REPORTING the case for the Prosecution, The Egyptian Gazette of May 24, 1966 carried a front-page report with a very significant headline: 'Ikhwan called for truce with imperialism' The remark came in the course of pleadings by the Deputy Prosecutor General Mr Mamdouh el-Beltagy (who later became a Cabinet Minister). The Gazette report said: The banned Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organisation was a reactionary party collaborating with reactionary elements as well as with international imperialism, el-Sayyed Mamdouh el-Beltagy, Deputy Prosecutor General, told the Supreme State Security Court yesterday. Presenting the Prosecution's case in the Third Chamber of the Court, el-Sayyed el-Beltagy said the programme of the organisation had no reference whatever to struggling against imperialism. Besides, he added, the organisation had in its national conference in 1941 called for a truce with imperialism. It is not strange that the organisation should execute the strategy of neo-colonialism based on the invasion of countries from within, after the failure of the flagrant military aggression of 1956. El-Sayyed el-Beltagy went on to say that throughout its history, the organisation has exploited religion in serving the interests of feudalism and reactionary elements. The last attempt made by the organisation was aimed at the destruction of socialism, the people's instrument to realise a social revolution. Continuing its coverage of Ikhwan examination and hence shedding more light on their thoughts and modes of thinking, The Egyptian Gazette of May 25, 1966, carried a report entitled: Ikhwan described as 'ideological pirates' The Gazette report cited some of the ideas and theories Ikhwan had 'borrowed' from such dissident groups in Islamic history as Al-Khawarej. The Egyptian Gazette of May 29, 1966 carried a report from the Supreme State Security Court headlined: “Ikhwan abused Islam for criminal purposes”
