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The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamist movement, has chosen Mohamed Badei as its new supreme guide. The 67-year-old associate professor of pathology at Beni Sweif University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was elected to the post on January 16. Badei, who becomes the eighth supreme guide since the movement was founded in 1928, succeeds Mahdi Akef, the Brotherhood's 81-year-old firebrand leader and an outspoken critic of the regime. Akef, whose term as head of the outlawed group expired on January 13, had said he would not seek another leadership term. In a press conference soon after demitting office Akef said "Badei was chosen by a consensus among the group's 100-member Shura Council." Badei also won the largest number of votes during last month's Guidance Bureau elections. Addressing an audience of Brotherhood members on January 16, Badei delivered an acceptance speech in which he stressed that the Brotherhood would seek to avoid confrontation with the regime. "The Brotherhood believes in gradual reform which can be achieved only through peaceful and constitutional struggle based on persuasion and dialogue." Badei also argued that, "the Brotherhood believes that a regime that honours personal freedoms, espouses democracy, and seeks legitimacy from the nation via general elections is the closest to Islam."

Badei surprised observers by insisting the "Brotherhood has never been an adversary of the regime even if the regime has pursued a policy of coercion against the group, confiscating its money and jailing its leaders." He did however say that the Brotherhood will remain firm in criticising policies which, as he claims, have plunged Egypt into crisis and in exposing corruption, and will continue to raise the sons and daughters of the nation on Islamic values and virtues. "The Brotherhood rejects all forms of violence and believes in a step-by-step democracy," Badei said in a press conference on Saturday. He went on to urge members to "show the world the true face of Islam, the Islam of moderation and forgiveness and respect for pluralism". On Egypt's Coptic community, Badei said, "the Brotherhood believes that Copts are our Egyptian brothers in the Arabic and Islamic world and our partners in building the civilisation of the nation and defending it.”