ND ReSource: Opposition to Mubarek is story of election | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › ND ReSource: Opposition to Mubarek is story of election ND ReSource: Opposition to Mubarek is story of election Published: September 07, 2005 Author: Matthew V. Storin It was always presumed that Hosni Mubarak would easily win reelection as the president ofEgyptin Wednesdays polling, an election that the Bush administration has praised as a first step toward democracy. But thefar more significant outcome of the election is that over the last year a strong and significant opposition movement against Mubarak went public, according to Geneive Abdo, a fellow in the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.Abdo is the author of “No God But God:Egyptand the Triumph of Islam” (Oxford University Press, 2000) Moderate Islamic activists are the backbone of this campaign,she said. For the first time since the 1970s, thousands of Egyptians of all political and religious persuasions joined forces in street protests demanding political reform and an end to the regime. While a fractured opposition had operated behind the scenes for many years, the election inspired secularists, leftists, and Islamists to take the unprecedented step of coordinating their campaign against Mubaraks predictable re-election. Abdo added:The demonstrations that gathered the most protestors were those organized by theMuslim Brotherhood and supporters of an Islamic group that split from the Brotherhood, called al Wasat, Arabic for the ‘centerThe protests are significant because they illustrate the power of Islamic leaders to mobilize tens of thousands of Egyptians who are usually too terrified to confront zealous riot police. Demonstrations inEgyptare officially banned, according to emergency law that has been in effect shortly after Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. In the past, the Brotherhood and activists in al Wasat never confronted the regime directly. But now the Islamists have a strategy. The Sept. 7 presidential poll is but a dress rehearsal for parliamentary elections scheduled for November — polls in which the Islamists are likely to show their widespread popular support. * Media contact: * Geneive Abdo, John B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, 574-631-6970. TopicID: 13162 Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn