Khalid Kamal, a specialist in human development and an expert on body language, said the Muslim Brotherhood leaders’ smile during arrest is forced and does not reflect the real psychological state experienced by these leaders who were once in power but now pursued security services.
He said in an exclusive statement to Egypt Independent that the leaders of the Brotherhood are trained to use body language. They try to hide their feelings of deep pain and terrible frustration by smiling for the cameras during arrest and raising the four fingers sign of Rabaa al-Adaweya.
He said that these leaders want to send several messages of reassurance to their followers and the Egyptian people in general by making a number of smiles on regular basis in order to counter the sense of victory from their opponents who watch them being arrested.
He stressed that the leaders of the Brotherhood have a tremendous ability to control their inner feelings and perhaps that appeared clearly with Mohamed al-Beltagy, a member of the Executive Bureau of the Freedom and Justice Party whose daughter was killed during the dispersal of Rabaa al-Adaweya sit-in, as well as the Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie whose son was also killed during the Rabaa dispersal.
Kamal pointed out that such a grave incident was enough to make both break down, which they did not appear to do.
He pointed out that the control of human emotions can only be through education and training which is part of the rehabilitation of the Brotherhood leaders. It does not mean they have no feelings but rather they have the ability to control their emotions or hide them.
Kamal explained forced smiles, describing that the smile always starts with a glow in the eye and the movement of the bottom of the nostril, which did not appear on the leaders of the Brotherhood. He added that the movement of Beltagy’s lips when he was arrested was of the utmost firmness, meaning his smile was fake and aimed at the joy of the officers who were arresting him.
For Saad al-Husseini, governor of Kafr al-Sheikh and member of the Executive Bureau of the Freedom and Justice Party, Kamal said his smile and his victory sign when he was inside the police car also showed he was trained like other leaders to accept defeat and believe in hard moments as being a gift, especially that they have experienced similar moments throughout their history.
Kamal compared the arrest of the former ruling NDP leaders with that of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders. Former Parliament speaker Fatehy Sorour and former Shura Council speaker Safwat al-Sherief during Mubarak era were covered with sheets and had their faces covered for fear of the media. Kamal said Mubarak era leaders at felt weak to confront such moments. Kamal said MB leaders felt the same but hid their emotions through forced smiles.
Regarding Safwat Hegazy’s body language, Kamal said the way Hegazy sat was an attempt to show weakness through his bent back while eating a sandwich. Kamal said it was historic intelligence on part of Hegazy in an attempt to gain the sympathy of his opponents and make a less severe confrontation possible.
Hegazy thought the current era belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood so he started to defend them but when they fell he attacked them and tried to gain the sympathy of his opponents throught they way he sat without smiling, so as not to provoke them.
He pointed out that this method is used by the ferocious animals when they are feeling weak and confronting the fiercest animals which they cannot stand up to.
