Tillerson Views on Muslim Brotherhood Misguided and Dangerous
(January 12, 2017)
The Muslim Brotherhood is deeply concerned over remarks made by Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson in his hearing before the Senate on Wednesday 11th of January, regarding the Muslim Brotherhood.
When commenting on the so-called ‘Radical Islam’, Tillerson mentioned the MB along with and in the same bracket as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other groups in Iran. Not only is this cause for great concern for America’s foreign policy over the coming term, it indicates a troubling level of confusion which global security and stability can ill afford.
The MB is the oldest contemporary Islamic movement which has had major impact on virtually all strands of Islamic thought, organisations and parties. What makes the MB stand apart is its clear and unequivocal rejection of violence and its espousing of democratic values.
It is of great concern that the coming US Secretary of State seems misinformed about the consequences of criminalizing legitimate democratic forces, which are currently or have previously been part of elected governments, or of driving them underground, and shutting down channels of open and transparent dialogue. This would inevitably give victory to the extremists.
Further, the coming Secretary of State appears overly eager to appease autocratic, authoritarian and undemocratic regimes in the Middle East, who will celebrate America’s move to proscribe a vital popular democratic element, which has the capacity to bring real change to a region that has seen untold suffering at the hands of those brutal dictatorships for far too long. This can only be seen as a betrayal of the United States and its core values.
The Muslim Brotherhood hopes that Mr Tillerson will re-address his comments and correct the mis-wording of his statement, and that upon assuming office, will correct the many misconceptions about the Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islam which have dogged US foreign policy for far too long. Indeed, if the recent report of the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is to be referred to, democratic political Islam and the MB ought to be seen as allies against the rise and expanse of global terrorism.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s General Office
Cairo, on Thursday, 14 Rabi’ II 1438 AH – January 12, 2017 AD
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