Muslim Brotherhood: Egypt Grand Mufti's report ‘shocking and fabricated’

Deputy General Guide of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim Mounir, denounced “the slander and lies” contained in a report shared by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, to members of the British House of Commons during his visit to the United Kingdom.

Mounir said in a letter sent Wednesday to members of the British House of Commons: “I am writing to you today about the presentation made by the Grand Mufti of Egypt on May 17, 2022, to the parliamentary group on Egypt. The presentation was built on shocking lies about the Brotherhood, which is fully committed to peace and democracy, and rejects extremism and violence.”

Mounir pointed out that the Egyptian army and security forces are the ones who use excessive violence, for example, when they massacred peaceful demonstrators after the coup against a democratically elected government in 2013, adding that they continue to use violence against civilians today.

“The rhetoric used by the Sisi regime to describe opponents is based on hate speech, often used by authoritarian governments, which contradicts the fact that the [Muslim] Brotherhood has contributed to civil society at multiple levels over decades, as well as its commitment to the democratic process by participating in parliamentary elections, or through the first free and fair elections in the history of Egypt in 2012,” Mounir said.

READ: UK Parliament denies Mufti of Egypt invited to address house

“The Sisi regime, like other authoritarian regimes, needs a ghost, and it chose the Brotherhood for this role. It is increasingly promoting fear through state-run media, and accordingly it promotes societal splits in Egypt in order to use it as a pretext to prosecute the group and execute its members,” he added.

Mounir said Allam came to parliament to justify the Egyptian regime’s position which has been condemned by every major human rights organisation and the United Nations.

He explained that the Egyptian authorities are currently detaining about 60,000 opponents who suffer from inhumane conditions including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings, which are “systematic methods used by the military and repressive security forces, as hundreds of cases have been undoubtedly documented, and several cases of post-coup violence could amount to crimes against humanity.”

According to Mounir, Allam has approved at least 106 death sentences issued after flawed political trials, which the international community viewed as lacking due process.