A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, Mohammed Riad Al-Shaqfa, has accused Western powers of trying to exclude his party from the official Syrian opposition. However, the West “has failed”, he has claimed.
Al-Shaqfa said that the movement is no different to any other Syrian party, but it is a part of the opposition. “Indeed, we are better than other parties because we are well organised,” he pointed out.
Describing the Syrian opposition coalition as a “convention of brothers” opposing the Assad regime, he noted that they thus all have the same goal. He affirmed that Muslim Brotherhood members have places in all opposition committees despite Western attempts to exclude them.
According to Al-Shaqfa, the Brotherhood enjoys a lot of popularity among Syrians despite being expelled from the country in 1980: “All Syrian people and Syrian political parties are waiting for their return to the homeland after the latest developments.” He expects the Assad regime to fall soon and revealed attempts to form a transitional Syrian government which represents all parties.