Leading member says MB in Egypt will survive current crisis

Azzam al-Tamimi, a leading British-Palestinian member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said in an interview with privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm on Saturday that the current crisis is similar to many that the group has faced in Egypt in the past, and that the organization will emerge from it stronger than before.

Tamimi is an academic and political activist based in London, and the chairman of Al-Hewar TV channel.

In his interview, Tamimi tells Al-Masry Al-Youm that the crisis the Muslim Brotherhood went through in the 1950s and 1960s was more difficult than the current one, asserting that the Brotherhood in Egypt has not been eradicated.

President Gamal Abdel Nasser cracked down heavily on the group in the 1950s, imprisoning its leaders and prohibiting its activities. The group remained persecuted until they dominated parliament and won the presidency following Mubarak’s removal in February 2011.

A new crackdown began against the group following former President Morsi’s ouster last year, which intensified in August with the violent dispersal of the Rabea and Nahda sit-ins. All Brotherhood leaders are now in prison and the group has been declared a terrorist organization, leading many to believe that this marks the end of Brotherhood presence in Egypt.

However, Tamimi uses the example of the Palestinian Hamas movement, which survived in the 1990s despite the fact that its first, second and third front leaders were imprisoned. He said that he expects Brotherhood youth to lead during the current crisis.

Tamimi said that presidential candidate and former Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi betrayed his president by removing Morsi from power, and asserted that the group still insists on its original demand, which is the return of Morsi.

Tamimi called the International Criminal Court rejection of the case raised by the Muslim Brotherhood against the Egyptian authorities “politicized,” and said that the group intends to challenge this decision.

He also stated that the British government’s recent decision to investigate the Brotherhood’s activities in the country was caused by pressure from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and added that he did not expect the investigation to result in negative measures against Islamist movements in Britain.