Egypt set to explode in defiance, says anti-coup alliance

The arrest of a leading figure in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Thursday morning, has sparked talk of mounting unrest in the troubled country.

Mohamed Ali Bishr is widely perceived to be a moderate in the Islamist movement. He had avoided previous rounds of arrests of the group's members and is seen as an influential figure among the movement’s younger supporters.

No reconciliation

The arrest of a moderate figure sends out a message that the regime will not reconcile with the Islamist party.

A source in the Brotherhood said Bishr’s arrest was a preemptive move by the regime, after Salafi movements in Egypt had called for an Islamist revolution on 28 November.

Another Brotherhood member said the arrest of a moderate figure sends out the message that the regime will not reconcile with the Islamist party.

"The arrest came after Bishr’s efforts to obtain a joint statement that would unite the revolutionary forces. This statement is considered to be the first of its kind as it would carry the signature of a leading figure of the Brotherhood [Bishr] inside Egypt," an insider says.

Sources say the Egyptian regime had asked Bishr to issue a statement that the Brotherhood would not be taking part in the planned 28th November protests.

Bishr refused the request. Since the Brotherhood had also made the call for the 28 November anti-coup protests, Bish told authorities, it could not condemn any demonstrations that take place on the day.

Condemnation

Huda Abdel Monem, speaker of the Revolutionary Council of Egyptian Women, described Bishr’s arrest as "harassment and repression" against all people opposed to the coup.

"The escalation of the regime’s vicious attacks against national symbols, such as the leadership of the Anti-Coup Alliance, is an explicit message that explains the failure of the coup supporters to extinguish a movement that continues to gain momentum."

Speaking to al-Araby al-Jadeed, Monom said the regime’s actions will only serve to strengthen the cross-party, anti-coup alliance and embolden their resolve to bring democratic change to Egypt.

Opposing the regime

A statement issued by the Anti-Coup Alliance also criticised Egyptian authorities' repressive measures against the opposition and their treatment of women activists in particular. "Crimes are not responded to by words but in squares," the statement assserted.

Ali Khafagi, of the Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, described Bishr’s arrest as an irrational act by the regime. "The youth have no other choice but to revolt," he said.

"Youth leaders who had controlled and contained Brotherhood supporters are now being arrested one after the other. [The rest] are left with no other choice but to execute what they see fit in order to topple this regime."

Bishr, a former minister of state for local development, has been jailed twice by Egyptian military courts, spending time behind bars in 1999 to 2002, and 2006 to 2010.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.