Exposed: The Muslim Brotherhood - Al Qaeda Connection
In fact, as I reported back in August 2012, many imprisoned terrorists, including from Egypt's notorious Islamic Jihad organization – which was once led by Ayman Zawahiri – were released under Morsi.
One year later, in August 2013, soon after the removal of Morsi, Egypt's Interior Ministry announced that Egypt was "preparing to cancel any presidential pardons issued during Morsi's era to terrorists or criminals."
During this same call, and in the context of pardons, Morsi said he would do his best to facilitate the return of Muhammad's infamous brother and Al Qaeda leader, Ayman Zawahiri, back to Egypt – "with his head held high," in accordance with Islamist wishes – as well as urge the U.S. to release the "Blind Sheikh" and terrorist mastermind, Omar Abdul Rahman.
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In March 2013, I wrote about how Morsi, during his Pakistan visit, had reportedly met with Ayman Zawahiri and made arrangements to smuggle him back to Sinai. According to a Pakistan source, the meeting was "facilitated by elements of Pakistani intelligence [ISI] and influential members of the International Organization, the Muslim Brotherhood."
The gist of the next two calls between Morsi and Muhammad Zawahiri was that, so long as the former is president, he would see to it that all released jihadis and Al Qaeda operatives are allowed to move freely throughout Egypt and the Sinai, and that the presidential palace would remain in constant contact with Zawahiri, to make sure everything is moving to the satisfaction of both parties.
Zawahiri further requested that Morsi allow them to develop training camps in Sinai in order to support the Brotherhood through trained militants. Along with saying that the Brotherhood intended to form a "revolutionary guard" to protect him against any coup, Morsi added that, in return for Al Qaeda's and its affiliates' support, not only would he allow them to have such training camps, but he would facilitate their development in Sinai and give them four facilities to use along the Egyptian-Libyan border.
That Libya is mentioned is interesting. According to a Libyan Arabic report I translated back in June 2013, those who attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, killing Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were from jihadi cells that had been formed in Libya through Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood support. Those interrogated named Morsi and other top Brotherhood leadership as accomplices.
More evidence – including some that implicates the U.S. administration – has mounted since then.
Next, Watan makes several more assertions, all of which are preceded by "according to security/intelligence agencies." They are:
- That Morsi did indeed as he promised, facilitating the establishment of four jihadi training camps. Morsi was then Chief in Command of Egypt's Armed Forces, and through his power of authority, stopped the military from launching operations, including any in the by-now Al Qaeda-overrun Sinai.
- That, after Morsi reached Pakistan, he had a one-and-a-half hour meeting with an associate of Ayman Zawahiri in a hotel and possibly spoke with him.
- That, after Morsi returned to Egypt from his trip to Pakistan, he issued another list containing the names of 20 more convicted terrorists considered dangerous to the national security of Egypt, giving them all presidential pardons – despite the fact that national security and intelligence strongly recommended that they not be released on grounds of the threat they posed.
- That the Muslim Brotherhood's international wing, including through the agency of Khairat al-Shater, had provided $50 million to Al Qaeda in part to support the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
One of the longer conversations between Morsi and Zawahiri reported by Watan is especially telling of Al Qaeda's enmity for secularist Muslims and Coptic Christians – whose churches, some 80, were attacked, burned, and destroyed, some with the Al Qaeda flag furled above them, soon after the ousting of Morsi. I translate portions below:
Zawahiri: "The teachings of Allah need to be applied and enforced; the secularists have stopped the Islamic Sharia, and the response must be a stop to the building of churches." (An odd assertion considering how difficult it already is for Copts to acquire a repair permit for their churches in Egypt.)
Zawahiri also added that, "All those who reject the Sharia must be executed, and all those belonging to the secular media which work to disseminate debauchery and help deviants and Christians to violate the Sharia, must be executed."
Morsi reportedly replied: "We have taken deterrent measures to combat those few, and new legislative measures to limit their media, and in the near future, we will shut down these media stations and launch large Islamic media outlets. We are even planning a big budget from the [Brotherhood] International Group to launch Islamic and jihadi satellite stations to urge on the jihad. There will be a channel for you and the men of Al Qaeda, and it can be broadcast from Afghanistan."
Undeterred, Zawahiri responded by saying, "This [is a] Christian media—and some of the media personnel are paid by the [Coptic] Church and they work with those who oppose the Sharia… secularist forces are allied with Christian forces, among them Naguib Sawiris, the Christian-Jew."
Morsi: "Soon we will uphold our promises to you."
In fact, there was a period of time when the secular media in Egypt – which was constantly exposing Brotherhood machinations – were under severe attack by the Brotherhood and Islamists of all stripes (comedian Bassem Youssef was the tip of the iceberg). In one instance, which I noted back in August 2012, six major media stations were attacked by Brotherhood supporters, their employees severely beat.
The last call recorded between Mohamed Morsi and Muhammad Zawahiri took place on the dawn of June 30, 2013 (the date of the June 30 Revolution that ousted Morsi and the Brotherhood). Morsi made the call to Zawahiri in the presence of Asad al-Sheikha, Deputy Chief of Presidential Staff, Refa' al-Tahtawy, Chief of Presidential Staff, and his personal security.
During this last call, Morsi incited Zawahiri to rise against the Egyptian military in Sinai and asked Zawahiri to compel all jihadi and loyalist elements everywhere to come to the aid of the Muslim Brotherhood and neutralize its opponents.
Zawahiri reportedly responded by saying, "We will fight the military and the police, and we will set the Sinai aflame.
True enough, as I reported on July 4, quoting from an Arabic report: "Al Qaeda, under the leadership of Muhammad Zawahiri, is currently planning reprisal operations by which to attack the army and the Morsi-opposition all around the Republic [of Egypt]." The report added that, right before the deposing of Morsi, Zawahiri had been arrested and was being interrogated – only to be ordered released by yet another presidential order, and that he had since fled to the Sinai.
Also on that same first day of the revolution, Khairat al-Shater, Deputy Leader of the Brotherhood, had a meeting with a delegate of jihadi fighters and reiterated Morsi's request that all jihadis come to the aid of the presidency and the Brotherhood.
As Morsi's trial continues, it's only a matter of time before the truth of these allegations – and their implications for the U.S. – is known. But one thing is certain: most of them comport incredibly well with incidents and events that took place under Morsi's government.
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a 2013 Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum. This article first appeared on CBN News and is reprinted from raymondibrahim.com, Feb. 4, 2014.
