Brotherhood splinter group forms parallel entity

Hossam al-Haddad

A group of disgruntled Muslim Brotherhood youth in a number of countries, including in Sudan and Turkey, decided to defect from the movement and form what they called the “Independent Movement”.

They expressed frustration at the policies of their organization towards Muslim Brotherhood members in Egyptian jails as well as towards the idea of hammering out reconciliation with the regime of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

An Italian newspaper described, meanwhile, the latest arrest of acting Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Mahmud Ezzat in Egypt as the strongest blow to the Brotherhood in the last five years.

This arrest, the newspaper said, led to the appearance of rifts within the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The newspaper expected the possible selection of an acting supreme guide to negatively affect the organizational structure of the Islamist organization in the coming period.

It cited the bylaws of the organization which stipulates that the Muslim Brotherhood can be led only by its members in Egypt.

However, the current conditions of the Muslim Brotherhood make a change of its internal laws necessary, the newspaper said.

It added that this is especially true with the presence of most of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders outside Egypt.

The newspaper noted that the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt in 2013 caused deep divisions inside it.

It said this downfall led to the emergence of two camps within the Brotherhood, including one camp that opposes Ezzat’s presence on the driving seat of the group. The same camp blames Ezzat for the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood and the destruction of its political future.

The newspaper added that the formation of the Supreme Administrative Command Committee, which was headed by Mohamed Kamal, in 2015, was one of the results of the rifts that appeared within the Muslim Brotherhood.

It said the committee was meant to replace Ezzat in running the affairs of the group.