Egypt Expects Britain to Ban Muslim Brotherhood Soon

The Grand Mufti delivers a speech before the British Houses of Commons and Lords (Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta)
The Grand Mufti delivers a speech before the British Houses of Commons and Lords (Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta)
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Egypt Expects Britain to Ban Muslim Brotherhood Soon

The Grand Mufti delivers a speech before the British Houses of Commons and Lords (Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta)
The Grand Mufti delivers a speech before the British Houses of Commons and Lords (Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta)

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam visited the United Kingdom earlier this week and delivered a speech at the House of Commons, highlighting the banned Muslim Brotherhood’s extremist approach.

Allam also distributed a documented English-language report to the lawmakers revealing the Brotherhood’s scandals and abuses and its association with violence.
Following Allam’s visit, officials in Dar al-Ifta expected that London would impose legal measures to ban the organization soon.

Senior Advisor to Egypt's Mufti Dr. Ibrahim Negm said the report reveals the bloody nature of the terrorist group.

He accused the group of seeking to distort the image of religious institutions and figures that reject its extremist ideology.

Negm stressed that Allam exposed to the world the flaws in the Brotherhood’s ideological structure, adding that it aims to destabilize societies and threaten global peace and security.

He said the Brotherhood’s multilingual media platforms have launched an organized campaign to spread falsified news and rumors against the state and its religious institutions.
The campaign claims that the religious institutions opposed to the group and its extremist approach are politicized.

Allam said in his report that the Brotherhood operated in two respects. Its members first represented themselves to the public as social reformers and opposition forces.

However, they secretly established an apparatus, which was responsible for carrying out terrorist operations and assassinations.



UNSMIL Launches Campaign Against ‘Hate Speech’ in Libya

Young men from western Libya attend a workshop hosted by UNSMIL in Tripoli. Photo: UNSMIL
Young men from western Libya attend a workshop hosted by UNSMIL in Tripoli. Photo: UNSMIL
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UNSMIL Launches Campaign Against ‘Hate Speech’ in Libya

Young men from western Libya attend a workshop hosted by UNSMIL in Tripoli. Photo: UNSMIL
Young men from western Libya attend a workshop hosted by UNSMIL in Tripoli. Photo: UNSMIL

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) launched a campaign against “hate speech” in Libya and warned on Sunday about the negative effects of the phenomenon in a deeply divided country, which has been governed by a “fragile” ceasefire agreement since October 2020.

In recent days, the mission sponsored workshops in dozens of cities, including Tripoli and Benghazi, to discuss and evaluate the phenomenon of hate speech and to examine ways to address it.

Under the slogan “No To Hate Speech,” the UN mission raised concerns about hostile rhetoric based on religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, origin, gender or any other factor of identity.

Since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, hate speech spread in Libya and it further extended in 2019, when Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, called on his military forces to advance on Tripoli.

Akram Al-Najjar, editor-in-chief of the Allash platform, told Asharq Al-Awsat that hate speech across Libya mainly increases when reports emerge about a possible change of government in Tripoli or during wars.

A Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) under Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021 but the Benghazi-based House of Representatives (HoR) no longer recognizes its legitimacy.

Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.

Amid the political disputes in Libya, the UNSMIL workshops in Tripoli focused on highlighting the distinctions between hate speech and freedom of speech.

Youth participants expressed their concern about the increase of hate speech against different groups on social media, calling for a public campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric.

Eleven young men and women from western Libya participated in the Tripoli workshop, which ended last week. They spoke about the importance of media literacy and recognizing media bias.

“Media bias and hate speech are global issues,” one participant said. “The cultural context may differ from one place to another, but we all share the same rights, and we must stand against hate speech wherever it occurs.”

During the deliberations, attendees emphasized the role that media and politicians play in disseminating misinformation and hateful rhetoric, which can lead to armed confrontations and violence against specific groups or individuals.

“The security situation in Libya is very fragile,” one participant said. “Sometimes, even minor incidents can amplify hate speech between cities and threaten violent escalation.”

Concerns were also raised about hostile rhetoric being directed at different religious sects in Libya by official entities.

“Incitement in the name of religion, especially over minor differences, is one of the most dangerous forms of hate speech, and it may lead to severe consequences,” another participant said.

To prevent a hostile rhetoric in Libya, participants recommended that awareness of hate speech and cybercrimes should be incorporated into the educational curriculum from an early age.

They also called on Libyan media to avoid the rhetoric of political polarization, promote peace, and embrace a code of ethics.

“Cultural exchange programs must be launched with neighboring countries to combat xenophobia and strengthen relations with host communities,” the participants said.

They also recommended the support of local fact-checking initiatives and the use of AI to identify and report hateful rhetoric and disinformation.

Participants then advocated for social justice and decentralization in governance and development, prioritizing transparency.