Brotherhood defends stand on Mohamed Mahmoud clashes

The Muslim Brotherhood releases a statement defending its position on the Mohamed Mahmoud protests of 2011, which it condemned at the time, claiming they were infiltrated to sabotage elections

Facing accusations by revolutionary groups that they "betrayed the revolution" when condemning protesters in the clashes of Mohamed Mahmoud Street with police in 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood released a statement Sunday defending their stand.
"Since two years, particularly since the unfortunate events of Mohamed Mahmoud, the Muslim Brotherhood are facing sharp accusations, including that they have abandoned the revolutionaries for their own private interests ... that they have sacrificed the revolution and its goals ... these accusations have increased these days with the second anniversary of Mohamed Mahmoud," the statement began.
The Brotherhood statement defended the group saying its youth had participated in the revolution starting 25 January 2011 before the whole organisation threw its weight behind it.
After the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the statement said, the army was seen as a partner in the revolution because it refused to shoot at protesters.
While the Brotherhood were accused of "striking deals" with the military, they held several demonstrations at the time, the statement said, giving protests against the document proposed by then Deputy Prime Minister Ali El-Selmi as an example that there was no deal between the Islamist group and the military.
El-Selmi had proposed supra-constitutional principles to be approved by all political groups. These principles included several articles dealing with the military.
On the other hand, the statement continued, "as the elections drew closer the Brotherhood realised that some were trying to plot to create a crisis that would lead to postponing or cancelling the elections ... those behind the plot included SCAF (the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces), which wanted to remain in power, the political parties that discovered they had no popularity, enemies of the revolution of the old regime and states that hate the revolution ... some of these powers paid money to rent some to [engage in] sabotage."
"On the other hand, there were loyal revolutionaries that were enthusiastic to push out SCAF from the political scene ... and these always demonstrated for this purpose ... unfortunately they were infiltrated by saboteurs."
The statement further defended the Brotherhood's position during the Mohamed Mahmoud Street protests, saying that while they agreed with the revolutionaries on the aim of pushing out SCAF from the political scene, they disagreed on the means, adding that the correct way was pressing for elections.
Clashes that erupted on 19 November 2011 between protesters and police in Mohamed Mahmoud Street, near the Ministry of Interior, marked the beginning of a movement that opposed both SCAF and the Muslim Brotherhood, which was seen as an ally of the then ruling military.
Brotherhood members and Islamist allies repeatedly described the protesters as "thugs," and some claimed they were paid to demonstrate against the military.
On the second anniversary of the battle of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, last week, protesters chanted against both military rule and the Brotherhood, preventing supoprters of army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Islamists from demonstrating in the iconic Tahrir Square.
Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood, 3 July 2013, the Islamist group turned against the military completely. In subsequent months, security forces have cracked down on the Brotherhood, arresting most of its leading figures and thousands of its members, including Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie.
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