Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

Nour Release Welcomed, but Thousands Remain Unjustly Jailed

Freedom House welcomes today’s release of Egyptian dissident Ayman Nour and urges President Hosni Mubarak to release Egypt’s remaining political prisoners. Nour, who was jailed on dubious forgery charges after challenging President Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 elections, was released after more than three years in prison. Authorities said he was released because of health issues related to diabetes and a heart condition..

Egyptian opposition welcomes Nour’s release

Egypt’s largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, said on Thursday that it welcomed the release of secular opposition politician Ayman Nour and his return to politics. ..

Lavrov says Egypt has not asked Russia to pressure Hamas

Egypt has not asked Russia to put pressure on the Palestinian movement Hamas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists on Tuesday in the capital of Oman..

Interview with Ayman Nour on Egypt’s Elections

On February 18, 2009, Egypt’s government released Ayman Nour, the most prominent of Egypt’s jailed pro-democracy dissidents, after for than three years in prison in what was widely regarded as an effort to improve relations with the new administration of President Barack Obama. Nour told the AP that he had no warning about his release, nor could he explain the timing. "Why they did this is unknown," the AP quoted him as saying...

Multiple Arab Diplomatic Offensives

Marc Lynch blogged recently about the multi-faceted efforts at Arab reconciliation diplomacy we’ve been witnessing lately. His post provides an excellent overview and by following his links one can fill in much of the background, but I thought I’d add a few comments of my own..

Muslim Intellectuals reject Taliban Ban on Female Education

Taking strong exceptions of the reports that are appearing in the media about the Taliban Ban on Female Educations, the Muslim theologists and intellectuals in India vehemently denounce their purported actions. “It is a blatant lie to suggest the Female Education is against Islam. It is in fact their action banning the Female Education which is against all norms and principles of Islam”, said Arshad Mukhtar, one of the members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPB). ..

A letter from a Palestinian Child to the US President

Precaution: The Palestinian child doesn’t have a specific clear definition for terms like “terrorism” and “peace”. ..

A Message to Israel: Time to Stop Playing the Victim Role

I can understand that after centuries of persecution it’s satisfying for a Jewish state to be the aggressor for a change, but there’s a codicil that goes with that role. You don’t get to act like a victim any more. "Poor little Israel" just sounds silly when you’re the dominant power in the Middle East. When you’ve invaded several of your neighbors, bombed and defeated them in combat, occupied their land, and taken their homes away from them, it’s time to stop acting oppressed. Yes, Ar..

Pre-empting the Satellite TV Revolution

Uneasy about satellite television coverage of civil strife and economic hardship, Arab governments are trying to reassert control over the medium. Will a new regional agreement halt the satellite revolution?..

Ciçek: Without Turkey, the EU cannot be a strategic power

State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Ciçek has said that the Christian Democrats who have assumed office in EU member countries have been cool toward Turkey’s prospective membership. ..

Egypt and Gaza after the war

During the recent Israeli military operation and subsequent efforts to reach a durable ceasefire, Egypt demonstrated that it has two principal interests related to Gaza: first, avoiding taking on responsibility for the one and a half million Palestinians living there; and second, transferring control of Gaza back to the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmud Abbas to the extent possible. These interests spring from long-standing Egyptian support for the creation of an independen..

Resistance Movements Unite! Cairo International Conference and Liberation Forum

The political forces, popular committees, civil society organizations, and independent personalities, of the Egyptian Organizing Committee of the Cairo International Conference and Liberation Forum, declare the following principles as the fundamental basis for the Conference and Forum, and invite all concerned political and popular forces, organizations and independent personalities, in Egypt, the Arab World and the world at large, who share these principles, to participate in the plan..

Attacks on the Press 2008

Attacks on the Press 2008..

Digging for the truth

Lucky we were to have fled imminent death as more than fifteen F-16 rockets bombarded the tunnels area where we had lit a fire the previous night to drink tea and talk story about life in the tunnels. Many houses were partially destroyed due to the heavy bombardments, but no casualties were reported...

“We will stay on our land”

For two weeks now, the Israeli attack on Gaza has been reminding the world of the ongoing plight of the Palestinian people. These wake-up calls occur from time to time, causing a brief period of international outrage in which funds are raised, pledges are made, and people soothe their guilty consciences by joining Facebook groups or donating money...

Bridging the PD Discourse Gap: The Survey Group

Few dispute that America has an image problem in the Middle East. And most agree that a revamped Public Diplomacy campaign is going to be at the heart of the Obama administration’s strategy of repairing our reputation. MediaShack, hoping to make a contribution, will be focusing closely on this topic in the future and offering some ideas of its own...

The most recent poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali

In the most recent poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali, being conducted during the period January 25th to January 31st 2009 and published by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), a random sample of (673) Palestinian adults (over 18 years old) representing the various demographic specimens in the Palestinian society in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, were face to face interviewed..

"It is time to say enough"

Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli -born leading professional jazz musician, composer and writer evaluated Israel’s Gaza carnage and Erdogan-Peres clash in Davos for TIMETURK...

A Music School Silenced in Gaza

There was a music school in Gaza. It was just six months old. The 31 children aged seven to 11 could choose one of five instruments, including the guitar, oud (lute), and piano..

Don’t Fear the Ikhwan Part Two

Why does the Muslim Brotherhood get so much bad press? Top Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Egypt’s Al-Dostor newspaper, has a two part series this week on what he calls an irrational and baseless fear of the Brotherhood reaching power. Why does everyone talk about the MB reaching power as if it is an imminent threat to Egyptian society, he asks in the Monday article ( see my post here). Remember, Eissa is a fierce critic of the Mubarak regime and is trying to..