• EGYPT
  • August 23, 2014
  • 3 minutes read

Azzam Tamimi: British Report Exonerates Muslim Brotherhood, Angers Egypt Junta and Allies

Azzam Tamimi: British Report Exonerates Muslim Brotherhood, Angers Egypt Junta and Allies
A Financial Times article about the Whitehall investigation, commissioned by British Prime Minister David Cameron, reaching a decision denying any relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain and terrorism caused mixed reactions among observers, supporters and opponents, although that decision has not been officially released yet.

Announcing the decision has been postponed, according to the newspaper, for considerations relating to a possible backlash from Britain’s Middle East allies, the Gulf states that openly support the military coup in Egypt, and which originally pressured the government to commission the investigation in the first place, as detailed in many press reports and media articles.

Azzam Tamimi, a Muslim leader in Britain and director of the Institute of Islamic Thought, said: "According to the Financial Times, the report does not incriminate the Muslim Brotherhood. It does not see any justification for putting the group on the UK’s terrorist list.

"Of course, this result will not satisfy the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The British government fears the announcement of this result will lead to new pressures and threats of cancellation of business deals. Therefore, it chose to delay the announcement of the findings."

In an exclusive statement to Ikhwanweb, Tamimi points that the Muslim Brotherhood had no relationship of any kind with the British government, and that no change is expected in that matter while Prime Minister David Cameron searches for a way out of the crisis created by his allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who demanded the UK label the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Tamimi added that the Commission’s decision to exonerate the Muslim Brotherhood of all charges of terrorism is a slap in the face of the military junta in Egypt as well as all those who support the coup, and that it will certainly damage their credibility.

Tamimi expressed hope for the future of Islamic work in Europe as long as it remains within the law and in accordance with the mechanisms and processes accepted or adopted by the West.