Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta: ISIS and Al-Qaeda are fighting over remains of the Muslim Brotherhood

The Takfiri Monitoring Observatory at Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta said on Wednesday that celebrations held by the Muslim Brotherhood to commemorate its 90th anniversary are surprising given that the group’s young members are being snatched by terrorist groups like Daesh and Al-Qaeda.

On Monday, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt as a terrorist group, commemorated in Turkey its 90th anniversary in a ceremony attended by dozens of Brotherhood leaders including Ibrahim Mounir, the movement’s deputy leader, and the former head of the Hamas political bureau Khaled Meshaal.

Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta, the instititution in charge of issuing official religious edicts, said in a statement that the Brotherhood has been suffering serious splits and disintegration, especially among its younger members

“The [Brotherhood] has split into various hostile and conflicting groups. The cuurent conditions of serious divisions and fragmentation into various groups and currents made it “a savory feast” for Al-Qaeda and Daesh, who are fighting over a larger share of the group’s youths,” the staement said.

Dar Al-Ifta’s Takfiri Monitoring Observatory was created in 2015 to track and combat extremism, reform religious discourse in Egypt, and respond to erroneous and extremist interpretations of Islam, especially those that promote violence. The observatory’s website produces content in 10 different languages.

The Brotherhood was designated a terrorist organisation in Egypt in late 2013 after it was accused of involvement in several terrorist attacks on security forces in the country following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The statement added that Daesh has been successful in recruiting a number of these Brotherhood members, as was the case with the son of prominent Brotherhood leader Ibrahim El-Deeb.

In February 2018, a video was released by Daesh revealing that El-Deeb’s son, Omar, had joined its ranks in Sinai.

Dar Al-Ifta also said that the Brotherhood has been approached by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri, who has attempted to recruit its members with the aim of “toppling the regime” in Egypt.

The Dar Al-Ifta statement said that Brotherhood members are prime candidates for extremist groups given their custom of blind obedience to directives by leadership.

“The Brotherhood represent the womb out of which all terrorist and extremist organizations have come out,” Dar Al-Ifta said.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded 90 years ago by Hassan El-Banna in Egypt, later growing to become a major player in both Egyptian and regional politics.

Source: Ahram