Egypt's constitutional test

Political analysts contend that these amendments to the consti- tution, as well as the widespread gross human rights violations in the form of torture and illegal detention of suspected Islamic militants, like those documented in Amnesty International's report of April 2007, had a lot to do with attempts by the NDP to undo the damage inflicted by the MB during the parliamentary elections of 2005. [...] Thousands of MB leaders have been arrested in recent years, including a member of Parliament and treasurer of the Egyptian Bar Association, members of regional engineers' syndicates, the secretary-general of the Engineers' Syndicate, the secretary-general of the Pharmacists' Syndicate, the secretaries-general of two regional medical syndicates in Cairo and Giza, and council members of other profes [...] Whether the government or the MB is responsible for the wave of Islamic fundamentalism sweeping across the country, one thing is unmistakably apparent: With increased Islamization of the country, Egypt is continuing to lose it hard-earned position as the intellectual and cultural hub of the Arab world and as one of Africa's pivotal states. [...] The current calm on the security front, which is largely due the limited tolerance of the MB by the state and a cease-fire between the government and one of the country's most influential militant Islamic organiza- tions, Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya, is unlikely to last indefinitely. [...] Its decision in February 2006 to postpone municipal elections for two years and the recent passing of constitutional amendments that curtail the chances of Islamists, and those of the MB in particular, to secure political legitimacy are widely regarded by opposition groups in the country as calculated moves by the ruling party to contain the strength of the Muslim Brotherhood following its success