Muslim Brotherhood holds its conference in Benghazi for the first time

The Muslim Brotherhood in Libya has held its conference in Benghazi for the first time. The 9th Brotherhood Conference opened last Thursday in the presence of many representatives of the Transitional Council, members of the Executive Office and leaders of rebel units. A wide spectrum of Libyan political groups also attended.

The General Comptroller of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, Suleiman Abdulkadir, praised everyone who supported the revolution in the country but stressed that Libya is facing many challenges. “Gaddafi’s regime left a legacy of chaos in areas ranging from politics to sports and culture,” he warned.

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While also praising the role of the rebels in the revolution, Mr Abdulkadir stressed the importance of “mature and calm dialogue” as “the only way to resolve all of Libya’s problems”. He also commented on the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in all fields, without prejudice to any party or tribe.

According to Libya Today newspaper, which is close to the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement has held two previous conferences in Libya; in 1992 and 1995. The leader at the first, Abdul Majeed Balrwin, had to leave the country; in 1995 the leader was Abd Allah Ezzeldein, who was arrested in 1998 before his term had ended.

After the relocation to Europe of most of the Libyan members of the Brotherhood, the movement held its third conference in Britain in 1998 when Bashir Al-Kabta was in charge and this term lasted for full four years. Abdul Majeed Balrwin was back in the chair by 2002 for the fourth conference, also held in Britain. Subsequent conferences all took place in Switzerland.