CAIRO: The Cairo Economic Court will on Tuesday look into a lawsuit filed by the son of Hassan El-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), against the scriptwriter of “Al-Gama'a” (The Group) TV series and its producer, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU). Seif El-Islam Hassan El-Banna had demanded banning the show, which narrates the history of the founding of the MB. He also called for obtaining a copy of the script to revise it and make sure it conforms to the autobiography of his father. “I sent [those in charge of the TV series] a warning last week, calling on them to suspend the broadcast and give me a copy of the script to revise. But when they did not respond, I filed the lawsuit against them a few days later,” El-Banna told Daily News Egypt Thursday. El-Banna accused scriptwriter Waheed Hamed of defamation, making false claims and attempting to distort the image of his father and the group. According to El-Banna, the economic court is the entity in charge of resolving conflicts related to intellectual property rights. MB members were initially wary of “Al-Gama'a,” especially after their request to review the script was turned down in the pre-production phase. After it began airing on the first day of Ramadan last week, the group claimed that the series intentionally aimed to mar their image while portraying the government in a positive light. The MB argues that the series depicts them as a violent, fundamentalist group, whose leaders are deceptive businessmen merely hungry for authority. The series also implies that the group brainwashes young college students, who blindly follow its leaders, oblivious to the group's objectives and agenda. Statements such as “the group is going to be violent” or “let female students take part in the demonstration so that security forces don't attack,” are commonly used in the dialogue. In a statement by the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badee' published on the group's official website, Badee' stressed that the group will not be shaken. “[The series] will not distract or deter the group in any way or form from their peaceful path calling for reform and political change.” “Hamed recently told state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper that El-Banna altered his ideology and advocacy from being Islamic to political and yet failed to succeed in achieving success in either,” El-Banna said. Hamed declined to comment on the group's move to press charges, saying that he had not yet heard about the lawsuit. “All I can say is that high viewership of the series proves the credibility of the facts I wrote,” Hamed told Daily News Egypt. The MB was founded in 1928 by school teacher Hassan El-Banna to promote a social renewal based on an Islamic ethos of altruism and civic duty, in opposition to political and social injustice and to British imperial rule. The group initially focused on educational and charitable work. However, it quickly grew to become a major political force, playing a prominent role in the Egyptian nationalist movement and promoting a conception of Islam. –Additional reporting by Safaa Abdoun
