التاريخ : السبت 23 مايو 2026 . القسم : Media Statements
Message to European Parliament on Incitement Campaigns Against Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is following with great concern the moves underway within some European political circles for pushing towards inclusion of the group on terrorism lists, encompassing parliamentary questions and proposals submitted during February and April 2026, as well as an event held within the European Parliament headquarters entitled: “Safeguarding Europe: Exposing the growing threat of the Muslim Brotherhood”, and what accompanied this of inflammatory rhetoric linking the group to violence, extremism, and threats against minorities.
These moves are coinciding with the launch of a sudden media campaign across the media outlets run by the Egyptian authorities. This campaign appeared out of nowhere, and not for covering any specific event, only addressing the past and trying to attach the charge of violence against the Copts and attacks on churches to the Muslim Brotherhood; such crimes that have been resolved through judiciary, and their investigation outcomes have been published in the media, without any conviction of the group whatsoever.
This provides an explanation that this campaign inside Egypt is part of a propaganda file being created by the Egyptian regime only to be exported to Western institutions in the form of reports aimed at supporting the issuance of resolutions that label the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, in service of the Zionist vision unfortunately adopted by the United Arab Emirates, the Israeli entity and the United States towards the political and popular forces in the Middle East.
The Muslim Brotherhood thoroughly rejects these allegations, affirming that it has recurrently condemned through official statements all acts of violence, regardless of their source. Moreover, concurrent international and human rights reports, which monitored the Egyptian situation throughout the past years, did not conclude with a conviction of the MB for practicing violence, but rather documented a crisis for which the Egyptian regime should be held accountable.
This regime has always relaxed the security situation, which is within its responsibility, so that it could exploit the outbreak of violence as a pretext to target an authentic political and social faction, to practice discrimination and repression against it, and to justify security brutality, arbitrary arrest, and violation of the political rights of opponents.
The MB affirms that its position on the Copts in Egypt cannot be questioned historically, constitutionally, or politically. In fact, the Copts in the Muslim Brotherhood’s view are not a minority in the legal or political sense, as the instigators claim, but rather they are genuine partners in the homeland and have full citizenship rights.
This is evident in the 2012 constitution and in the founding document of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), where the Muslim Brotherhood adopts the vision that freedom, justice, and equality are inherent rights for every citizen without discrimination based on belief, gender, or color, and that non-Muslims have the right to refer to their own (religious) laws in matters of religious privacy and personal status.
In practice, the MB demonstrated this fact when its party, the Freedom and Justice Party included nearly one hundred Copts among its founders, in addition to hundreds of party members from the Copts. Furthermore, the well-known Coptic intellectual Dr. Rafiq Habib was chosen as the party's vice president.
Also, the elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi chose the Coptic thinker Samir Morcos as an assistant to him within his presidential team to govern Egypt – and much more in this regard.
Contrary to the claim that the Muslim Brotherhood forbid extending congratulations to Christians on their holidays and incite discrimination against them, MB General Guide Dr. Mohamed Badei, visited the Orthodox and Evangelical churches in March 2012 and met with Pope Shenouda III and Reverend Safwat Al-Bayadi, the heads of the two churches, and other church leaders, as Dr. Badei was at the head of a delegation that included several Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Before assuming office as President of Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Morsi visited the cathedral to offer his condolences on the death of the late Pope Shenouda III, as he was then the chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party.
After he had assumed office, he sent Dr. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi, the head of the Presidential Office, to the church to congratulate the Copts on their holiday (on behalf of him), which prompted Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, to extend his thanks to President Mohamed Morsi.
Hence, the Muslim Brotherhood affirms the integrity of its positions and condemns any attempt to link it to acts of violence or terrorism cases, as it has not been convicted over 13 years, since the military coup on civil government in 2013.
In fact, the MB believes that adoption of such a course in the European Parliament, or in any country based on the rule of law, violates the principles of justice and democracy, and widens the gap between the West and Muslim peoples.
In conclusion, the Muslim Brotherhood affirms that it is paying the price for its moderation, not its extremism, with the aim of isolating it publicly from its social and political environment. Also the MB is paying the price for its bias towards the will of the people and its opposition to political tyranny within the framework of the law.
We also emphasize that labeling political groups as terrorist organizations without any factual or legal basis is a discriminatory crime that explicitly violates international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and that using legal and security tools in political practice is a form of supporting tyranny, and it is against the principles of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood calls on the European Parliament not to rely on biased media reports and misleading narratives backed by political opponents, regional agitators and their tools, as a source of information. It also calls for relying solely on facts supported by reality and law.
The MB affirms its commitment to maintaining social peace and security; its rejection of all forms of sectarian, religious, or political violence; its full respect for citizenship; and its call for Egypt to be a free and just state where places of worship are protected and rights and freedoms are safeguarded.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Salah Abdel Haq
Acting Muslim Brotherhood General Guide
(Saturday, 6 Dhul-Hijja 1447 AH, 23 May 2026 AD)