Green Energy

Egypt: The Muslim Brotherhood Might Be Banned By The New Military-Led Government

Barack Obama will not be happy about this.

From the New York Times:

CAIRO — The new military-led government accused Mohamed Morsi and his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday of a campaign to incite violence against their foes before and after his ouster as president, offering a new explanation for the week-old takeover and hinting that the group might be banned once again.

As protesters rallied against Mr. Morsi in the weeks leading up to his forced removal on July 3, “the other side held conferences to call them ‘infidels’ ” and his supporters “incited to call for the killing of opponents of the president,” Ahmed Ali, a military spokesman, said in a briefing for the international news media. “Such calls were approved and advocated by the presidency,” he added, suggesting that such threats — and not just large public demonstrations or political deadlock — forced the military to intervene.

Leaders of the Brotherhood, Egypt’s mainstream Islamist group, denied those charges. They noted that the main slogan of their rallies before the takeover had been “No to violence,” and that the group had not condoned violence in Egypt since the British occupation.

The new explanation appeared aimed at adding to the justification for a broadening crackdown, including new arrest warrants issued Wednesday for the Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, Mohamed Badie, and eight other well-known allies.

The government prosecutors accused all nine of inciting Morsi supporters into a lopsided clash with soldiers and the police on Monday morning that led to the death of one soldier and two police officers; the security forces killed 51of Mr. Morsi’s civilian supporters and wounded more than 400, almost all with gunfire.

Witnesses said the forces had fired with little or no provocation, but government spokesmen charged Wednesday that the Islamists had deliberately sought to instigate the deadly retaliation for propaganda purposes — “To mark this as ‘The army is trying to kill civilians,’ ” one said.

Security forces are still holding about 200 of about 650 protesters they chased down in the streets during the fighting, as well as many prominent Islamists. Mr. Morsi himself is being held in an undisclosed location. “For his safety, for the safety of the country,” said Badr Abdelatty, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

The crackdown appeared to meet little international resistance on Wednesday. The Pentagon put out a statement saying that, “given the events of last week, the president has directed relevant departments and agencies to review our assistance to the government of Egypt.” For now, however, plans to continue with the delivery of four F-16 warplanes will not be halted, officials said.

Oil-rich Persian Gulf monarchies that fear the Muslim Brotherhood rewarded the takeover with financial support. Kuwait pledged $4 billion on Wednesday, adding to the $8 billion in grants, loans and fuel promised the day before by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At times, Egyptian officials appeared to suggest that the military-led government might ban the Brotherhood as an organization altogether, a move that would amount to a head-snapping reversal for the group.

Outlawed for six decades under Egypt’s military-backed autocracy, the Brotherhood was legalized after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, becoming a legitimate religious and charitable group, an accepted part of the social fabric and the sponsor of the political party that won the presidency and led Parliament. In the past two years, Brotherhood leaders have routinely met with ambassadors, foreign ministers and American Congressional delegations, and one even met President Obama in the Oval Office.

Mohamed Badr Eldin Zayed, chairman of the state information service, suggested that investigators were examining the possibility that the Brotherhood might have held weapons in its headquarters, which he said could lead to a prohibition on the group but not its political party. “If the group is banned, they still have the party,” he said, adding, “If it is proven that there were weapons inside the headquarters.”

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