Egypt High Court Could Give Rise to New Islamic Dictator

Egypt’s streets remain relatively quiet after the nation’s highest court ruled on its election process.

The military court ruled on Thursday that the last prime minister to serve under Hosni Mubarak can stay in the presidential race. It also ruled that Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament should be dissolved, since a third of the body’s lawmakers were illegally elected.

The ruling overturns a law the parliament passed last month, which bans Mubarak-regime figures from running for office. This means that Ahmed Shafiq will be able to challenge Islamist Mohammed Morsi during the presidential runoff election this weekend.

Islamists, liberals and scholars have condemned the ruling as a military “coup.” The Islamists who dominate the parliament have so far refused to dissolve the legislature.

What the military and the court have done may actually backfire against them and actually give more power to the Islamists.

If the ruling is carried out, whoever wins the presidential race will take power without a sitting parliament to check his power. He will have considerable influence over the new parliamentary elections, and he will have no permanent constitution to define his powers or duties. It is possible that the 100-member constitutional assembly appointed by parliament could also be dissolved. Egypt’s new president could conceivably become an elected dictator.

This may be why the Egyptian streets are quiet. Egypt’s Islamists, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood, have the power to fill cities with demonstrators and activists. The fact that they are not using that power indicates that even though they have publicly condemned the ruling, they may be secretly welcoming it. If the Islamists can win the presidential election while the parliament and constitutional assembly are in disarray, they could gain enormous power.

Continue to watch the streets and polling stations of Egypt. The Trumpet still expects the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist factions to dominate the Egyptian government very soon.