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UAE's description of Brotherhood as a 'terrorist group' a foregone conclusion

November 17, 2014 at 2:50 pm

The UAE’s categorisation of the organisation as a terrorist group is “a foregone conclusion that is not surprising and will not affect the future of the group”, Ibrahim Munir, secretary-general of the International Organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood, said.

In his exclusive statements, Munir told the Anadolu Agency: “We were not surprised by the United Arab Emirates’ decision, which is a foregone conclusion. The country had a negative stance towards the group before the coup in Egypt, which it supported.”

“The Muslim Brotherhood respects the people in the United Arab Emirates and considers the current government to be burden on the backs of the Emiratis. The UAE has been making bad decisions and, as such, it is unknown who is behind these policies,” Munir continued.

Speaking from his home in London, Munir emphasised that the group does not have a history of terrorism and that it wholly denounces terrorist activity, however, he considers the UAE’s interference in another country’s internal affairs terrorism.

In regards to the impact of this decision and the stances of both Saudi Arabia and Egypt on the Brotherhood, Munir said: “By the grace of God, the Brotherhood has faced all obstacles and the times of oppression have passed. The decisions of these rulers are no match for the will of the people.”

On Saturday, the United Arab Emirates released a list of 83 organisations, community groups and movements, which it described as “terrorist organisations”, including ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, 23 groups from Syria and 14 from Europe.

The list, which was published by the Emirates News Agency, only had two groups from the UAE: the Emirates Muslim Reform Society (Islah) and Emirati Jihad. The Egyptian foreign ministry added the organisations on the Emirati list to its own list of terrorist organisations.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia added the Muslim Brotherhood to its list of terrorist organisations on March 7, while Egypt announced its classification of the group in December of last year.

The group denies the Egyptian government’s accusations and has said that the authorities have always committed acts of violence against the group. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt also said that it was engaging in peaceful protests when President Mohamed Morsi, who belonged to the group, was ousted in July last year.