Muslim Brotherhood: We need Holy Democracy, and not Sharia. We are against Islamic state

10 February 2011

An Egyptian opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, has stated that it seeks to promote Holy Democracy, but is not going to nominate its candidate for "presidential elections", Chicago Tribune wrote as quoted by the CNN.

"The Muslim Brotherhood does not seek power - Mohammed Mursi, a member of the group's media office, said at a Cairo news conference. We want to participate, not to dominate. We will not have a presidential candidate, we want to participate and help, we are not seeking power".

Another high-ranking representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Katatni, tried to allay fears that the movement seeks to establish Islamic law (Sharia) and a Caliphate in Egypt: "We reject the religious state", he said.

Opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood recently claimed that the movement did not believe in the equality of Muslims and Christian Copts, and in the equality of sexes. Some of them even speculated that "foreign militants" had taken part in the riots at Tahrir Square, Chicago Tribune said.

Meanwhile, editor of the English-language website of the Egyptian organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, condemned the calls by the Mujahideen of Iraq for Jihad in Egypt and the establishment of the Sharia law.

Editor of Ikhwanweb Khaled Hamza stated that the Muslim Brotherhood remained committed to non-violent methods and condemned any interference in the internal affairs of Egypt.

He stressed that the Egyptians could solve their own problems without anyone's intervention, including Al-Qaeda and similar groups, which "promote violence".

The Muslim Brotherhood is convinced that the Egyptians will ignore a recent statement by al-Qaeda, as well as its ideology, because it supposedly "contradicts the basic principles of Islam" and a peaceful nature of the Egyptian people. The Muslim Brotherhood did not say what principles of Islam they referred to.

Hamza has confirmed that the current revolution in Egypt is a "people's revolution" and not Islamic, and it involves representatives of all religions and their movements. Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood acts as part of the people, who teamed up in the name of Sacred Western Freedom and Holy Democracy.

Kavkaz Center