(AFP Photo)
The Muslim Brotherhood condemned on Saturday the Iranian intervention in Syria through “Hezbollah militias”.
The Brotherhood’s official statement came after Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah vowed to achieve victory in “the battle of Syria” through a televised speech.
“The Muslim Brotherhood … underlines their full refusal and total condemnation of foreign intervention in Syria,” the statement read, alluding to Iran’s “direct or indirect” intervention through Hezbollah. It stated that such intervention “destroyed some of what was left of (Hezbollah’s) credibility in the hearts of Arabs and Muslims… “
The Brotherhood accused the Lebanese group of having a “determined sectarian doctrine” which involved it in the killing of Syrian people in Qusair and other cities.
“Hezbollah lost their status in the hearts of Arab and Muslim people, that they acquired when they confronted the Zionist enemy,” the statement read.
In its statement, the Brotherhood stressed its support of the Syrian people in their struggle to rid themselves of their “tyrannical regime”, accusing Bashar Al-Assad’s regime of massacring over a hundred thousand civilians. They called on other Arab and Islamic governments to take a strong political stance against the “murderous aggression” against Syrian people and provide financial as well as moral support.
The Muslim Brotherhood meanwhile portrayed its own support for the Syrian people through their rejection of the use of refugee camps. Instead, the statement read, “the Egyptian people opened their homes, schools and universities to fellow Syrians, and treated them as equals in their homeland.”
Nasrallah’s Saturday speech caused a myriad of controversy. Hezbollah’s leader claimed that Al-Qaeda members and other Islamic radicals are fighting Al-Assad’s regime.
“The control of such radical groups on certain Syrian governorates, especially those adjacent to Lebanon, poses a huge threat to all Lebanese, be they Muslims or Christians,” Nasrallah said.
He stated that Hezbollah cannot side with the “United States and Israeli-backed” Syrian opposition. Nasrallah said Al-Assad’s regime has always been ready to join dialogue and reach a political compromise which involves core reforms to the regime.
“It is the opposition which continuously rejects dialogue until this day,” he said.
Hezbollah has so far refrained from officially admitting to sending its own combatants to Syria. Nasrallah usually refers to Hezbollah members in Syria as those “serving their jihadist duty”.
A statement released following the Friends of Syria meeting on Wednesday “denounced the intervention of foreign combatants fighting on behalf of the regime.” The Friends of Syria members emphasised the Shi’a Islamic militant group Hezbollah’s involvement in Syrian army military operations in Qusair. They also expressed concern over the increasing reports and indications that the Syrian regime is using chemical weapons.
