Khalil al Anani, visiting scholar at Brookings’ Saban Center, published this op-ed in al Ahram Weekly last week. The piece asserts that it's educational to look at the internal dynamics of Islamist parties when assessing the degree to which they have internalized democratic ideals. Some Islamist parties, like the Justice and Development party in Morocco or the al Wefaq Islamic Society in Bahrain, can count transparency and accountablity as normal characteristics of their operation. Others, like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and in Jordan and the Movement of the Society of Peace in Algeria, include those terms and ideas in their political platforms but fail to truly implement them within their organizations.
Al-Anani's bio at Brookings says that he will be researching nonviolent Islamist movements during his time as a visiting scholar, so presumably this piece comes from some of that research.
It is interesting reading, especially because it demonstrates clearly that not all Islamist groups are created equal, and lumping them together under the heading of ‘political Islam’ can obscure some important differences.
