"The main findings of the review support the conclusion that
membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood
should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UK review says Muslim Brotherhood membership an indicator of extremism (Reuters)
A British government review into Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood published
on Thursday concluded that membership of or links to the political
group should be considered a possible indicator of extremism but that it
should not be banned.
The long-delayed review into the organisation was first commissioned in April 2014 by Prime Minister David Cameron with a remit to examine whether the group put British national security at risk.
"Parts
of the Muslim Brotherhood have a highly ambiguous relationship with
violent extremism. Both as an ideology and as a network it has been a
rite of passage for some individuals and groups who have gone on to
engage in violence and terrorism," Cameron said in a statement, describing the group as "deliberately opaque, and habitually secretive".
"The
main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of,
association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be
considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched the toughest crackdown on Islamists in Egypt's modern history after toppling President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in 2013.
Sisi
classifies the Brotherhood as a terrorist group, but on a visit to
Britain in November he said it could again play a role in public life if
Egyptians wanted it to return.
The Brotherhood,
the Middle East's oldest Islamist movement and long Egypt's main
political opposition, says it is committed to peaceful activism designed
to reverse what it calls a military coup in 2013.
Cameron
said Muslim Brotherhood-associated and influenced groups had sometimes
characterised Britain as fundamentally hostile to Muslim faith and
identity and expressed support for attacks conducted by Palestinian
Islamist group Hamas.
"Aspects of the Muslim
Brotherhood's ideology and activities therefore run counter to British
values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, equality and
the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs," he said.
Cameron
said the government would keep under review the views and activities of
Muslim Brotherhood associates in Britain and whether the group met the
legal test for proscription as a terrorist organisation.
Britain
will also continue to refuse visas to members and associates the group
who have made extremist comments, he said, and intensify its scrutiny of
the views and activities Muslim Brotherhood members, associates and
affiliates promote overseas.
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