The Obama administration has wel comed the involvement of the Mus lim Brotherhood in a new Egyptian government as long as it "renounces violence." This really misses the point.

Yes, the Brotherhood may be moderate compared to Hamas and Hezbollah -- but that's a pretty low bar.

Renouncing violence -- even for real -- doesn't render a group harmless. Do they support a true democratic, pluralistic government? Have they renounced oppressive government? Will they discriminate against minorities?

Full disclosure time: I have dozens of family members living in Egypt -- Coptic Christians, the largest religious minority in the Middle East.

The Brotherhood's stated goal is to govern by the Koran. As for violence, well, its flag depicts a sword and the Koran.

This "moderate group" that has allegedly embraced secularism also expressly seeks to ban any Egyptian president from being female or Christian. One Brookings Institution expert -- who believes the Brotherhood should be included in a new government -- told me it would probably segregate the sexes if it ever gained control.

This is what democratic elections in Egypt could bring in the long run.

The fact is, the bulk of Muslims in the Mideast are devout enough that, given a vote, they'd often choose an Islamist government. Most Egyptians I know believe the Brotherhood isn't strong enough at this point to win a popular election to head the government -- but they fear that Mohamed ElBaradei and the United States are falling for what they see as the group's very savvy p.r.

Many experts will tell you that, if the majority of a population wants to elect an Islamist government, it's not for the United States to say no. Actually, it is.

America may not be able to decide what happens in other countries, but one thing that we should be able to speak about with authority is how a true democracy operates.

True democracy is based on the premise that minorities will be protected from "the tyranny of the majority" -- not on the idea that the majority population gets whatever it wants.

We've seen how things can go awry under Islamist systems in other countries that have been hailed for their embrace of democracy.

In Pakistan, a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, has been sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy. Yes, "defaming" Mohammad is punishable by death under Pakistani law. Human-rights groups report that Christians in Pakistan are converting to Islam out of fear for their lives. Over in Indonesia, the religious affairs minister called in 2010 for the banning of the Ahmadiyah religion, a Muslim offshoot whose believers have suffered brutal attacks at the hands of Islamists.

Even in Egypt, which has a quasi-secular moderate government, the Christian minority is subject to unspeakable oppression and discrimination. What does the Obama administration think it would be like with the influence of an organization that seeks to establish law based on the Koran?

The United States stands for more than just democratic elections. We stand for freedom and human rights for all -- including minorities.

If our leaders are involved in the transition to replace the despicable Mubarak, they need to remember this -- and not encourage the trading of one evil for another, democratically elected one.

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