CAIRO -- If a new political force here has its way, public stonings, whippings and the lopping-off of hands will become the law in the Land of the Pharaohs.
It all would help return Egypt to "an Islamic state (of) the Middle Ages," in the words of one Salafist.
Even before President Hosni Mubarak fell from power on Feb. 11, many Western and Egyptian analysts worried that the world's most populous Arab nation -- and America's most crucial Arab ally of three decades -- might tumble into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood, founded in 1928 as the world's first Islamist party, has long demanded religious rule in Egypt, inspiring similar movements across the Middle East.
Yet it isn't the only Islamist faction grasping for power -- or even the most radical. Several groups are arising, including at least one former terrorist organization..........................>>>>..............>>>>>.........................Read more: Islamist factions jockey for power, vow religious rule - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/nation-world/s_749263.html#ixzz1Ty119zB5