| An Al Qaida supporter has been chosen to assume the leadership of Egypt’s largest Muslim opposition group. Mohammed Mahdi Akef, who replaces the late Mamoun El Hodeiby, was chosen Wednesday in a 9-6 vote by the Guidance Council, which approves candidates for leadership positions. The 75-year-old Akef has been termed a Muslim Brotherhood hardliner who has rejected reconciliation with the regime of President Hosni Mubarak and religious rights for Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority. "I have not prepared any plan or agenda because I didn’t expect to be selected," Akef said in a statement. Akef’s appointment must undergo confirmation by the 86-member Shura Council of the Brotherhood. Islamic sources said the council made its selection within a week of El Hodeiby’s death in an effort to quash rumors that the Brotherhood was divided over the appointment of a new leader. They said the selection of Akef and his deputy, Mohammed Habib, indicates that the movement will maintain its cautious policies over the next few years. |