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The Enduring Egypt-Iran Divide

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Mehdi Khalaji - Islamists in Iran and Egypt share anti-Israel sentiment and support Hamas against the secular-nationalist Fatah. Committed to governance under Sharia (Islamic law), they both view Western culture as a threat. But despite these ideological affinities, political disagreements make a rapprochement unlikely. The Muslim Brotherhood believes it should assume a leadership role for all Islamist groups and states, while Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei describes himself as the "leader of the Islamic world." Moreover, the Sunni-Shia divide could pose a major challenge for Egypt-Iran relations, as the Muslim Brotherhood works to strengthen ties with Sunni allies. In fact, since Mubarak's ouster, anti-Shia propaganda has gained traction in the Egyptian public sphere, with books alleging Shia corruption of Islam's true meaning filling the shelves of Cairo's bookstores. Before the revolution, Egypt was considered one of the most Shia-friendly Sunni countries in the Arab world. But the Muslim Brotherhood remains financially dependent on the Gulf monarchies, which are using Egypt as a platform for their anti-Shia, anti-Iran agenda. The most urgent dispute between Iran and Egypt relates to Syria. As a result of Iran's support for the brutal, repressive policies of the Assad regime, Islamists in Egypt are beginning to view Iran as a status quo power, not an agent of revolutionary change. The writer is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute.
2013-01-08 00:00:00
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