Fears of a Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Egypt are ill founded. It is wrong for Israelis to draw parallels between the Egyptian's call for democracy and the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

Most protesters in Egypt are not calling for an Islamic revolution or vilifying America. Instead, they are urging the United States to side with them to end dictatorship and establish democracy in their country.

The Muslim Brotherhood's nonviolence and backstage position in the protests may be 'tactical,' but it also indicates that the movement lacks popular support. Radical religious movements have generally not fared well in free elections and democratic societies. In contrast, dictatorship fuels religious extremism.

What Washington must learn from the unfolding events in the Middle East is that alliances with dictatorships are not sustainable.

If the world community helps the Egyptians with a smooth transition of power and transparent elections, the Muslim Brotherhood is unlikely to emerge the victor.

Ahmad J. Majidyar is a senior research associate at AEI.

Photo Credit: Flickr user Nasser Nouri/Creative Commons