MB shows ugly face in battle against regime

CAIRO - 16 August 2017: For a long time the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) acted innocently in their battle against the current regime, alleging peaceful intentions in their attempt to topple the government, until they showed their real face publically last July, when they announced their plan to use violence to overthrow the regime, directing violent tips to their supporters to deal with the army, in case they revolt.

On July 31, their political arm, The Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC), published on their Facebook page a video offering strategies for violently toppling the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, under the hashtag “#Preparing for the Revolution”. The video provides their supporters with tips to confront the heavy weapons of the army. It even gave them hints about dealing with armored vehicles, air fighters, tanks, and how to paralyze soldiers and pilots before reaching the air bases, based on the coups that took place in Turkey and Venezuela, according to the research group of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (ITP).

The ERC is known for its lobbying against Sisi's government in the West. Its members even met with Obama administration officials and liberal think tanks in 2015; however, it enjoys little influence or name recognition within Egypt.

“Its turn toward endorsing violence puts egg on the faces of the Obama administration officials and the liberal intellectuals who embraced them,” Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Samuel Tadros told ITP. He added, "Even the fronts created to talk to the West are now using the language of violence. The mask has fallen; there's no need to pretend any longer."

“ERC members used talking points about democracy and the rule of law while speaking in English during their 2015 visit,” Tadros said. “But those points were noticeably absent when they spoke in Arabic,” he added.

The Brotherhood was designated a terrorist group by the Egyptian government in 2013. Ever since the ouster of MB-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi, terrorist attacks have not stopped against security forces in Sinai Peninsula, in addition to security forces in Greater Cairo, and against the Copts across the nation, as revenge for their support of the popular movement that toppled Morsi in 2013.