Hodaibi urged Arab and Muslim leaders to unify stances to confront the American assault

By Hany Mohammad, IOL Staff

CAIRO, January 3 (IslamOnline) – Egyptian security forces' arrest of 14 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday, January 2, was an attempt to contain reactions to the envisaged U.S.-led war on Iraq, a member of the outlawed group said.

In exclusive interview to IslamOnline, Abd el-Moneim Abu el-Fotoh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood guidance office, said security forces accused the arrestees of being active among students communities.

The arrests came a day after the Brotherhood Guide-General Mohammad Ma'moun el-Hodaibi urged Arab and Muslim leaders to unify stances and close ranks with their peoples to confront the American assault.

They include Tareq Mohammad Abd el-Gawad, a grandson of the movement's former guide-general Mustafa Mashhour, who passed away in November 2002.

This is not the first time Egyptian security forces arrest Muslim Brotherhood members since el-Hodaibi assumed his post, said Abu el-Fotoh, recalling the arrest of 15 Muslim brothers before Eid-ul-Fitr.

Only eight of the 15 people, who were tortured by the security forces, were released so far, he added.

Abu el-Fotoh refused to link between the new arrest and el-Hodaibi's statement, stressing that the guide-general had only appealed to leaders and peoples to face up their common enemy.

On the statement marked by harsh language against the United States, he reiterated the Muslim Brotherhood's firm opposition to foreign military presence on Arab and Islamic territories.

"There is no doubt that the U.S. is not only targeting Islamic movements but also leaders and regimes regardless of whether they are democratic or not," stressed Abu el-Fotoh.

On Wednesday, January 1,  el-Hodaibi called on the leaders of Arab and Islamic countries to rearrange their homes and to activate the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference to be able to stand up to the colonial campaign waged by the United States on the nation.

In his statement, the Muslim Brotherhood Guide-General described the U.S. as the heir of the western colonialism.

Commenting on el-Hodaibi's statement, Diaa Rashwan, an experts in Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told IslamOnline that the harsh criticism to Washington was attributed to two factors.

First, he said, the Muslim Brotherhood group is well aware of dissatisfaction with American policies among Arab and Islamic elites, people and even leaderships.

The Muslim Brotherhood as a political movement is therefore seeking to vocalize theses anti-American sentiments, he added.

Second, peoples and charities linked to the Muslim Brotherhood were placed by the United States on its terrorist lists, such as El-Taqwa Bank, the expert recalled.

Thus, the Muslim Brotherhood is not ruling out the possibility of being placed on the same American lists as part of an American scheme to quell movements and groups critical of American policies, he added.

Rashwan declined, however, to link between el-Hodaibi's statement and the new arrest campaign.

The arrests are part of the Egyptian security's strategy in dealing with the outlawed group since 1995 which focus on early and continued exhaustion of the Muslim Brotherhood, stressed the expert.

He recalled in this respect how Gamal Hechmat, an Islamic lawmaker, lost his seat in the Egyptian parliament Sunday, December 15, after election results in his northern constituency were cancelled over irregularities.

Hechmat, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, ran as an independent in the parliamentary elections.

He was elected during polls organized in October and November 2000, beating candidates from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and liberal opposition Wafd party.

He won a second round of balloting which pitted him against the NDP candidate.