many are worried muslim brotherhood. they want to establish islamic states. >> reporter reporter: hundreds of thousands want change. egypt's vice president, omar suleiman -- muslim brotherhood it is now becoming a political issue here in the u.s. house majority leader erick cantor says stop the spread of islam. that is where the focus should be. >> growing number of percent people are growing concerned about the muslim brotherhood gaining influence in a new egyptian government saying jihad is the way. >> jihad for allah, a muslim brotherhood writes is not limited to the specific region of the countries. muslim homeland is 1 and not divided and continue to be raised with the help of allah until every inch of the land will be liberated. michael youssef pastors a church in atlanta. he tells cbn news, he dreads egypt being under the muslim brotherhood. >> god may have mercy on all of us, christians, israel, the west, and going to lose an incredible powerful ally. it will be like a domino, going to start falling, jordan and a

muslim brotherhood? >> the us doesn't understand the muslim brotherhood, at least not yet. >> reporter: egypt's revolution may have been ignited by young, secular activists, but there was another powerful force at work behind the scenes of the uprising: the long-outlawed muslim brotherhood. day 11. they opened this prayer rally on tahrir square with a moment of silence for those who died the previous day in battles with pro-mubarak vigilantes. >> reporter: many of the fallen were muslim brothers. afterwards, they were all praised for their perseverance and unity. >> reporter: anyone who's covered egypt for years knows about the brotherhood's profound influence on egyptian society. coming back at this extraordinary time, i wanted to find out what part they were playing in this revolution. >> reporter: hi. i'm charles. nice to meet you. on tahrir square, i found mohammed abbas-- a leader of the muslim brotherhood's youth wing. for the past month, abbas had been working alongside secular activists from the

going the muslim brotherhood a muslim brotherhood the muslim brotherhood a group you can hear a lot about charging that radical muslims want to bring some real war to the united states are working their way into conservative circles including the conservative political action conference were seen in fact after he was pointing a finger in particular at this man so hell calling if i was going to make this happen i would have fit in. seamlessly. see pack was the most wonderful place i'd ever been and it was easy to get distracted but i had to remember why i was here i'm wondering where they're hiding the muslim brotherhood. oh i understand the question frank gaffney said that the muslim brotherhood was going to be packed this year i'm just wondering where they're hiding them you've got to ask frank gaffney where are they hiding the muslim brotherhood. in the shadows ok well that's not really helpful the muslim brotherhood no i didn't do you know where they're hiding the muslim brotherhood. i think that's a no it appeared that the muslim brotherhood was going to be a lot harder to find t

it's very interesting as i mean the muslim brotherhood has been brought up here and it's been actually been rather brought up late in the game as it were is events unfold i mean they were very very quiet here and then they make a statement that they're willing to work with the with whatever authorities with the other opposition groups remain to be seen if they or want to these opposition groups want to work with them but at the same time i mean it's really people that are driving this year i mean it's even remarkable if you look at social movements there's no there's no head right now there's no one person or party it's really you know in the first step to get rid of this guy and make society coalesce into what it needs you know to find whatever parties are ideologies or groups that are already out there muslim brotherhood has played a very small role in this so far. well for the last you know twenty or so years the only opposition that was emerging was from within the mosques kind of in a way a little bit of an untouched area from the state but what you saw happen in tunis was the eme

moving around the bush era mean it's been the way to the muslim brotherhood has been demonized in western media and by western governments i mean could they possibly play a role that the that the the west would actually recognize. i mean i think it has already jumped the gun and is threatening just i mean is threatening the world kind of with this on a scenario that the muslim brotherhood will represent the second wave of an islamist revolution and it was not very important point after a short break we'll continue our discussion on egypt today with our. and. the more people we killed the happier our officers were it got to be like a game like to see who could kill the most people and the different ways you can prove keep peace killed you know years back sometimes years you know where we had the most years they would get the most fierce you trade you should be rich overnight you women children in five men around the circle over know on full automatic whether i'm sixty. she was raped by six or seven people. only. most of the in. the world. really knew the latest in science and technology fr

mubarak has been selling to the world for decades now about fears of having the muslim brotherhood coming to power it's up to the egyptian people to decide for themselves who they want to see coming to power whether it's the muslim brotherhood or indeed other candidates of which there are many waiting to play a crucial role in the future of the country the muslim brotherhood narrative is a black and white narrative it's a very linear one and it doesn't the egyptian people do not buy it at all they want to be able to they want to be respected as individuals and indeed make individual choices for themselves. it's very interesting as i mean the muslim brotherhood has been brought up here and it's been actually been run brought up late in the game as it were is events unfold i mean they were very very quiet here and then they make a statement that they're willing to work with the with whatever authorities would on the other opposition groups remain to be seen if they want to these opposition groups want to work with them but at the same time i mean it's really people that are driving this yea

you know there is going to be a lot of talk about talking about the muslim brotherhood peter and it's a really worrisome unfortunately in american media and in american political discourse the difference to any islamic movement muslim politics whenever it's part of a discussion. all our bearded men all don't want the the great satan to be defeated in the middle east and so forth and so on there we need to kind of revisit this subject because they have they got it all wrong the jemaah islamiyah is different from from al qaida is different from the muslim brotherhood the muslim brotherhood have been around for since nineteen twenty eight. in one thousand nine hundred sixty a renounced violence they have been trying their best under the most extreme of circumstances to be a civil society organization the are very much institutionalized and they have been suppressed and oppressed by hosni mubarak really under the under the with the support of the united states and other powers so this has got to change the muslim brotherhood has got to become a mainstream organization a political movement

the muslim brotherhood have been around for since nineteen twenty eight. in one thousand nine hundred sixty or announced violence they have been trying their best under the most extreme of circumstances to be a civil society type of organization the are very much institutionalized and they have been suppressed and oppressed by hosni mubarak really under the gun under the with the support of the united states and other powers so this has got to change the muslim brotherhood has got to become a mainstream organization a political movement like every other more you know this is a very interesting we need to see it's very interesting in the upcoming elections the only large organization in egypt today that could actually help pull that off is the muslim brotherhood and that would be quite remarkable and they were i believe considering what they've said for the last ten years at least that they would support a democratic process they would john with what if that were to happen you think they let you do the brownshirts over at fox really is going to leave you kn

if i resign today, there will be chaos and the muslim brotherhood would take over." for now, president mubarak remains in the presidential palace with his family. there had been widespread rumors that his son had fled, perhaps to london, but we saw him there when we spoke to him. president mubarak told me, "i would never run away from this country. i will die on this soil," and he defended his legacy, recounting the many years he spent leading this country. after my meeting with president mubarak, i sat down for an exclusive interview with his new vice president. i asked whether he would ever authorize the army to use force against the anti-government protesters, and he insisted repeatedly he would never order force against the protesters. he hoped they would go home. he said he hopes, "they don't follow through with their pledge to have another massive march on friday after midday prayers." he said the people should understand president mubarak has met their demands to step down and not run for reelection. he said they would reform the constitution and the election

scene of asia egypt is in fact very various groups are there and i don't think they're muslim brotherhood would be the role of egypt at the moment can we see radical groups that are coming to the fore in the middle east in such a way that we could see the muslim middle east turning its back on the west no i think that the west is not just unfair for. the world and if we can see good policies and they are enthusiastic to justice the field here and democracy i think everything will be a balance the muslim brotherhood says it is not going to continue with talks with the government because it doesn't believe that the government is committed to real constitutional change are they right muslim brotherhood were right because they have you have as for the authority now they've got the credibility. and legitimacy as well so the again. legitimacy and a vision of the authority of the sun came he came back to the states for the muslim brotherhood is one of the focuses of what people around the international community and here in egypt too are focusing on i caught up with a lot of people got their ana

he has his own group which is the brotherhood muslim or have links to muslim brotherhood and muslim brotherhoodaid they want to meet with me without mr. elbaradei. >> what do you understand by transition must happen now as the united states is saying and many other countries are saying? >> it is the process starting by national dialogue which has started this morning, and we will continue tomorrow and after tomorrow. we want the young people to know that all your demands, all your hoff positive, and we promise that we will do and we need quiet time to implement these things. >> what is your fear if president mubarak was to say i've had enough? he's told me that he's had enough, 62 years of public service, and he wants to go but not quite yet. what are the concerns? why would he not go now? >> we don't want chaos in our country. if president mubarak would say i'm leaving, now who would take over? in the constitution that means the speaker would take over. i think with this atmosphere, that means that the other people who have their own agenda will make instability in our country. >> will you pre

so i think we need to stop looking at the muslim brotherhood as if they are you know like you said the boogie man you know he's using the only reason why i say i don't care you know where he only reason why i said i understand the reason why i said it is because i'm i'm trying to react to what the mainstream is saying and i'm absolutely agree with juan and i mean what you say i agree with you well but i mean this is the spectrum and i think that that unfortunately that is the spectrum of how people look at these events on plane which i think it's very unfair go ahead. and i understand and it is unfair and that's what i wanted to that's what i wanted to point out the muslim brotherhood is is a group that's made up of largely professionals doctors engineers you know despite the the perception in the west they are not this is not a group of clergy or or radical in moms who are calling you know for. for you know radical sharia law or anything like that but they are an integral part of of egyptian society and they should have a voice and parliamentary elections why not why should why should

the long out lawed muslim brotherhood. day 11. they opened this prayer rally on tahrir square with a moment of silence for those who died the previous day in battles with pro mubarak vij it anti-s. many of the fallen were muslim brothers. afterwards they were all praised for their perseverance and unity. anyone who has covered egypt for years knows about the brotherhood's profound influence on egyptian society. coming back at this extraordinary time i wanted to find out what part they were playing in this revolution. nice to meet you. >> reporter: on tahrir square, i found mohammed abba, a leader of the muslim brotherhood's youth wing. for the past month he had been working alongside secular activists from the april 6 movement to help organize the revolt. he was eager to show us what he and his fellow brothers had contributed. it was not until three days into the protest that the muslim brotherhood senior leadership officially threw their weight behind the revolt. now the brothers were running the security check points. serving ho

but the fact that the muslim brotherhood is coming to the fore is significant because it certainly is sending out a lawn bells another need to elsewhere in the region that this group which does to some extent have an islamist agenda could be gaining momentum the muslim brotherhood after meeting with the government did issue a statement in which it did not trust the government so how this will evolve and how this will develop remains to be seen but as i discussed with a number of people it certainly is an issue that people are focusing on. it didn't get more than. passing mention in the mainstream media hizbollah him us and muslim brotherhood members in a jail break. from here and one to lebanon there's no way to go to lebanon from egypt only to go to the sea or to fly so who help them any one of the thousands of protesters on egypt streets. support for the demonstrators has faded fast and although the muslim brotherhood the country's largest opposition group with an islamist agenda got involved only on day three that says mom to ramsey is part of the plan the muslim brotherhood will a

many believe it will be the muslim brotherhood. the group has been keeping a relatively low profile since the protests began. our next report looks at what role, if any, the muslim brotherhood could play in a new egypt. >> the new face of the opposition movement. among the demonstrators who have come out to support him are members of the muslim brotherhood. they will likely become more visible if there is a move toward democracy in egypt. on sunday, the islamist movement buried one of their own, shot by police at protests in alexandria. the organization had been keeping ia low profile as protests grew in egypt. they believe the muslim brotherhood it could pay the price for past mistakes. >> [unintelligible] >> the muslim brotherhood supports the new leader, and intends to be the unifying force among the opposition. anxiety levels are running high in the west, especially in neighboring israel. for many in the jewish state, and egypt potentially governed by islamists is a nightmare scenario. concern is growing because many extremists

at the moment, we are the egyptian brotherhood, not the muslim brotherhood. the brotherhood is famously equivocal and contradictory and in what it says about itself. i think, partly because it has -- it is at least tactically quite clever in such matters. also the question of what the brotherhood actually believes or what does it intend -- we should also bear in mind that what the brotherhood might do and what it intends to do are not the same things. this is true for any political goal. if statements about democracy, and we need to understand what that might mean, or statements about religious freedom. these may well be sincerely meant, but if the party acts in such a way, if it believes the laws it passes, if it believes the versions of islamic what it wants to enforce will lead to such freedom and democracy, it is mistaken. even what the brotherhood might sincerely say about itself might not give us too much indication of what might happen. what i would like to do as a means of investigating possible outcomes of the brotherhood's power is to look at two sou

in that democracy is the muslim brotherhood.urage democracy in a sort of orderly fashion, if you like, the u.s. has the abilities through the ngos. they haven't done it. particularly under this administration. >> when the administration came to office, the mantra of foreign policy was, whatever bush did, we're not doing. bush had aid going into democracy organizations. ngos in egypt. the first thing the obama administration did was cut that off. our aid needs to be channeled to make up for the deficiencies that mubarak created. to help secular political parties, liberal political parties, to help them organize so they can compete evenly with the muslim brotherhood. that's the only group that mubarak did allow to organize. >> and who has the leverage of the $2 billion we give to egypt every year. let's compare that to the $2.8 billion that we spend on afghanistan every week, just to see how we also need refigure our priorities around the globe. >> we want to help them get where we got. multiparty countries. in 1789, we ratified t

. >> schieffer: what about the participation today of the muslim brotherhood? as far as i know, this is the first time anybody there has ever met with them in a serious way. what comes of that? >> well, it's extraordinary. i mean, they were a banned political party. they've been terribly repressed in this country since 1954. today, they were at the table. extraordinary. they also seem to be showing real political wisdom. they say they're not going to run a presidential candidate. apparently, they don't want to taint whatever new government is coming with charges of extremism. so that's a very auspicious sign. people showing political maturity. i don't think observers thought that was possible. >> schieffer: i want to thank all three of you for being with us this morning. stay safe and we'll be coming back to you. thanks so much. the situation in cairo has not gone unnoticed in the rest of the region, of course. there have been demonstrations in jordan, for example, where king abdullah has already replaced his entire cabinet. earlier this morning, i talked to th

the muslim brotherhood has been banned for decades. suleiman, head of the intelligence service, has tracked the brotherhood down. now, they are discussing egypt's political future together. after the meeting, egypt announced it would go further, by soon lifting martial law in play since anwar sadat was assassinated in 1981, allowing more presidential candidates to run in future elections and greater freedom of the press. it is almost everything the opposition has asked for, but is it real? this man has worked for democracy in egypt for years. tonight, he is skeptical. >> all this talk about not not running again and all the reform, et cetera, is lies. and if those kids leave, mubarak is going to turn back on all the promises he made. >> reporter: and there is still the open question of tahrir square where thousands of protesters remain camped out. today, they held prayers for the 12 or more people killed in the violence. the protesters still draw a huge crowd and say they will only stop if mubarak resigns and leaves the country. >> we

try to position with concessions mubarak's regime is held precedented talks with the muslim brotherhood movement which is bad in the country but after a fortnight of rallies demonstrators in cairo say they won't leave the streets until the president resigns. and russia's police force is in line for a massive overhaul after the president signs a bill to. form the charges of fighting corruption and abuse of power by officers. and in our special report we find out about war a silent casualty the environment scarred lands and wounded lives up next stay with us here on r.t. . displacement is another of the war's consequences the forced migration of civilians has profound impacts on the natural environment this image was taken in one thousand nine hundred six and the tens of million government decided to close the camps were wanted refugees the column of refugees in this photo stretched for twenty seven miles toward the rwandan border. these women are i.d.p.'s internally displaced persons although they have fled the genocide in darfur province they have not crossed the sudanese bow.

regime has held on presidential talks with the muslim brotherhood which is banned in the country but all too often fortnight of rallies demonstrations in cairo say they won't beat the street the president resides. on russia's police force is in line from non-survival along the president signs a bill to have the meat branded angry for the changes i am disappointed corruption and abuse of power by office it's. now an all special report we find out about wall sign and casualty the environment skulled lands and wounded lives is coming up next here on aussie. sometimes we think that it's easier to make war and to work to prevent it or to clean up after it the military is a major player in terms of environmental outcomes. the environment is wars silent casualty when we talk about the costs of war we rarely focus on what happens to the way the enemy.

we don't want to see an egypt run by the muslim brotherhood, but we can work with an egypt in which they are one actor among many. to be fair to the brotherhood, that's what they're pushing for now, not to runt country. in terms of the political left, i don't have a lot of insight. i've been spending my time focusing on the political situation rather than the american. but what i would say is this. i think there is a natural inclination across the political spectrum in the united states that when you see people demonstrating for what they're calling as democracy and pluralism and freedom is a natural sympathy. i don't think it's so much a left-right issue. there are all kinds of concerns in this country about muslim brotherhood, stability, policies in the region and so on. so those are real. but i don't see this breaking down in left-right terms in the united states. >> kathleen parker in the "washington post," cairo's courage os witnesses. "to speak for peace this morning in the "washington post" focusing on many of the journalists who have been detained and are leaving for fear of thei

support for the demonstrators has fled fast and although the muslim brotherhood the country's largest opposition group put an islamist agenda got involved only on day three that says mom do ramsey is part of the plan the muslim brotherhood will appear undershirt the presidency will fall and when they have the support and power to control everything they work in every arab country there they're below the surface and they're now talking with the government and this supporters are here shouting on the streets in two weeks of demonstrations they are rallying call hasn't changed step down mubarak has made any living of his for. traveled for forty eight hours to get here they've come all the way from eritrea to be part of what they believe is the new revolution sweeping the middle east i was in eritrea and i watched everything on to i wish i was here before but coming here now is my contribution i'm asking all my brothers in egypt to express their opinion without fear it will never leave the blood of her martyrs who was killed in this revolution with a vengeance and then we'll both go the b

the muslim brotherhood or any of the others can claim credit for it and the people know this. and they initially put their weight behind mohamed el baradei but now it appears there's a split even within the muslim brotherhood about whether whether that would be the case and the reason they put their weight behind him is because mohamed el baradei had said that were he to some sort of coalition government that they would be allowed to participate in elections frankly you know it shouldn't be a threat for a group that is religiously identified to participate in democratic elections if democracy really is what we care about democracy should mean that everybody should do we think that the muslim brotherhood really doesn't want to themselves participating they have been banned from participating essentially in egypt despite having to see representatives that are there independently but would they actually want to step up you know how much popular support do they really have in this country i have the sense that the muslim brotherhood would not be able to win elections that is you k

the muslim brotherhood appears to be mobilizing. president mubarak and his supporters say if you get rid of him, the alternative will be the muslim brotherhood. but the violence done to supporters has driven the middle class protestors to the streets. what is left is much more hardline and much more islamic. this did not start as an islamic uprising, but the actions of the mubarak regime could still make it into one. bbc news. >> the muslim brotherhood is a key player in all of this. one of the opposition movements here. we're joined by one of its chief spokesman, issam al-aryan. the vice -- the vice-president said that he made an offer for dialogue. you have been hesitating. what have you decided? >> as for dialogue, we are ready. but the climate, the atmosphere when me start dialogue must be clear. under pressure, under threatening -- it is not a dialogue. we are promoting ideas promoted by the vice-president. we cannot change that. the people are asking for a change in regime. they have ruled the country for 60 years. the loss of

and within those groups were representatives of secular parties were representatives of the muslim brotherhood were independent legal experts as well as a number of representatives for mohamed el baradei and he of course is the former head of the international atomic energy agency who has indicated that he will be prepared to head an interim government the muslim brotherhood really is the focus of the discussion and the debate here in egypt because before yesterday they said that they would not meet with the government if there was not agreement on president hosni mubarak stepping down the brotherhood has been at pains to say that they have not changed their stance they have to afford it when these kind of discussions and not negotiations and what we do understand is that there will be. today monday but what is noticeable is that the opposition voices are not that unified they certainly do need somebody to bring them together to keep the momentum and to represent their point of view because by and large every day that these the government despite this call for mubarak to step down immediately