Egyptian media is reporting that according to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, it would be working with the National Assembly for Change (NAC) led by Mohamed El-Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and now opposition politician. According to a report in Al-Masry Al-Youm:
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement confirmed this week that it would be working with the National Assembly for Change (NAC) led by independent reformer Mohamed ElBaradei. The statement came in response to remarks made by ElBaradei on Tuesday to German magazine Der Spiegel, in which he said the NAC planned to work with the MB with a view towards realizing political reform in Egypt. “We support Dr. ElBaradei, and the time has come for him to sit down with the people–and with the brotherhood,” said leading MB member Essam al-Arian. ElBaradei plans to visit the Upper Egyptian Minya governorate on Saturday, where he is scheduled to meet a number of political leaders and NAC members. Meeting parricipants are expected to discuss Egypt’s recently concluded parliamentary elections–which were accompanied by widespread reports of electoral fraud–as well as upcoming presidential elections slated for late next year. According to al-Arian, ElBaradei is expected to meet leading MB member Saad al-Katatni during his visit to al-Minya. “Communication between the brotherhood and ElBaradei are ongoing, and our position on him–and his seven demands for change–remains unchanged,” said al-Katatni. “We will be working with the NAC in the coming period.” On Wednesday, MB General Guide Mohammed Badie met with current and former NAC coordinators Abdul Jalil Mustafa and Hassan Nafea–along with Ghad Party founder Ayman Nour–with whom he discussed the recent parliamentary polls and the accompanying “legal and constitutional violations” that were said to have taken place. Discussions reportedly included the group’s plans for the coming period and prospects for dissolving the incoming, ruling party-dominated national assembly.
Previous posts have discussed El-Baradei’s defense of the Muslim Brotherhood and his inclusion of the organization in a national opposition front which he inaugurated. Previous posts have also discussed the recent Egyptian parliamentary elections in which the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood won only one seat, following a campaign directed against them by the ruling government.
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.