And by and large they are regarded as harmless, more pious than political with some in the bien pensant slightly in thrall to them as moderate alternatives to violent extremists. The Guardian comment pages have provided leading Brotherhood thinkers with platforms.
Yet it is Merley's contention that what the Brotherhood actually do and say has also contributed to keeping young Muslims angry. I think he is right.
Here in Britain, we cheered on the Arab Spring, which has brought the Brotherhood's parent organisation in Egypt to power. Last year, the "Freedom and Justice" party created by the Brotherhood won the presidential election. We were told there was nothing to be fearful of because since al-Banna's day, the Brotherhood had embraced pluralism and democracy. As Khairat al-Shater, an influential Brotherhood strategist, put it: "We respect the rights of all religious and political groups."
Well, not quite. Since the Muslim Brotherhood came to power in Egypt, for example, they have rejected a draft UN declaration calling for an end to "all forms of violence against women". The Brotherhood say it "contradict(s) established principles of Islam" and "undermines Islamic ethics". It does so by "granting equal rights to adulterous wives", "full rights to file legal complaints against husbands", "allowing Muslim women to marry non-Muslims" and "cancelling the need for a husband's consent in matters like travel, work or use of contraceptives".
The government of President Mohamed Morsi has also prosecuted journalists and bloggers and he tried to introduce a decree preventing judicial review of his decisions. Greeted by outrage, Morsi replaced it with a new constitution, but it didn't protect freedom of expression and religion, or end military trials.
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