- MB in Arabian pressMB News
- March 7, 2007
- 12 minutes read
MB’s Mohamed Habib Speaks About Issues Of The Moment
The regime is at odds with all sectors of the society
Returning to military tribunals a relapse to democracy, violation to right of citizenship
The Muslim Brotherhood keenest to protect Egyptian stability
In spite of the crushing crisis which the Egyptians are witnessing economically and politically due to the government’s unstable actions, the security services escalated their crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group through referring 39 MB leaders to a military tribunal, giving a blind eye to every statute in the Egyptian constitution.
The escalation is a part of a scenario that aims at confronting all real opposition powers in the Egyptian street, topped by the Muslim Brotherhood, after depriving parties of their real role and spoiling the political area, leading to growing aspects of corruption in all state institutions. The last crackdown included expanding the security hunting against the group and distorting its image in the media, and shutting down many business and companies owned by members, under allegations of drying sources of the group’s financial support!!
The regime ignored also the Egyptian judicial rulings of acquitting and immediately releasing the detainees, and it unjustly issued more arrest warrants against them, according to the unjust emergency law that has been beleaguering the country during the past 25 years; the regime is doing all these actions to ratify the constitutional amendments, and silence the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition powers.
Around these developments, their consequences, Ikhwanweb held this interview with Dr. Mohamed Al Sayed Habib – the first deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood:
*How do you assess the decision of referring Khairat Al Shater- the second deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood – and 39 MB leaders to a military court?
*The decision is very serious relapse to the path of democracy and human rights; it is an unjust decision against a political group that has a considerable presence in the Egyptian political scene; this political group, the Muslim Brotherhood, is the biggest opposition group both in the Egyptian street and parliament; it has 88 MPs; this decision aims at sidelining the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in the Egyptian political life, after the achievements it realized during 2005 legislative elections.
This exceptional measure will make Arab and foreign investors generally feel that there is no stability in the country, leading to the escape of investment, and consequently, causing grave damages to the Egyptian economy and development, in addition to distorting the reputation, dignity and image of Egypt; this will also add more tensions, specially during such conditions which Egypt is witnessing, including the overwhelming state of anger on the regional level due to the Israeli attempts of demolishing the noble Al Aqsa Mosque, something that requires governments, regimes and peoples to close ranks in order to fight this aggression.
*What was the MB’s reaction towards the decision of referring MB leaders to a military tribunal?
*The Muslim Brotherhood denounced the president’s decision, confirming that it is unfair and does not take into consideration the minimum required rights of citizenship, and that it violates the constitutional right that citizens stand trial in front of a civil judge; Mr. Mohamed Mahdi Akef, the chairman of The Muslim Brotherhood, said in a statement issued on Wednesday Feb., 7, 2007 that: ” Returning to sending civilians to military courts is a serious relapse the threatens citizenship and human rights and proves to all that Egypt is experiencing a state of instability.
Sending businessmen and investors to military courts due to economic charges, and freezing assets will definitely have a negative impact on the climate of investment and development at time Egypt is seeking all efforts to bring it out of the deteriorating economic situations, including unemployment, price hikes and poverty that hit all citizens.”
The group confirms that Causing tensions between the regime and people serves only our country”s enemies, including Zionists and Americans and helps these enemies maintain their aggressive policy against Arabs and Muslims and leads to spreading schism all over the Muslim Arab World.
*Will these aggravating crackdowns affect the peaceful method adopted by the group?
*The Muslim Brotherhood confirms that it will cooperate with all sincere Egyptians to achieve the political and constitutional reforms through all peaceful and legal methods to realize freedom, justice and equality for all Egyptians.
*How far is the last decision of freezing the assets affecting the group?
* The group doesn’t have any company or business, but there are some of the group members have their own businesses; consequently, the regime’s crackdown of shutting down these businesses had a huge damage on the owners and their families, and this harmed also the Egyptian economy; Al-Misriyoun newspaper website said on Jan., 17, 2007, that the stock market organization is warning of a stock collapse because of the security blows against MB businessmen, and that 21 billion pounds were smuggled to outside the country during the past months!!
I’d like to confirm that the group funds its activities from its purses of its members; hence, it hasn’t been affected by these campaigns.
*How do you account for these successive security crackdowns?
*These crackdowns and other synch media campaigns against the group aim covering the constitutional amendments that the government wants to ratify during the coming period, with hearing any objection or voice that may reveal their fatal flaws on freedoms and rights of citizens; the regime’s message is that the group mustn’t carry out of any activity or role that may obstruct the proposed constitutional amendments.
*But president Mubarak said in his latest statements that: the group is a threat to the Egyptian security, and that their assuming power will harm Egypt and will cause disasters!!
* First: The Muslim Brotherhood members are the keenest people to the security, stability and prosperity of Egypt.
Second: We aren”t so much concerned with the issue of assuming power, and there is still a long distance to reach it.
Third: If President Mubarak is concerned with Hamas experience last year, the blockade imposed on it and on the government on the domestic and foreign levels show the flagrant double standard policy adopted by the West, in addition to exposing its false allegation that it aims at spreading democracy in the Arab and Islamic world.
Fourth: What harms Egypt are the tyrannical and repressive methods adopted by the government against people in general and the opposition in particular, the state of emergency, the exceptional courts and laws that restrict freedoms, lacking a fully independent judiciary, holding rigged elections that lack transparency and do not express the free will of the people, and the corruption which is wide spread in all state administrative services, disorder and the gross negligence that has claimed lives of thousands of citizens.
*What is your response to these detentions? Are these statements a green light for liquidating the group?!
* The Muslim Brotherhood has faced throughout its long history violent and severe crackdowns, but these crackdowns failed to achieve their targets, and the group became more solid and stability; this is actually attributed to its unblemished idea, method and target, in addition to the strong structure of the organization; anyway, attempting to excluding or sidelining the Muslim Brotherhood and its role in the political scene will cause a grave harm to the political equation and will deprive our country of the efforts of sincere and respected citizens.
*How will the proposed constitutional amendments be?
*The suggested constitutional amendments are clearly a backpedaling; they impose more restrictions on public freedoms; I do not mean the articles related to the economic system and the form of society; I mean those articles that deny citizens the right to freely form parties, violate the principle of citizenship through confining the nomination for the presidential elections to parties only, make presidential terms endless, exclude judges from fully supervising the parliamentary elections and hold these elections in one day to set the scene for rigging them and fixing their results, and marginalize of Muslim Brotherhood”s role in the political life… etc.
*The group has earlier took to the streets in peaceful demonstrations, why have the MB voices faded and taking to the streets in demonstrations stopped in spite of what is happening?!
*The demonstrations are a means, not an end; every incident is estimated according to its size. What “s important is that means are appropriate for the incident; there are many methods like seminars and conferences in addition parliamentary methods that can play an effective role in achieving the target more than what demonstrations can do.
*It is clear that the regime is carrying out continuous escalations in the media and security aspects against the Muslim Brotherhood… Do you have a clear strategy to deal with such an escalation?
*We are adopting media, political and legal methods; what is most important for us is
1-Uncover the truth in front of the public opinion, and illustrate that the charges are groundless
2-Shed light on the corruption and tyranny that the ruling party
3-Expose the state of stagnation dominating the Egyptian political scene, in addition to the failure in solving all problems facing the Egyptian citizen in all political, economic and social fields.
* You stated that a Muslim Brotherhood party will be established during the coming period… When and how ..? and what is its program?
* We only stated that we are about to declare the program of a political party to cover our ideas, concepts and visions in various societal issues that include politics, economy, culture and sociology… etc, in addition to the regional and international relations; immediately after finalizing it, this program will be presented to political, cultural and intellectual elites to hold discussions and dialogues around it aiming to enriching it, and presenting it after that to the public opinion as a document.
* If your idea of a political party has been rejected, how will you exercise the political action? Is there any future view for making alliances with some parties and repeat experience of past alliances?
* Let”s wait first for the final form of the constitutional amendments and the nature of the ensuing laws; we will make the suitable decisions at that moment.
*Do you have a view for defusing the current tensions?
* We are always keen to defuse tensions because the current tense atmosphere does not benefit the Da”wa, and does not benefit Egypt or any other party; Egypt is shouldered with heavy burdens; all Egyoptians are suffering; we should concentrate our efforts on working for improving Egypt; this doesn”t mean that we will not face corruption and tyranny, but we will continue all our activities through peaceful and constitutional methods.
*How you see the future of Egypt in coming period?
*I am not optimistic; the current regime is at odds with all sectors of the society, including students, professors, journalists, civil society institutions and the judges; the successive governments failed to solve the problems facing the Egyptian citizens. Economically, socially, culturally and developmentally, in addition to marginalizing Egypt”s pivotal and strategic role at the regional and international levels.
