An Egyptian soldier kisses a boy atop an army vehicle as they celebrate the news of the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who handed control of the country to the military, at night in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)When Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was driven from power early this year after decades of authoritarian control, Egyptians and others around the world hoped that a free nation and representative government would succeed Mubarak's harsh rule.
But that has yet to materialize, and it's looking more and more likely that Egypt will be ruled either by its powerful military or by the radical Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian generals seized power after Mubarak was ousted, though the people were promised major political reforms and democratization.
That hasn't happened, so there have been renewed protests in Egypt, calling for real change.
But not all the protesters are interested in a free nation. In fact, a huge recent demonstration in Cairo was in effect "commandeered" by the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Brotherhood's members made it clear they have no desire for anything but an Islamic nation.
The rally was supposed to show "unity," the Los Angeles Times reported. But unity was in short supply, and outnumbered secular protesters "watched from the sidelines" as tens of thousands of supporters of a Muslim government made their demands known.
"The people want an Islamic state," demonstrators chanted, and there were overwhelming calls to impose Shariah law throughout the country.
"Islamic, Islamic, we don't want it secular!" the crowd shouted.
The Los Angeles paper noted that besides the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been linked to terrorism, a group called Gamma al Islamiya -- which committed terrorist attacks in the 1980s and '90s -- has become "politically active," too.
We are still hopeful that liberty will flower in Egypt and in other oppressed Middle Eastern nations. But the signs so far are not encouraging.