Islamist group wins increased influence

The Muslim Brotherhood becomes the second-largest group in parliament.
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood credited public mistrust, frustration and anger with President Hosni Mubarak's regime Sunday for his group's fivefold increase in parliamentary seats with one round of voting still to go.
The Interior Ministry said the fundamentalist group's loyalists won 29 more seats in Saturday runoffs, continuing an unexpectedly strong showing. While Mubarak's party will maintain a big majority, the Brotherhood is assured of being the second-biggest legislative bloc.
The result was seen as a rebuff for the secular government, which has been one of the strongest U.S. allies in the Middle East.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mehdi Akef sought to allay Western concerns about the group's newfound strength, saying it would not try to change Egypt's foreign policy, including its peace treaty with Israel.
"We do not recognize Israel, but we will not fight it. We will respect all the treaties," said Akef, whose organization is considered the mother group for many Islamic fundamentalist movements, including the militant Hamas in the Palestinian territories.
Asked if the Brotherhood would try to prevent Hamas from making peace with Israel, Akef said, "We have nothing to do with Palestinian internal politics."
Intense campaign
The Brotherhood -- banned 51 years ago but tolerated as a behind-the-scenes political force -- conducted an intense campaign and has raised its parliament representation to 76 seats with a third round of voting to come Thursday.
The group's candidates, who run as independents but whose Islamist leanings are widely known, held only 15 of 454 seats in the last parliament.
"People are outraged by the performance of this government and its ruling party. Both have fed people nothing but bitterness," said the 77-year-old Akef, who spent 20 years in Egyptian prisons.
"These great people have no confidence in this government. They have shown that they are against tyranny and with us," he added.
Brotherhood-backed candidates did well despite what appeared to be a determined government effort to block supporters from reaching the polls and slow the group's building momentum.
Even without the election's third round, the Brotherhood has captured enough seats to nominate a presidential candidate in 2011 under new constitutional rules, and weak performances by secular parties will make it the biggest opposition bloc.