Muslim Brotherhood Youth: No Unit 95 – Our Message is of Peace and Cooperation

Muslim Brotherhood Youth: No Unit 95 – Our Message is of Peace and Cooperation

Over the past few days, many Facebook and Twitter activists launched pages ridiculing the alleged "Brotherhood Unit 95" idea, mocking media myths promoted by print and broadcast media affiliated with deposed Mubarak’s business friends and cronies.

Unfounded media rumors falsely reported that the fact-finding committee – set up by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to investigate the death of many revolutionaries during the events of the January revolution and its aftermath – accused the Brotherhood of killing demonstrators in Tahrir using a so-called Unit 95. Many young Brothers rejected those lies and a number of them posted their eyewitness statements about those baseless allegations.

Sherif Heshmat, a revolutionary youth and a Brotherhood member, said that claims accusing the Brotherhood of killing demonstrators are the latest ludicrous attempts of the remnants and their corrupt media to defame the reputation of honorable young Brothers who defended Egypt and its revolution vigorously along with other patriotic youth.

"Brotherhood youth stood bravely in the way of National Party thugs who viciously attacked unarmed demonstrators. We were keenly determined to keep the Muslim Brotherhood message a peaceful one, as ever. It has never and will never resort to violence.

Heshmat pointed that the Muslim Brotherhood lost many of its members, martyrs, throughout its history both before and after the January 25 revolution. A lot of Brothers were also killed at the hands of Mubarak’s executioners.

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Nassar, one of the youths who participated in the revolution in Tahrir, tweeted his testimony, “Protesters were brutally attacked by deposed Mubarak’s thugs and members of the notorious State Security who stormed the square from several directions at once, including Qasr Al-Nil bridge, the Egyptian Museum and Talaat Harb Street.

"National Party thugs pulled away protesters’ banners and attacked them with bricks, swords and Molotov cocktails. Afterwards, camels and horses stormed the square with assailants wielding bladed weapons in the infamous ‘Battle of the Camel’, which lasted from 12 pm on Wednesday (February 2, 2011) until things calmed down the following day."

Nassar stressed that many martyrs were killed by a certain State Security officer who shot them dead with a machine gun before being arrested himself by protesters.

"A sniper was positioned on top of a building in front of the Egyptian Museum, while word spread that there were more Interior Ministry snipers killing demonstrators from rooftops and hotels around Tahrir Square.

"Later on, when I entered into the meeting room in Tahrir, I found only Dr. Mohamed Beltagy, Dr. Safwat Hegazy, Dr. Farid Ismail and Dr. Osama Yassin. No-one from other political groups and movements was there until after things calmed Thursday afternoon, the day after the Camel Battle."

Haitham Saad, one of the young Brothers who participated in the revolution in Tahrir, denounced the allegations, saying: "If the Muslim Brotherhood had such a "Unit 95", Brotherhood headquarters would have never been attacked and ransacked and torched, and Brotherhood martyrs would not have fallen in front of Itehadia Presidential Palace or earlier in the days of the revolution in Tahrir.

"Such allegations are signs of despair in bankrupt media channels affiliated with the former regime, with which they try to implicate the Brotherhood and cause confrontation between the Brothers and the martyrs’ families.

"Those tasked with guarding Tahrir entrances and exits as well as rooftops – for fear of snipers getting there – were young people from various civil groups and political currents, and certainly not young Brothers only.

"Looking at statements and testimonies of liberals like Bilal Fadl and Hamdi Qandil, we find they stressed that if it were not for the Muslim Brothers, on the day of the Camel Battle, the revolution would’ve been nipped in the bud."

Saad asked, "Did Unit 95 attack Abdel-Rahman Ezz or lay siege to Sheikh Mahalawi in Alexandria’s Qaeed Ibrahim Mosque? Did it kill Brotherhood’s own martyrs in front of Itehadia Palace?"

Islam Assi, a Tahrir revolution youth, said that most Brothers – together with other youth of revolutionary groups and movements were responsible for securing Tahrir Square entrances and exits, a task that was being coordinated by Dr. Osama Yassin, then field coordinator.

"In the battles between revolutionaries and attacking thugs, no-one ever heard of anything called Unit 95 – not at any time during the days of the revolution in Tahrir.

"Those who secured Tahrir entrances and exits and rooftops were youths of the revolution belonging to all political orientations, not just Brotherhood youth. However, Brotherhood youths were a bit more organized. But all political groups and movements did contribute in securing Tahrir Square against thug attacks."