Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that the Muslim Brotherhood, which the authorities classify as a “terrorist” organization, threatened the army to target the country’s security three times, including one murder threat by the organization’s first deputy guide, Khairat al-Shater.
During a celebration of Eid al-Fitr with the families and sons of the martyrs on Monday, Sisi revealed details of these threats. He said that they first started with the late former defense minister, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who warned Sisi that in the event that the results of the elections “do not come in the interest of President Mohammed Morsi (the late president affiliated with the Brotherhood), we will burn the country.”
Sisi added that on a separate occasion, Shater threatened to kill him and destroy the country.
The Egyptian president’s comments came in reference to El-Ekhteyar series, which has shown events during the one-year rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and the aftermath of their ouster in three parts so far.
Sisi thanked the actors of the series, who participated in Monday’s Eid al-Fitr celebration.
He noted that the series paid tribute to the “heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their life for Egypt.”
“El-Ekhteyar presented facts, and every word that was said was real; so that the whole truth may be passed on to future generations,” the president emphasized.
He explained that what was shown in the series was very little compared to the effort that was made in the most difficult times, during the Brotherhood rule.
“We were keen to avoid a clash... Even in the 2013 statement, no mention was made to the removal of the president or a terrorist group,” referring to the statement of the army and national forces on July 3, 2013, when the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court assumed the position of president temporarily, following massive popular demonstrations against Morsi’s continued rule.
