For the coup to succeed Al-Sisi must ban the Brotherhood from hearts and minds

The judiciary which now takes its orders from General Al-Sisi and his coup leader cronies has issued a ruling to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood; that sums up all that has occurred in Egypt since the brutal military coup on July 3rd. After thousands of the group’s members and supporters were killed in the Rabaa Al-Adawiyya and Nahda Square massacres; after the detention of thousands more, including the Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, deputies, senior officials and intellectuals; after the burning of its headquarters and the theft of its property; and the violation of the sanctity of its leading officials’ homes, all that was left for the coup authorities to do was corrupt the judiciary.

He is trying to guarantee the success of his bloody coup and cement his rule with an iron fist. However, if he and his fellow coup leaders hadn’t felt that their government is on shaky foundations and close to failure then he wouldn’t have resorted to banning to country’s largest civil society organisation. Every time he sees the daily demonstrations against the military coup, he sees that they have increased and diversified; they are no longer limited to the Islamic movements, but now also include many from other political trends who took to the streets on June 30th and gave Al-Sisi the mandate he used to kill their brothers and children. Such people have finally woken up and seen past the deception and lies and realised that they were being exploited by the coup.

The blood that has been spilt may have stirred some consciences but we are still waiting on the rest of the Egyptian public to wake up before the gang in charge ruin Egypt, when it will be too late to cry over its demise. It is clear that Al-Sisi and his supporters are well aware that the coups is on the verge of collapse despite their claims that their “road map” is on track and that they have formed the disgraceful “Committee of the Fifty” to draft a new constitution. This is why they are resorting to the kind of vengeful measures usually associated with people who are scared and cowardly, such as the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood. Does he actually think that this ruling – which would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious will be the end of the movement?

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded by the martyred Imam Hassan Al-Banna in 1928, over 80 years ago, and it has spread to over 80 countries around the world, despite all the oppression and torture that its members and supporters have been subjected to at the hands of tyrannical regimes. Dictatorial rulers have been humiliated with their fall but the Brotherhood has remained rooted in Egyptian society and the land. The Muslim Brotherhood is not merely a headquarters or office; individuals who are killed or detained do not simply die and fade from the collective memory. Their ideas do not die; they grow and develop as you would expect of an ideology which springs out of the Book of Allah and the example of His Final Prophet. It is not based on a man-made ideology such as Marxism, which is what those who support the military coup believe in and the coup leaders use to gain their positions.

It is funny, indeed ironic, that this weak claim was made in the court which banned the Brotherhood by the left-wing Tagammu Party, which is known for its extreme hatred of and hostility towards the Islamic movement. It only won three parliamentary seats while the Muslim Brotherhood represents a majority in parliament. If Al-Sisi wants to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, he has a long way to go before he can ban it from the hearts and minds of the people. Only then might he be able to say that his coup has been a success.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.