The Egyptian Foreign Ministry yesterday welcomed the British report on the assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood group’s activity, calling it “a serious step in combatting and limiting the terrorist, extremist ideology.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said, in a statement: “The release of this report represents an important and serious step from Britain in combatting and limiting the terrorist, extremist ideology.”
According to a statement made by the British prime minister before the House of Commons, the Muslim Brotherhood has “highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism”.
“Aspects of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology and activities… run counter to British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, equality and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs” David Cameron explained.
Britain will continue to refuse visas to members and associates of the group who have made extremist comments, he said, and intensify its scrutiny of the views and activities which Muslim Brotherhood members, associates and affiliates promote overseas.
The British report recommended the UK refuse visa requests from members of the Muslim Brotherhood or their associates who have called for violence and extremism, and also to ensure that charity organisations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood are not used to finance the group. The recommendations included: continuing to closely follow-up and check whether the views and activities of the group are consistent with British law.
The London-based leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Soudan, said the group “will appeal against David Cameron’s report that discusses the group and extremism.”
Soudan added: “the group had not seen and did not receive a copy of the report just yet, and the group’s source of information on this matter has been the published media reports.”
middleeastmonitor.com
