U.S. officials, aware of the Brotherhood's influence — even when effectively banned, the group's members won around 20 percent of parliamentary seats in 2005 — have appeared to be open to dialogue with the organization's political wing. On Dec. 10, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson made an official visit to Freedom and Justice Party headquarters.

The widening gap between the Salafists and the rest of Egypt's political powers could prove a major hurdle for the parliament, which faces tremendous challenges following the upheaval of the past 11 months.

Salafists hold slightly more than 20 percent of parliamentary seats. Under current rules, a bloc needs 30 percent of votes to exercise a veto. But Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist and a member of the civilian advisory council appointed by Egypt's ruling military, said that Salafists will definitely stir controversy over tourism, arts, Islamic banking and other issues.

"Their hard-line approach and lack of political experience will definitely influence the performance of the coming parliament," Nafaa said.

Soon after the uprising that ousted Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood made moves to show it wasn't a hard-line group. It announced that it had formed the Freedom and Justice Party and replaced its slogan, "Islam is the Solution," with "Delivering Good for Egypt."

Brotherhood officials pledged to "respect civil rights and international treaties that have been signed in the past." They denied reports that the group aimed to re-examine Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, a linchpin of regional stability.

The Salafists — whose Al Nour Party was established earlier this year by the Salafist Call Movement, which supports the imposition of Islamic religious law, or Sharia — said that while they would respect the Israel treaty, their party "will continuously work on amending its unfair articles through all legal means."

The unprecedented alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood, liberals, democrats and even communists, which is also gaining international support, left the Salafists in a state of isolation that raised concerns about how they might respond.

"The isolation they are now experiencing is very dangerous," said Mohamed Farahat, a researcher of Islamist movements at the state-funded Al Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies. "They might end up resorting to more extreme or violent measures instead of becoming closer and more understanding of the community."

Farahat questioned whether even the few changes the Salafists have made in their public positions — the Salafist Call Movement, for example, no longer openly preaches that parliament is against Islamic law — were merely a ploy to earn votes.

"We don't see any solid revisions in their ideology," Farahat said.

"Despite their parliamentary win, they are losing popularity on the ground."

(Sabry is a McClatchy special correspondent.)

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