Egypt has elected Mohamad Morsi - candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood - as President. See a Project Syndicate article for details.
President Morsi now has an amazing opportunity, if he will take it. He can become the Islamic hardliner everyone expects him to be or he can become another Nelson Mandela, a president of all his people.
Egypt is not a universally Islamic nation, according to the CIA World Factbook roughly 10% of Egyptians are Christians, most of these Coptics. Furthermore, many of the young Tahrir Square activists who brought about the overthrow of Mubarak are secularists, that is, people who want government and religion to continue to be separated.
Most of those who voted for Morsi want him to be a hardliner, to turn Egypt from a secular state into an Islamic state. Nearly half of Egyptians voted for the other candidate who, although tainted with his connection with the Mubarak regime, campaigned on a platform of secularism.
While no one will be surprised if Morsi does what he is expected to do, the world certainly would be pleased if he tried to govern in a way that included the needs of all of his people. However, I'm not convinced his political base would tolerate it.
Mandela figured out how to get the African National Congress to live with his inclusiveness. Perhaps Morsi can do the same with the Muslim Brotherhood, presuming he wants to do so.
The Middle East usually disappoints the West with its actions. If you were a betting person that's how you'd bet on this outcome, too.
