The Islamists and the Parliamentary Elections

Abstract

Arafat offers a unique analysis of the rise of the Islamism and Islamist monopolization of the 2012 parliament . He claims that it was due to social networks and Islamist strongholds, the unwritten understanding between the Islamists and the military , and the weakness and marginalization of the secular and revolutionary forces and parties that contributed to the rise of Islamism post-Mubarak Egypt. “The Islamists and the Parliamentary Elections” concludes that the biggest beneficiaries from the elections were the parties with the best organization, the MB and the NP . The biggest losers were the young, more secular-minded revolutionaries . Nevertheless, the parliamentary elections highlighted and deepened the power struggle among the major political actors—the MB and the Salafist Call —after the revolution.