In response to a call by Islamic thinker Fahmi Howeidy, the Muslim Brotherhood has disassociated itself from violence and terrorism and condemned bloodshed.
This came in a statement on Wednesday that was quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.
“We derive our ideas and principles from moderate Islam, and we respect the sanctity of human life and the sanctity of blood. That is why we cannot harm anyone even if he harmed us.
“We were brutally tortured in the prisons in 1954 and 1965, but we did not take revenge when we came out. And when our members considered those who tortured them infidels, we expelled them from the group.
“Thousands of us were killed in the massacres of Rabaa and al-Nahda without raising a single weapon, and our leaders were arrested and assaulted with all kinds of aggression without even defending themselves.
“More than 50,000 of us were arrested under former President Hosni Mubarak and sent to military trials. Some were tortured and killed, and their money was confiscated. But they did not resort to violence or raise a weapon. They stayed peaceful.
“We condemned the destruction of the twin towers in New York on the very same day, and we condemned the terrorist acts that took place in Saudi Arabia.
“Mubarak himself told a French newspaper in 1992 that we are not a violent or terrorist group, and that we are only interested in winning elections.
“We have participated with all political forces in many conferences. They would not have allowed us had we been a terrorist group.”
Edited translation from Anadolu
