Egyptian Screenwriter Wahid Hamed: The Muslim Brotherhood Has Reneged on All the Promises It Made

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian screenwriter Wahid Hamed, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on June 7, 2012.

Interviewer: You said that the revolution had been abducted, and placed in the freezer of a morgue. What did you mean by that?

Wahid Hamed: The revolution in Egypt was sparked by young Egyptians, who were fed up with everything they saw around them. They were loyal to the revolution, and they managed to bring about a real change.

But there are people who jumped on the bandwagon of the revolution, and I am referring especially to the Islamist movement – even the faction that was against the revolution and did not take part in it. The Salafi movement in Egypt, for example, was calling, until the very last moment, to maintain stability, and not to rebel against the ruler. Now that the revolution has been accomplished, they falsely claim that they participated in it.

The same is true of the Muslim Brotherhood – they remained on the sidelines, until they took to [Tahrir Square] on [January] 28. The revolution began on January 25, and they joined on the 28th, after seeing which way the wind was blowing.

[…]

I do not trust the Muslim Brotherhood.

Interviewer: Do you plan to vote for Ahmad Shafiq?

Wahid Hamed: The [Muslim Brotherhood] does not make good on its promises. I challenge anybody… From the moment they took control of the parliament and felt that they had power, they reneged on all the promises that they had made.

[…]