April 29, 2011 - 13:39 AMT
Army and Islamist organizations are dominant forces in Middle East

Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies Ruben Safrastyan said that army and Islamist organizations are the most dominant and best organized forces in Middle East.

“The recent events in the Arab countries showed that the other political and public institutions are either weak or underdeveloped yet,” Safrastyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, though revolutions in the Arab countries took place under democratic slogans, there is a great possibility that Islamist organizations will come to power through elections.

Safrastyan pointed to Egypt, where the banned Muslim Brotherhood managed to gain 25% of mandates during a parliamentary election.

“Conceiving the danger of Islamist forces’ assumption of power in the Arab countries, the west, specifically, the U.S. and Great Britain are now trying to establish contacts with these forces,” he said.