Sisi sets conditions to reconcile with Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s military backed President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi has said that reconciliation with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) would not be carried out unless the group recognises the June 30 revolution and all consequent political, legal and constitutional arrangements.

Chief Editor of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Shorouk Emad El-Din Hussein reported a source close to Al-Sisi saying: “The president’s proposal to include the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies in the political process is not conditioned only on their renouncement of violence, but with the change of the current leadership.”

The source said that the hands of the current MB leadership were “tainted with blood” and they have refused all the political solutions proposed to them. “This led the country to the open-ended circle of violence,” the source added.

According to the source: “The Muslim Brotherhood has to give up its old ideology based on mixing between religion and politics… If the Muslim Brotherhood leaders wanted to be involved in politics, they needed to only be politicians. Egypt suffered too much in the previous years from the mix and the new constitution criminalises mixing politics and religion.”

Previously, Al-Sisi told AP that the MB had a chance to rule Egypt without violence and that was clear in “our speech” on July 3. “They had the chance to work in partnership with others, but they chose the confrontation,” he said.

“Participation [in ruling Egypt] is available to everyone who renounces violence,” he told AP. “Egypt and the acting regime are very tolerant. However, the Egyptians do not want violence and conflict. The chance [for the MP] to take part is still available, without the use of violence.”

Meanwhile, the MB refused these conditions and remarks. It said Al-Sisi is aiming to “market [himself] to the international community”.