refuse the elections being held on time and demonstrate in Tahrir square, have tried to prevent the elections from happening because they are quite sure they won't be nominated by the majority of the Egyptian people.
What are the chances for the Muslim Brotherhood winning the elections?
There are many parties competing against each other in Egypt but the people of Egypt will elect the most organised and the one with the clearest electoral programme. The Egyptians will elect their parliament members according to the announced electoral programme and the Egyptians in general agree with the Islamic movement programme.
I believe the movement will win the elections since it's natural for a Muslim country like Egypt to choose an Islamic party with a clear programme like the Muslim Brotherhood after years of struggling against the previous regime for freedom and social equalities.
The movement won the elections in Tunis and is now expected to win in Egypt, for how long will this remain?
The Muslim Brotherhood will keep on ruling from the Tunisia to Gaza as long as the movement fulfils their promises to the people who not only trusted but voted for them as well.
Some says it's a one time democracy if the Muslim Brotherhood wins the elections. Is that true?
People should not fear Islamic parties. Others always try to distort the image of the Muslim Brotherhood and instil fear into their hearts.
How would the West deal with the Egyptian government if the Muslim Brotherhood won the elections?
I think the West will try to instigate problems with an Islamist-led Egyptian government just as they did when Hamas was elected by the Palestinians in 2006. However, Tunisia and Egypt are sovereign countries and the West has no choice but to accept results and deal with the new leadership.
What do you think is the position of Israel?
Israel is the biggest loser in the Arab Spring movement. They lost their main allies in the region. Israel is scrambling to deal with all the changes in the region, particularly Egypt.
But the Muslim Brotherhood announced that they will keep the treaty with Israel just as it is. The Muslim Brotherhood does not support the treaty but unfortunately breaking the treaty would result in losing billions of dollars of US aid. I think the people will put pressure on the government to break the treaty or at least change some of the conditions.
