Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood to be dissolved by new government

Egypt’s new government has decided to press ahead with the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media report.

A spokesman for the social solidarity ministry said it would revoke the Islamist movement’s non-governmental organization status “within days”.

The Muslim Brotherhood had failed to respond to allegations of forming militia and illegal activities, he added.

The military authorities have launched a crackdown on the group since ousting President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Dozens of senior figures, including its general guide Mohammed Badie, have been detained over allegations of inciting violence and murder.

Hundreds of people demanding Mohamed Morsi’s reinstatement, most of them Muslim Brotherhood members, have also been killed in clashes with security forces, who portray the crackdown as a struggle against “terrorism”.

The 85-year-old Islamist movement was banned by Egypt’s military rulers in 1954, but registered itself as an NGO in March in response to a court case bought by opponents who contested its legal status.

The Muslim Brotherhood also has a legally registered political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, which was set up in June 2011 as a “non-theocratic” group after the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from power.