“Mohammed Morsi reminds Egyptians of President Gamal Abdul Nasser.” Thus proclaimed Al Jazeera Arabic’s Cairo bureau chief Abdel Fattah Fayed shortly before the new president was due to take oath, apparently in reference to his down-to-earth behavior. Not only was this statement incorrect, it would ironically be offensive to Mohammed Morsi himself, who only a day before deplored the Nasser era using Koranic language. And yet, this is only one minor incident in the channel’s history of romancing the Muslim Brotherhood and its victorious candidate President Mohammed Morsi.

Al Jazeera Arabic’s love affair with the Muslim Brotherhood was evident from the channel’s beginning. Its chief religious program’s main guest is none other than Yusuf Al Qaradawi, a long-time Muslim Brotherhood member and resident of Qatar who has taken that state’s citizenship.

Since the Muslim Brotherhood decided to run a candidate, the channel has spared no effort in promoting the candidate through its various channels. Al Jazeera’s management showed great foresight when, mere days after the fall of Mubarak, it launched Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, a channel dedicated to Egypt 24/7 that by the account of a close Egyptian friend and an astute observer of Egyptian media, has been dedicating its coverage in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood around the clock.

This relationship is mutually beneficial, of course. Due to its blatant bias toward the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera has gotten to host some of the most influential political actors in Egypt, such as Khairet El Shater, the deputy supreme guide of the group on multiple occasions. Ahmed Mansour, Al Jazeera Arabic’s star anchor and Muslim Brotherhood member was rewarded with several interviews with not only Khairet El Shater, but also General Guide Mohammed Badie and Mohammed Morsi. The Brotherhood also appreciates this relationship and even bizarrely extends official congratulations and “support” to Al Jazeera on significant occasions. When Morsi’s office wanted to kill the story of what seemed to be a fabricated Iran news-agency interview with the president, it knew exactly who to call.