Kamal al-Helbawy, who served as the official Muslim Brotherhood spokesman in the West during the '90s, tells privately-owned Al-Shorouk in an interview that the Brotherhood and Muslims have the right to start a global organization, which he describes as “The United Islamic States.”
“This has been the Muslim Brotherhood’s dream,” Helbawy tells the paper.
Asked whether the members of the global organization would be loyal to their nation states or the organization, Helbawy responds that there’s no contradiction between the two, as “our loyalty is to God and Islam.”
Helbawy also added that the Brotherhood’s newly formed Freedom and Justice Party will eventually become independent of the group.
State-run Al-Ahram reports that Brotherhood leader Khayrat al-Shatter, during the inauguration of the Brotherhood headquarters in Sohag, said the new party is both administratively and financially independent of the group. Shatter also told Al-Ahram that more members from the group’s guidance bureau might resign to join the party if they are elected during the party’s general conference in two weeks.
Mos'ad is preparing to submit a report to the Israeli government that would add the Brotherhood party to a list of institutions that support terrorism, reports state-run daily Rose al-Youssef.
The Mos'ad report, which the Israeli government will discuss before submitting it to the US Congress, says Hamas is an extension of the Brotherhood in Egypt. It also alleges that Sheikh Mohamed al-Qardawy, who is described in the report as the “Godfather of the Brotherhood,” funds Hamas and supports terrorism because he issued a fatwa calling for jihad against Israel.
Al-Shorouk highlights some contentions between the Brotherhood’s younger members and leadership with a front-page story about the difficulty those who are also members of the 25 January Youth Coalition are facing in communicating with Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie.
Privately-owned Youm7 runs an exclusive report on National Security’s effort to put together a monthly report on Egypt’s political situation. The May 2011 report focuses on post-revolution Islamic movements, the vision of various political parties and youth coalitions, according to the paper. Security sources told Youm7 that National Security is collecting information to map the political scene, not to continue previous security tactics of monitoring political groups.
In relation to the justice minister’s recent referral of judges Hassan al-Naggar, head of the Judges Club in Zagazig, Alaa Shawqy, head of the Giza Criminal Court, and Ashraf Nada, head of the Beni Suef Court of Appeals, for interrogations over statements they made to Al Jazeera, Naggar speaks to Al-Ahram.
The three judges were accused of criticizing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after they told Al Jazeera that civilian courts, not military courts, should handle crimes of thuggery.
“My statement was taken out of context,” Naggar explains to Al-Ahram. “I wasn’t criticizing military courts, but rather defending the Egyptian judiciary that’s being accused of slow procedures.”
Naggar tells Al-Ahram that street security should be maintained through viable institutions and that cases should be judged based on thorough investigations and evidence. He also says he will request compensation for the moral damages he has incurred.
Daily Al-Wafd publishes a study on the pros and cons of 12 electoral systems worldwide prepared by Egypt’s Parliamentary Studies Center in an effort to provide information on potential government structures.
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
