Egypt is criticizing a decision by the U.S. to suspend a large part of the $1.3 billion in aid.
A government spokesman said they would “not surrender to American pressure.”
The U.S. suspended delivery of large-scale military systems and will not be providing cash support. Secretary of State John Kerry said the decision was not “a withdrawal from our relationship.”
“The interim government understands very well our commitment to the success of this government,” Mr Kerry told the BBC. The state department added the freeze was not a permanent decision. However, the freeze is dependent on the nation’s move toward “free and fair elections.”
Egyptian state media is reporting that Muslim Brotherhood leader and former President Mohammed Morsi will be going to trial on November 4th.
Morsi will be standing trial with 14 other senior leaders of the Brotherhood according to the reports. Morsi has been held at a secret location by government troops since being removed from power on July 3rd.
Morsi will be facing charges related to the deaths of at least seven people during clashes between opposition protesters and Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been launching protests nationwide. Over 50 supporters were killed in clashes with government troops over the weekend.
Clashes between police and Muslim Brotherhood extremists have left at least 44 people dead and hundreds injured.
Officials said at least 200 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested for their parts in the violent protests.
The government had been trying to hold events for the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Hundreds gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for a ceremony that included flyovers from jets and Apache helicopters.
That’s when the Brotherhood supporters took to the street to protest the government’s banning of their organization and continuing to complain about the removal of their leaders from positions of governmental power.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi spoke on state TV to urge citizens to “stand together, be optimistic about the future” as the country approached a “critical time.”
Egyptian officials said that an appeals court has ruled the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood legal and now the government is moving to seize the group’s assets.
The government also plans to ban or take over all social services the group runs including hospitals, schools and charitable organizations. A spokesman for the Minister of Social Solidarity has said the cabinet is forming a committee to investigate the sources of Brotherhood funds and how to take over assets.
Hani Mahanna, the Minister’s spokesman, said that if any charities can be shown to have connections to the Brotherhood, that charity’s assets would also be seized.
Brotherhood supporters say they will continue to take to the streets in protest of the government’s removal of their leaders from positions of power.
Most Muslim Brotherhood leaders are in jail and former President Mohammed Morsi has not been seen in public since being removed from power in July.
A family of Christians was thrown out of the southern Egyptian city of Zakaria because they could not pay a fine inflicted on them by Muslims in the area.
Initially, a Muslim family accused the Christian husband of the family of having an illegal relationship with a Muslim woman. Then Muslims attacked and looted Kirollos Sabet’s furniture and appliance store.
Local officials finally arrived and stopped the attack but Muslims continued to threaten Christians and throw rocks at the homes of Christians. The local officials then “fined” both the families involved in the alleged incident but since the Muslim woman’s family was too poor to pay they added her total to the Christian’s fine.
When the Sabet family complained about being forced to pay the fine of the Muslim, the entire family was forced out of the city. Muslim extremists in the city were calling for more violence against Christians in the region.
An Egyptian court has ruled that the Muslim Brotherhood is banned from operating within the country.
The decision by the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters applied the ruling to the Islamist group, its non-governmental organization and any group that claims to be affiliated with the Islamist organization. Continue reading →
Egyptian police have raided and taken over the town of Kerdasa near Cairo that has been a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood. The raid was the second big move against a Brotherhood stronghold since Mohammed Morsi was removed in July.
Egyptian General Nabil Farrag was killed when Islamists opened fire from the rooftops of several schools and mosques that were under Muslim Brotherhood control. Continue reading →
Author Raymond Ibrahim has reported the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian city of Dalga is forcing Christians to convert to Islam or pay “jizya”, or a tax.
Ibrahim explained “that conquered non-Muslims historically had to pay to their Islamic overlords ‘with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued’ to safeguard their existence.” Continue reading →
Islamists have taken control of Dalga, Egypt and have been terrorizing Christians throughout the city.
Islamists have burned churches, plundered Christian institutions and businesses and stolen ancient artifacts. Continue reading →
Egyptian government officials are denying multiple media reports that they are working to force the Muslim Brotherhood to dissolve and no longer be able to participate in the next elected government. Continue reading →
