Throughout the crisis in Egypt, there is one player in the region that has been conspicuously quiet: Hamas. In fact, as early as Jan. 31, eyewitness reports emerged from Gaza claiming that Hamas plainclothes police had dispersed a gathering of youth protesters at the city's Unknown Soldier Park in Gaza City. The gathering was organized by a group on Facebook to express solidarity with the protests against President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. At first glance, it may seem odd that Hamas would be going out of its way to stay out of the uprising taking place next door. After all, Hamas was created in 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which launched in the late 1930s. The Egyptian MB is now one of the main political drivers behind the anti-Mubarak demonstrations and would theoretically be looking for all the backing it could get. But not from Hamas. The Egyptian MB is extremely conscious of the negative connotations of its Islamist branding and is therefore trying to focus attention on the idea that it is a well-organized, nonviolent, pragmatic and democratic force worthy of a political voice in a post-Mubarak government. The last thing the Egyptian MB needs is for Hamas, a group well known for its militancy, to express solidarity with the movement and thus taint the MB by association. Such a move would fuel intensifying arguments in Israel and the United States in particular that the MB cannot be trusted in government. If Hamas were to publicly denounce Mubarak and praise the protesters trying to oust him — and there is no doubt the group holds his regime just as responsible for maintaining the blockade on Gaza as it does Israel — it would also run the risk of alienating some Egyptians, who view the events in Egypt as an organic revolution against a despot and not an uprising engineered by outside forces. Official media outlets in Egypt are already trying to drum up public support for Mubarak by telling them that outsiders are enjoying "our divisions and are capitalizing on them because they have a grudge against Egypt." In other words, Hamas does not want to play this role for the Mubarak regime. The Egyptian MB also appears to be actively working to keep Hamas in check during what the group sees as a historic opportunity in Egypt. According to a STRATFOR source in Hamas, the MB members have been playing a key role in smuggling food and supplies to Gaza ever since the blockade began in 2007. As the source put it, Hamas members appreciate the help and they would certainly heed the MB's advice on how to respond to the anti-Mubarak demonstrations in Egypt. By dispersing Egyptian solidarity protests in Gaza and refraining from commenting publicly on the major transformation taking place in Cairo, Hamas appears to be taking care to protect its working arrangement with the Egyptian MB.