The MB like the Islamic thugs in Iran and Lebanon are just more organised and violent

Show me at least one..... Do not be foolish If the Egypt Army do not take control , the MB will.

What would happen if one day a group like the Muslim Brotherhood were elected and they decided not to honor the 1979 treaty and we went to war? What would happen if an anti western government came along and closed the Suez Canal which is so important to trade for the entire world? What would happen if the palestinian majority in Jordan tried to topple the king? In 1970 the PLO tried to topple King Hussain the result was the death of 10,000 palestinians. Assuming they did topple him what if the palestinian government decided to go to war with Israel using the army. In Syria the only opposition to Assad is the Muslim Brotherhood and Syria is so close to Iran already so it wouldn't be hard for an Iranian islamist government to take control. So what happens if the new islamist government allowed Iran to place tanks & jets on the border with Israel? What if the Saudi royals were toppled and an government thats more hostile to the west decided to not sell oil to certain countries? The world is so dependent on arab oil it would lead to global economic meltdown. Right now we have a very pro west royal family who make sure the oil flows and they spend billions on western products. It took the Europeans centuries of trial and error to get democracy right. The arabs have never had democracy and its a region full of religious crazies but at the same time the arab world is essential to the global economy. All these dictators and royals who have been topped up by the west have provided stability. Better for the world to have stability in such an unstable region than have democracy and the unknown. Don't forget Hitler was elected democratically. The world needs these revolutions to stop because when you have so many in such a short space of time somebody is going to get it wrong and we risk a war.

Please clarify why you are so sure that MB will take Egypt over. Do you have a crystal ball or is this just a " feeling"? Plesase give us some solid thinking here.

Egypt is having a group overthrow their government and this is somehow democracy? The rioters have burn, pillaged, raped and murdered people and you believe that somehow, someway democracy will spring forth? What in the world are you smoking? This is not any sort of democratic movement. Nor will any Arab country suddenly become democratic. To do so would require them to remove Sharia as their guiding law, since it denies most rights to all non-Muslims and every restricts the rights of Muslims. No you have a very very long wait, at least several centuries before any form of democracy can begin in the Arab world.

Democracy and freedom are seen as Western decadence. These principles are the primary reason Islam is at war with the west. No amount of wishful thinking will change that.

... you are incredibly wrong. Arab countries are simply not conducive to democracy. The Arabs have no history of it, no knowledge of it, no experience of it and, I believe, no desire for it. To suggest that Israel would benefit from the flash fire burning through the Arab world is simply ludicrous. The growing trend in all Arab countries is a fundamentalist brand of Islam; one which seeks to fulfill a jihadist philosophy. When people have very little or nothing and live in repressive societies, they turn to religion. It comforts them to think of a hereafter which will be more pleasant than their present existences. That is why there is no dissent in Saudi Arabia, or the Emirates or the Persian Gulf states. Their citizens are wealthy. Whatever "guest workers" they have tend to come from the Philippines, and they tiptoe very carefully because being a non-Arab or a non-Moslem in certain countries can be a very dangerous thing. It is absurd to think that the Moslem Brotherhood -- with an extremely strong presence in Egypt -- will not insinuate itself into any future Egyptian government. And any future Egyptian government will be anything but democratic. The only question really is whether it will be a military dictatorship (the Moslem Brotherhood is well-represented in the Egyptian Armed Forces) or a pretend populist such as El Baradei (a Moslem Brotherhood puppet). Israel would be well-advised to prepare for all hell to break loose in Egypt should Mubarak indeed resign tonight, and to prepare to act pre-emptively should the need arise. Egypt is the furthest thing from stable, and it is necessarily the greatest threat to Israel at the moment.

Gaza democracy did incredibly well for Israel.

I hope Duek is right about democracy coming to Egypt. However, since the Muslim Brotherhood is the most organized and the most brutal, the chances of them taking over is very high. A small minority that is highly centralized and organized can wield great influence.

According to a Pew opinion survey of Egyptians from June 2010, 59% said they back Islamists and only 27% said they back modernizers. A majority support Hamas, 95% favour a major role for Islam in politics and, last but not least, 98% have an unfavourable opinion of Jews. According to the Egyptian blogs I have read "the simple folk who seek work and dignity" have a number of demands concerning Israel. First demand: tear up the peace agreement. This was a "surrender'. Egypt will put as many troops as it wants in Sinai. Second demand: tear up the agreement to supply Israel with gas. This agreement sells the gas at below market price. Third demand: agree to all the "righteous" Palestinian demands. Especially allowing the return to Israel of the (children of ) refugees. So much for the wishful thinking of Nehama Duek. Democracy now in Egypt is a countdown to war.

I *hope* things turn out this way, but, judging be the history of the Arab world, it would be reckless to say that democracy will triumph. Some Egyptians have been saying they'd like to cancel the peace agreement with Israel. I doubt they mean to give back Sinai, so how would this benefit democracy?

it is Beirut 2002 peace proposal . review and sign fast . that is the answer to the arab democratizations going on now .. refugees (100,000 pals per year for 10 years ) they have more rights than the africans fleeing your southern borders or the huge numbers of illegal immigrants you have now . it is your time MR Peres to extend your hand . make a decision fast ......israel . we all need to end the conflict

Look where Arab Democracy has been good for Israel: Gaza, where Hamas was elected democratically, took power by force, and fired even more rockets into Sderot, Ashkelon, and other cities. Lebanon: After Hezbollah took over a third of the government, more rockets came over the border. I have a feeling that Egyptian democracy will lead to more rockets on Israeli city. And that's definitely not a good thing.

Such a simple proposition. Why can't our politicians get this? I call it willful ignorance.

Sarah is a well-informed and wise observer and commentator regarding Islamists and democracy.

I believe that Change Began : )

What was it that Erdogan said? Ah yes. "Democracy is like a train. We get off when we reach the station we want." He also said "Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets, believers our soldiers". The author has noble illusions. The students in Iran did hit the streets, certainly. But they let themselves be used to bring Khomenei to power.

Even in Israel, the ultra-religious vote as they are told, so why in largely illiteratel societies would moderates arise? The hard truth is that no one knows what will happen...

be good for us but it cannot be imposed and I don't believe that 'demoracy' as we know it, is the objective of the Arab street protests in Egypt, or Tunisia or other Arab countries. First and foremost those protesting want jobs, food, health and social benefits and when living conditions improve, some more freedoms. Free and democratic governments in Arab countries will be good for us if, for a start, they would recognize Israel as the Jewish state. Since this is not going to happen any day soon, Arab countries, whether demoractic, theocratic or whatever, won't make much difference to our 'relations' with them. --- and a note to the author, don't underestimate the power of the Muslim Brotherhood, they will be elected democratically, and when that happens, good bye democracy.

is the Arab world replacing their older generation of complacent tyrants with a younger generation of more extreme tyrants. Regardless of what the populations want, when an Arab tyrant falls the only entities with the organization and ablility to assume power are a hand picked successor, an Islamist terrorist group or the military. Those are the only available options. All represent continued Arab tyranny.

Dear Mr's Sarah B. I can't desagree from your views about so difficult is the democratic evolution in Islamic countries. But, spite of it, all people, into the whole world, will be ruled by Democracy in the future. Progress, since the Stone Age, can't be stopped. Listen that, after II World War, any goverment says to be against the refered regime. But Israel, of course, must be aware. Hamas rules Gaza Strip after one election. Camp David accords, respected since 1979, are too important for the so desired peace. I salute you again. Shalom.

mr duek is entitled to his opinion, but the developments going on in egypt & the expose" day by day from those protesters point a finger to mr duek as a "plain liar": the Muslim Bortherhood have organized these protest throughout egypt as reported by interviews from the egyptian moderates. they are scared if the fanatic MB woould take over power, ha, mr duek?

i've been to almost every part of middle east arab countries, there is no true democracy exercise there, no religious freedom, muslim arabs are not used to democracy and they don't need that there, what they need is their "leaders to feed them and shelter them" and that's where their loyalty goes!

Real democrazy is one thing, elect democratically the party of the MB is another thing. Hitler was elected democratically so was Hugo Chavez so was Hamas. You want to live like in Gaza. Maybe in short time all women in Gaza will have to wear a Burka. Would you wear a Burka? This is only a very small problem. Or maybe you want to live like in Saudi Arabia, where you have to go out with a chaperon or cannot drive a car. Is this the type of live you want? If the answers are yes then go to Gaza, and be happy

Thank you for your words, Mr. Duek. I don't remember a democracy fighting against another democracy. Democracy is always good for everyone. Democracy in Poland began in similar circumstances, with workers on the streets. Soon the whole Soviet bloc colapsed. Some will say that Egypt is no Poland. Sure. But neither is Iran and this is not 1979. This is Egypt and its 2011. The wind of history is always stronger even for dictators that cling to power against its people wishes. If Egypt succeed, I suspect that the Green Movement in Iran will feel emboldened. Let's see those dominoes falling, one by one.

Islam and democracy are incompatable?!? How about Idonesia, the largest muslim country in the world. Is it not a democracy? Is Indonesia at war against the West?

There is no such thing and there never will be such a thing. Democracy starts at the ballot box but from that moment on the road is long and winding. Islam and democracy are totally incompatible and are incapable of living under one roof. The reason for this is very simple and can be expressed in one word, "Koran". The teachings and tenets of this "holy book" negate all the values embedded in the way of life known as democracy. They simply cannot have it both ways.

"... the Arab world is finally joining the global trend of shifting from dictatorships to democracies." Where is there an Arab democracy? Hasn't happened yet. Not likely to happen anytime soon.

Remember that "Palestine" was expected to be the first real Arab democracy? Big hoopla. Elections. Jimmy Carter even came and blessed them. And since then? Civil war in Gaza, the same entrenched corruption continues, and national elections that were supposed to have been held two years ago are going to take place.....well....it really does look like not in our lifetime. Remember the talk? The Palestinians were slated to be the shining democratic star in the Arab world. They didn't have a dictator to emerge from. They were building their country from scratch. They were going to have a constitution, courts, open society, transparent courts and government. Blah blah blah. We now have two Palestinian "democracies". One in Gaza with the "democratically elected Hamas", and one in Ramallah with the PLO. Neither side is expected to hold elections. Neither side has freedom of the press or freedom of expression. Why does this author write as if democracy is busting out all over the Arab world? It would be nice if it were, especially for all the repressed Arab citizens of those countries. But it isn't.

Thank you for your kind words, sir.