The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has issued a statement condemning the recent bomb attack at a Coptic Church in Alexandria. According to the statement:
MB vehemently condemns criminal blast outside Alexandria’s church describing it as a barbaric and cowardly act of violence and a criminal act of terrorism calling for the immediate identification, investigation and punishment of perpetrators.The attack comes after Egypt’s interior ministry promised it would increase security around Christian sites following threats on Egyptian Christians by Al-Qaeda in Iraq and a year after another attack on Coptic Christians – a drive-by shooting in the town of Nag Hammadi that left six Christians and one Muslim dead.Former MB MP Hussein Ibrahim and head of the group’s administrative office in Alexandria condemns in the strongest possible terms this example of terrorists’ cynical and callous disregard for human life. He called for all round calm in these circumstances and the solidarity of Muslims and Christians, stressing that nothing will justify the terrorism, which is an aggression against Islam’s values which forbids any act of violence without distinction of language, culture or religion. He added that the MB calls on authorities to step up and assume its responsibilities in providing the necessary security around all worshipping sites and premises and demands those responsible of this heinous crime be immediately brought to justice.
The Egyptian Brotherhood has also posted a statement dated December 31 which proclaims that the Brotherhood “is not against the Copts”:
The Muslim Brotherhood’s chairman Dr. Mohamed Badie extended his warmest wishes to the Copts in Egypt and around the world for the celebrations of Christmas, 2010. The relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Copts has been amiable where history records the Muslim Brotherhood as perceiving the Copts as part of the nation; a nation which is one in unity encompassing all those who acknowledge its political authority, and appreciates in its intellectual literature the attitude of the moderate jurisprudence towards the non-Muslims and the privileges and legal rights that were granted to minorities. The Muslim Brotherhood has acknowledged that its religious awakening, as an identity and cultural project, is not against the Copts nor has it ever given wealth to the majority and neglected the minority. History witnesses that the MB has never tried to marginalize the Copts’ political activities in ruling institutions where the relationship between the Copts and the Muslim Brotherhood in the general aspects of life has always been an example of toleration and appreciation. According to the group’s founder, Imam Hassan El-Banna: “Islam cares most of all about the human bondage between all members of the human race. It also came with mercy from Allah our Lord to all humanity, and prohibits assault, even in cases of anger and enmity. Furthermore, Islam recommends reverence among all citizens even if their creeds and religions differ, and treating the People of the Book with kindness; as they have the same rights that we have, and carry the same obligations. We, the members of the Muslim Brotherhood, recognize that we do not call for ethnic discrimination, or sectarian fanaticism. It is with this ideology that El-Banna and the followers of his MB movement defined a bond of brotherhood for the entire Islamic nation that is comprised of various creeds, languages, and religions, where they firmly believe that non-Muslims are part of this nation and that the non-Muslim minority in this country believe they will find equality, peace, and justice under the shade of our religion even if its teachings are not included in their creed. The MB has followed, is following and will always adhere to the principle that Islam respects the general bond between all humans, as it came to spread virtue, resist vice, and respect all ideals.
A recent post discussed the Egyptian Brotherhood’s condemnation of Al Qaeda threats directed against the Copt who are Egyptians whose ancestors embraced Christianity in the first centuries A.D.
Previous posts have discussed the claim by Egyptian Copts that the Egyptian government is afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood, the statements by a well-known Egyptian blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for the deteriorating position of religious minorities in Egypt, and reactions by the Muslim Brotherhood to a shooting attack against Coptic Christians in southern Egypt claiming that religious intolerance was not to blame. Another post discussed an interview with the Secretary-General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in which its Secretary-General accuses Egyptian Coptic churches of storing weapons in their monasteries to be used against Muslims. The IUMS is headed by Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi.
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood can be considered to be the “mother” organization of what is referred to in these pages as the Global Muslim Brotherhood which developed as Muslim Brothers fleeing Egypt settled in Europe and the United States, as well as other places, throughout the years. The global network has since eclipsed the Egyptian organization as evidenced by global Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi’s decision to turn down the leadership of the Egyptian organization when it was offered to him in 2004.