CAIRO—The arrest of the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood by Egyptian authorities drew a muted response from the group, with a vow to continue its struggle, during an unusual lull in street protests.
The arrest of the head of the organization was unprecedented despite a decadeslong history of repression and imprisonment of senior Brotherhood figures under former President Hosni Mubarak.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Police released this photo of Mohammed Badie under arrest on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Egyptians woke up to the news of the arrest of Mohammed Badie, the head of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood since 2010. Mr. Badie’s top deputies, along with ousted President Mohammed Morsi, himself once a senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, are already in detention.
Mr. Badie, along with five other prominent leaders of the Brotherhood, have been charged with inciting the murders of eight people when the Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters were set upon by protesters in late June. That trial is set to start this week.
The 70-year-old veterinary professor, who was last seen publicly in July delivering fiery speeches at the Brotherhood’s main protest site, had been wanted by Egyptian authorities for questioning for weeks. He was detained early Tuesday by police who released a video of Mr. Badie sitting expressionless on a couch as a rifle-toting man in plainclothes stood nearby.
The two-minute clip was broadcast widely on Egyptian state and private television broadcasts and was hailed by several as a major victory against terrorism. In one, a broadcaster speaking over the footage says: “That’s the big one, that’s the chief terrorist.”
The Muslim Brotherhood made a passing denunciation of their leader’s arrest, focusing in a statement Tuesday on assuring their supporters that they would continue to oppose the coup.
“Even if they keep the General Guide in prison, the people will continue in their peaceful struggle until they receive all their rights,” the group said.
Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in police crackdowns on demonstrations supporting the ousted president. Among those killed was Mr. Badie’s son, who was killed on Friday, according to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Yet after more than a month of sustained demonstrations since the military ouster of President Morsi, Egypt’s workweek, which began on Sunday, has seen little of the fervor that culminated last week in the violent clearing of two large sit-ins by security forces that killed hundreds and resulted in the arrest of hundreds more.
Despite the Brotherhood billing this the Week of Departure with planned protests aimed at removing the architect of the coup, military Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, few have taken to the streets.
Observers of the Muslim Brotherhood said the group is long accustomed to adversity through its 84-year history and is girding for a protracted fight with the military-backed government, which has moved to cripple the organization.
The Brotherhood leaders who remain free haven’t been heard from. They are likely reeling from the political assault, but could also be regrouping in a strategic retreat, said Shadi Hamid, an Egypt expert with the Brookings Institution.
“They have to sustain protests for a long period,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to exhaust your resources all at once when it’s clear the fight will last a long time.”
Mr. Badie’s arrest comes at a difficult time for the Islamist currents that have united to oppose the coup.
It comes as guardians of the old order appear to be enjoying a resurgence.
On Monday, lawyers for Mr. Mubarak said they believed he could be released from prison to await trial on a number of charges after a judge sent a corruption case against him back to prosecutors for further investigation.
In another swing towards a political order that existed before Mr. Mubarak was deposed in 2011, a draft constitution submitted for review and discussion on Tuesday proposes to lift the ban on members of Mr. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party from running for office, state newspaper Al Ahram reported.
The party, which was dissolved by court order following Mr. Mubarak’s departure, would be allowed to return to politics.
Another proposed amendment in the constitution seeks to forbid the forming of political parties based on religion, Al Ahram reported. If passed, that amendment could force the dissolution of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and other Islamist parties that formed after 2011.
Write to Tamer El-Ghobashy at tamer.el-ghobashy@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared August 20, 2013, on page A7 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Leader’s Arrest Tests Brotherhood.
See more here: Leader’s Arrest Tests Muslim Brotherhood
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