Reports about the Muslim Brotherhood's intension to move its headquarters from London to Austria have been ascribed by some observers to the UK government's recent decision to launch a probe into the group's activities. Egyptian local newspapers have recently quoted a Daily Mail report saying that the Brotherhood decided to move its headquarters to the Austrian city of Graz "in an attempt to avoid the UK probe into its activities". Newspapers also quoted an Austrian paper as criticizing the group's plans to move its premises to Austria. The official news agency MENA reported that the Egyptian community in Austria had condemned the Brotherhood's plans. It quoted founder of the Egyptian association in Graz Ashraf Ibrahim as saying that Graz has been an active place for Muslim Brotherhood senior leaders. He urged the Austrian government to exert more efforts in cooperation with the international community to combat "extremist groups". For his part, security expert Khalid Ukashah said the Brotherhood was planning seriously to leave Britain to another place "after they [the Brotherhood] felt that their presence in the UK is undesirable" following the UK government's probe decision. "The British public now reject the Muslim Brotherhood's existence on their territories," Ukashah said. "Moreover, the Muslim Brotherhood's presence in London will embarrass the British government before the world and before the British people," he added. Meanwhile, there were comments on Egyptian social media hinting at "coincidence" that former vice-president Muhammad El-Baradei was also based in Austria. Some online activists argued that the Muslim Brotherhood might have chosen Austria in order to work out a compromise with El-Baradei. User (@ahmedadel755) tweeted in Arabic: "The Muslim Brotherhood moves from London to Austria where Dr. Mohammad El-Baradei is living; prepare your glasses of whiskey [for celebration]." Other activists, meanwhile, opposed the idea that the Brotherhood moves its headquarters to Austria or anywhere else. Twitter user (@IRannia) said in Arabic: "We do not want the Brotherhood to move to Austria... and if so, we should sever our diplomatic ties with Austria." User (@nogoinegypt) wrote in Arabic: "The Muslim Brotherhood will move their headquarters to Austria. I swear to God that they will not be able to escape even if they go to Alaska." But secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood's international organization Ibrahim Munir has denied any plans to move the Brotherhood's headquarters to Austria. "I do not know the base of this news. I can not imagine and I will not agree that I leave Britain to any other country," Ibrahim said. He denied that the Brotherhood's administration is based in London. "The organizational decisions are not made from London, but rather our office here [in London] is just designed for meetings where [Brotherhood] members meet to set strategies for the group to remain relatively safe," he said. "We enjoy free movement and work in Britain and we have nothing to be afraid of whether before or after the launch of the probe [into the MB's activities]," Munir said. "There is no need to move from Britain," he added. Privately-owned Al-Shuruq daily, meanwhile, reported that Qatar had reached an understanding with MB members in Doha that they can remain in Qatar on condition that they should not criticize Gulf countries. Munir said none of the Qatar-based Muslim Brotherhood members had applied for asylum in the United Kingdom, adding that British laws make it necessary for asylum-seekers to apply after arrival in London. He added that none of the group's leaders had arrived in London. Egyptian media reported recently that 15 Muslim Brotherhood leaders had plans to leave Qatar and settle in Britain. Egyptian authorities have mounted a harsh crackdown on the Brotherhood since the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Morsi in July, killing hundreds of its members and jailing thousands. The 85-year-old Islamist movement, which propelled Morsi to power in the 2012 presidential polls, has been labelled as a "terrorist group" by both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
