On The Muslim Brotherhood

One recurring player in the drama in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood. CNN has an overview. Excerpts follow:

The Muslim Brotherhood is a religious and political group founded on the belief that Islam is not simply a religion, but a way of life. It advocates a move away from secularism, and a return to the rules of the Quran as a basis for healthy families, communities, and states.

In short--they advocate Sharia law as the governing code of a state. They are, therefore, not pro-freedom of religion. A state under their control is a theocracy.

The movement officially rejects the use of violent means to secure its goals. However, offshoots of the group have been linked to attacks in the past, and critics blame the Brotherhood for sparking troubles elsewhere in the Middle East. Many consider it the forerunner of modern militant Islamism...

Offshoots of the Brotherhood include Al Qaeda, as Lawrence Wright recounts in The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been part of the political scene in Egypt for more than 80 years. It was formed there by Hassan al-Banna in 1928.

Teacher Al-Banna and his followers were initially united by a desire to oust the British from control in Egypt, and to rid their country of what they saw as "corrupting" Western influences...

They don't merely originate in Egypt.  They have affiliates and connected groups all over the globe, as discussed in The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West.

...Sayyid Qutb, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s, developed the doctrine of jihad, and the radical group Hamas is believed to be an offshoot of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood.

The historical illiteracy of the statement "Qutb...developed the doctrine of jihad" is staggering. Astounding. As just a few counter examples, I point you to the jihad waged against America...in the 1700s, as well as The Legacy of Jihad.  And no, jihad did not begin as a response to Christian crusaders.  Further, the Muslim Brotherhood is no friend of America.