Mr. Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated candidate who won Egypt’s first democratic election in June, could provide early clues about how the Islamist leaders who emerged from the Arab Spring intend to interact with the broader world. Morsi was slow to respond to the recent violence that started in Egypt over an American-made video that denigrates the prophet Mohammed. Will Morsi condemn the anti-American and anti-Western violence? And will he pursue the blistering condemnation of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad that he unveiled on a recent visit to Tehran – and will he thus lay bare the deepening divide between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East?
Something else to watch for: what Morsi says about 9/11. The Islamist leader has voiced doubts in the past about Al Qaeda’s role, so some analysts say his visit to New York, the site of the deadliest of the attacks, is a perfect opportunity for him to erase any doubts about his views of that tragic day.
