MB’s Opinion in a Newsletter: Serious Incidents Surrounding Egypt and the Arab World

MB’s Opinion in a Newsletter: Serious Incidents Surrounding Egypt and the Arab World

Arab countries, particularly Egypt, are witnessing tension and serious incidents which threaten to shake the unity of the people, and specifically in Egypt, the seeds of discord have been sewn between Muslims and Christians, a Salafi preacher has been killed in Alexandria as a result of torture by State Security and throughout the region there are protests and riots occurring in Algeria and Tunisia. This coincides with a referendum for Southern Sudan, and the Israeli occupation’s arrest of Palestinian resistance leaders, who were released from jail by the outgoing Palestinian Authority government.
 
The Muslim Brotherhood views this as follows:
 
First: On the domestic level
 
The Muslim Brotherhood affirms they reject the unfair exceptional trials of MB senior figures in the Muslim world by military tribunals, namely: businessman Osama Sulaiman, Sheikh Wagdy Ghoneim, Sheikh Awad al-Qarni, Sheikh Ibrahim Munir and Sheikh Ashraf Abdel Ghaffar. The MB firmly believes that the regime has failed to protect its people, insisting on antagonizing honorable men and remain unconcerned about its consequential negative effects on Egypt’s security and stability. It is incumbent upon the authorities to protect citizens from the conspiracies that would undermine the people’s safety against corrupters who work for their own interests at the expense of the country’s best interests, and maintain justice and equality throughout the country, instead of tracking reformist politicians, confiscating their property, and unjustly imprisoning them.
 
The Muslim Brotherhood demands an urgent investigation into anyone who actively participated in the torture and consequent death of 32-year-old Sayed Bilal, as well as those who threatened his family and forced him to confess to a crime he did not commit. It demonstrates that the Egyptian security services focus their efforts on political persecution and completely disregard its chief task of maintaining the people’s safety and security. The MB underscores that the death of the Salafist member in Alexandria as a result of torture by the State Security has revealed the fabricated claims on respect for human rights, by the West and the world’s free people to condemn such heinous crimes.
 
The group completely denounces the remarks made by France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Pope Benedict XVI and their demand for international protection of minorities in the Middle East, labeling it a US-Zionist malicious call. The MB also draws attention to the Egyptian regime’s weaknesses, failings and oppression of its people and their interests that prompted France and others to interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs under the pretext of maintaining the security of Copts. This also clearly demonstrates the failings of Arab regimes as a whole that have no popular legitimacy and which encourage entities hostile to Islam, demanding the deployment of international forces in Arab states to protect minorities with the aim of dividing Arab states into smaller units.
 
Second: Internationally and regionally
 
The Brotherhood is deeply concerned about the serious crisis that is rapidly taking place in many Arab countries as is the case in Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq, stressing they support people’s demands to obtain their rights. The MB is concerned about the systems’ disregard, which will inevitably lead to chaos and ignite strife in the Middle East as a whole. The Brotherhood appeals to Arab/Muslim leaders to reform the deteriorating living conditions, allow people to exercise their opinion freely, return rights to their rightful owners and realize that the people constitute their real guarantee. They should be aware of the seriousness of recent American intervention in stirring up sedition in the Muslim world.
 
The Muslim Brotherhood reiterates that the referendum on independence for Southern Sudan is doubtful and a ticking time bomb plotted against the Arab/ Muslim world. We appeal to Arab and Muslim peoples, businessmen, relief organizations and voluntary bodies to provide a helping hand to the people of Southern Sudan for fear that it will be an easy prey to Zionists and missionary organizations to tighten their grip over it.
 
The Brothers argue that the Zionist occupation’s arrest of a number of West Bank-based Hamas leaders after their release by the PA security services undermines its legitimacy and unquestionably verifies the seriousness of growing economic and security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It has become a major threat to the Palestinian armed resistance in the West Bank, and clearly reveals the suspicious role played by some Palestinian Authority leaders against the armed resistance.
 
Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood demands outgoing Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, to preserve the unity of Palestinian ranks, put an end to his government’s security cooperation with the occupation, actively seek to complete reconciliation, and fully support the resistance as it is the single solution to end the Israeli occupation of the occupied territory and establish a Palestinian state in all the region of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.