Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie on Tuesday accused some talk show hosts and media outlets, which he didn’t name, of agitating citizens against President Mohamed Morsy.
In a speech at Amr Ibn al-As mosque in Cairo, he urged talk show hosts to speak the truth and refrain from guiding public opinion to serve the interests of certain people, and away from the interests of the country, as he put it.
“They play on the emotions of ordinary people to influence them against the stability of the country,” he said. “And they spread rumors and lies to create uncontrollable chaos. They used the Assiut train accident to agitate citizens against the president.”
Badie also commended the Constituent Assembly. “We had a bad constitution under the former regime, for which injustice was sacred,” he said. “The assembly put forth considerable effort to come up with a consensual draft.”
He urged all Egyptians to return to what he called “Tahrir Square ethics,” in which differences between Muslims and Christians, liberals and leftists, and citizens and the police were resolved, he claimed.
He also called on all citizens to support the president. “We must all share responsibility, whether rulers or subjects,” he said.
Badie caused wide controversy in March when he launched a sharp attack on media outlets, accusing them of tarnishing the Brotherhood’s image.
“The devil inspires the media to create an image of the Brotherhood as a substitute of the National Democratic Party that will destroy the country,” Badie said.
Badie’s statements at that time caused uproar among media workers. Journalists Syndicate deputy head Gamal Fahmy said the statements were “not new as everyone knows the Brotherhood does not support freedom of expression.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
