The banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, believed to be the largest and most popular opposition formation in Egypt, has met with great satisfaction the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

"I salute the Egyptian people and the martyrs. This is the day of victory for the Egyptian people," declared a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohamed el-Katatni, who is a former leader of the parliamentary bloc of the banned Islamist organization as cited by MSNBC.

While not leading the protest avalanche against Mubarak in the past 18 days, which was spearheaded by the April 6 Youth Movement and civil protesters, the Muslim Brotherhood may end up being the main beneficiary from the democratization of Egypt as according to many analysts it is likely to win free and fair general elections – a nightmare scenario for the West.

Mubarak's regime in Egypt has been labeled a "corrupt dictatorship" hated by Middle Eastern Islamists for its secular character and backed by America and the West precisely because of that.

"The fears that the Muslim Brotherhood may come to power using democratic tools are absolutely justified. That is why the Americans are doing everything they can to support the civil movement as a opposition," Bulgarian career diplomat Kiriyak Tsonev told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in an interview. Tsonev is Bulgaria's top expert on the Arab World having been a Bulgarian diplomat in Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Mauritania, and the UAE.