WHILE the Egyptian experiment with democracy is still young, serious differences have emerged between the country's ruling military council and the Muslim Brotherhood. The main bone of contention is how the new constitution will be shaped. The armed forces have said parliamentarians will not have the final say on the future constitution. They insist that the unelected cabinet and an 'advisory council' — both subservient to the generals — will also have a say. Though two rounds of voting remain in Egypt's complicated election process, results up till now indicate that Islamist parties — led by the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafist Al-Nur party — will dominate the legislature. The military, long suspicious of the Islamists, is worried because parliament is supposed to appoint a committee that will write the new constitution, which will then be put to a public referendum. Along with preventing the constitution from acquiring a religious hue, the armed forces are also concerned with retaining their privileges as the most powerful institution in Egypt. Within the Islamist camp there is lack of trust between the more moderate Brotherhood and the hardline Salafists. It remains to be seen if they will consolidate their energies in parliament to push forward a common agenda.

The situation in Egypt mirrors what we in Pakistan have experienced for decades: the struggle to ensure civilian supremacy in governance and to curtail the military's influence in state institutions. Where religion and the state are concerned, again there are parallels. Pakistan's experience with the Hudood laws shows that laws made in the name of religion can be nearly impossible to undo and are open to misinterpretation and abuse. In Egypt's case, controversial issues should be left to a future election, when democracy has been consolidated. The process of constitution-making should be broad and inclusive. The Egyptian military needs to step back and let the democratic process evolve without 'guiding' it. Yet the Islamists also need to remain flexible and should not force their agenda on Egypt. Confrontation at this point may undo the hard-fought gains of the Egyptian uprising and allow the generals to crack down in order to retain power.