Muslim Brotherhood = Extinction of Democracy and Liberalism?

The Guardian is optimistic:

Political Islam poised to dominate the new world bequeathed by Arab spring

The Muslim Brotherhood's success in the first round of Egypt's elections has added to western fears of an Islamist future for the Middle East. But this does not necessarily mean that democracy and liberal policies face extinction

And how?

...as journalist Issandr El Amrani wrote in the wake of the election results in Egypt on his Arabist blog, "has profoundly depressed most educated, middle-class Cairenes … who had hoped that the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak would be followed by a relatively liberal democracy that would be inclusive of moderate Islamists.

"Among my Egyptian friends (most decidedly on the liberal side) there is now tremendous worry about a future in which politics is ruled on the one hand by identitarian Islamist politics and on the other by a populist, hyper-nationalistic army. I don't think it has to be so, and we could very well see a transition to a democratic (but not liberal) system which allows for rotation of power.

"Personally," Amrani concludes, "I think that there can be a positive outcome here: if the Muslim Brothers are serious about consolidating electoral democracy and work hard on addressing that issue, there will be other elections for those that disagree with their conservative views (or foreign policy, or economic liberalism) to make their case."

Now, is that optimism or self-deludement?

^