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UK Rapporteur on Muslim Brotherhood Complains Contradictory Approaches in Cabinet

UK Rapporteur on Muslim Brotherhood Complains Contradictory Approaches in Cabinet

Friday, 22 December, 2017 - 09:00
Sir John Jenkins. Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic.

Sir John Jenkins, head of the committee assigned by the British government to prepare a report on the Muslim Brotherhood's activities, complained that the mission to reach an accord among discordant approaches towards the Brotherhood was above his capabilities.


Jenkins, who was an ambassador to several Arab countries, warned from the difficulty of providing a group of different and coordinated policies towards Political Islam in the inside and the outside.


Although the report prepared by the committee wasn’t available for the public, but Jenkins presented some of it during a research conference held in “Policy Exchange” British Institution.


He said that what surprised him the most while preparing the report is the “huge distraction that dominated the political field in specific. This impression continued throughout the whole period of researching and writing the report. I still have this impression till now.”


There are different points of view inside the cabinet towards the Muslim Brotherhood, he added.


The quest was to reach an accord among them, but it was an impossible mission, because even officials can’t accomplish that, said Jenkins, noting that this should have happened via a national dialogue.


He considered that overreacting towards violent ISIS and Qaeda leads to turning a blind eye on the essential topic which is the continuous ability of political Islam ideology to mobilize small groups that include activists who might get involved in various political practices, such as incitement to revolutionary violence or even ousting states.


Jenkins spoke in details about the internal challenge caused by Islamists in the UK, noting that there has been a mix up between Islam and political Islam, first.


“Second, we are after repeating sectarian intolerance that shows in the core claims of political Islam.”


He recommended reorganizing arms inside the cabinet to deal with the matter and to insert greater proficiency and coherence.


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