On Al Jazeera, Brotherhood leaders call supporters to take to streets

In the third appearance of a Muslim Brotherhood leader on the Qatari Al Jazeera channel after the dispersal of the Brotherhood sit-ins on August 14, Essam al-Erian, vice president of the group's political arm, has called on supporters to take to the streets on Friday.

In the recorded TV message on Thursday, the leader of the Freedom and Justice Party asked supporters to protest against the military coup that ousted Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi, the forcible dispersal of the sit-ins demanding Morsi's reinstatement and the imprisonment of other members of the group.

Erian said protests should not be aligned with the Brotherhood in particular, but should be initiated by anyone who rejects the military coup.

He added that the Egyptian military's "war on terrorism" is imaginary, while its actions circumvent the road to democracy and are eroding everything that people fought for in the wake of the January 25 revolution.

Mohamed al-Beltagy, another party leader, made his second appearance on Al Jazeera on Wednesday evening. With a heavy use of religious references, he called on followers not to despair.

Beltagy also made a reference to his daughter Asmaa, who was killed during the dispersal by military and police forces of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in, saying that millions in the world are raising pictures of her and mourning her.

He thanked activists Alaa Abd El-Fattah, Tamim al-Barghouthy, and Mohamed Adel, as well as journalist Nadia Abou El Magd for saying the truth about the death of his daughter.

In response, Abd El Fattah wrote on Twitter that the disagreement with the Brotherhood is not political, but involves blood now. However, he continued, it needs to be solved politically because it is a disagreement with people and not just the group's leadership. He added that just because he stood against the forcible dispersal of the sit-ins and excessive use of violence against the Brotherhood, he has not forgotten of the flaws of the Brotherhood while it was in power. 

Erian and Beltagy made their appearances on television despite attempts by police to arrest them, as they are both accused of inciting violence alongside a number of other Brotherhood leaders.