Islamic alliance ‘will not target Muslim Brotherhood’

The head of the Middle East Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, retired Saudi General Anwar Majed Eshqi, has said that the newly-formed Islamic Alliance will not target the Muslim Brotherhood.

Speaking to Gulf Online news agency, Eshqi said that the movement is not full of terrorists. “Terrorists are those who kill people and destroy property to achieve political purposes,” he explained. However, he ruled out any change of policy by Saudi Arabia which included the Brotherhood on its “terrorist” list last year.

Eshqi, who is close to the decision-making circles in Riyadh, explained that the new alliance will support member states militarily and financially if they become the targets of terrorist attacks. He expects that the bloc will adopt the terrorism list issued by the UN and the version to be issued soon by Jordan.

Saudi Arabia included Daesh, Al-Nusra Front and the Muslim Brotherhood, along with other groups, on its terrorism list in March last year. At the time, the Saudi interior ministry said that the list was prepared after consultations with the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of Islamic affairs, the ministry of justice, the bureau of investigation and prosecution, and other state agencies.