A member of the leader ship of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt has rejected comparisons between the Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda calling them “Zionist claims.” In an article posted on the Brotherhood website, Dr. Mohamed Morsy, Member of the Executive Bureau of Muslim Brotherhood, stated that he was responding to a research paper issued by the Jamestown Foundation and rejected any comparison of the two organizations:
…Morsy denied that there is any intellectual or ideological relation between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda network. He affirmed that the Muslim Brotherhood adopts all peaceful methods in the public social work. “We are endorsing everything which is to the benefit and aspirations of the society” he said adding that the Muslim Brotherhood group opposes any action that may intimidate Muslims or non- Muslims.
It is not clear which Jamestown report made the comparison but it is likely a piece from March 2006 titled “Al-Qaeda & the Muslim Brotherhood: United by Strategy, Divided by Tactics” which cited the positions taken by Brotherhood MP Ragib Hamida:
Egyptian MP and Muslim Brotherhood member Ragib Hilal Hamida has been on the record stating that he supports al-Qaeda and that the Quran condones terrorism. He clarifies his position by claiming that terrorism is not a criminal act, but rather a resistance to occupation and the influence of non-Islamic powers, which is legitimate in the eyes of the Quran. In an interview with Roz al-Yousef, an Egyptian weekly, Hamida states: “Terrorism is not a curse when given its true meaning. [When interpreted accurately] it means opposing occupation as it exists in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq…From my point of view, bin Laden, al-Zawahiri and al-Zarqawi are not terrorists in the sense accepted by some. I support all their activities since they are a thorn in the side of the Americans and the Zionists” (Roz al-Yousef, January 28-February 3).Like any political organization, the Muslim Brotherhood has its hardliners, reformers and centrists, and Hamida’s views are not universally held by the Muslim Brotherhood. They are, however, representative of the Brotherhood’s broader thinking. The disagreement with al-Qaeda is over tactics, not ideology, even though this particular MP supports al-Qaeda’s tactics as well.
Neglecting however to mention the Brotherhood’s intimate relationship to Hamas Dr. Morsey claims that the Brotherhood eschews violence:
Dr. Mohamed Morsy, Member of the Excutive Bureau of Muslim Brotherhood, declared in the Egyptian moderate group has rejected all methods of violence whether it is carried out by individuals, groups or even countries….Morsy confirmed that the Muslim Brotherhood group has never exercised violence and has always condemned it since it was first founded, in 1928, and throughout its history. Regarding the some previous acts of violence allegedly committed by the group, Morsy pointed out that these accidents are only separate and individual incidents carried out before the 1950s to confront the occupation in a resistance that witnessed participation of all powers across the political spectrum in Egypt . During this period of the group”s resistance to occupation, some individual errors were committed and they were immediately condemned by the MB chairman at that time.
In a tactic common to Muslim Brotherhood groups, he goes on yo label the unfavorable analysis as “Zionist claims”:
Morsy called on all western researchers interested in Islamic movements to be professional and do not be effected by Zionism claims and it`s continuous nonrealistic aggression on muslims and he urged those researchers to come closer to the movement and deal with it and with its members in order to say the truth and be accurate in their writings. Morsy has also welcomed any objective study or research that show the Islamic movement neutrally and objectively