The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced the persecution of Muslims in the Central African Republic. In a statement on February 15, the Brotherhood said: “Once again, Muslims in a new part of the world suffer great injustice and oppression right under the very eyes and ears of the whole world.
“They are the Muslims of the Central African Republic (CAR) who are paying with their lives and their blood for the major powers’ struggle for influence and wealth in that country.
“Many observers believe that the current sectarian strife between Muslims and Christians in CAR is fuelled by political struggles for power and control over resources, and that there are international and regional parties involved in the struggle each for their own interests, to bolster their influence in this weak African country blessed with huge resources.”
The Brotherhood also appealed to the Organisation of the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation “to send a joint delegation to check out the course of events and the accompanying looting, demolition of mosques, and the killing of imams and worshippers, and to report results to African, Islamic and world public opinion”.
It also appealed to the United Nations and the African Union “to withdraw all foreign forces from CAR territories, and to form a mission and an African peace force to oversee the launch of a comprehensive and broad national reconciliation accompanied by a fair political process that does not exclude any segment of the people”.
Extending its appeal to voluntary organisations and Islamic charities, the Brotherhood urged them “to try and rescue the oppressed men, women and children who had to flee their homes, and to provide aid and emergency assistance to alleviate the scourge of these crimes and unfair practices against them”.
The Brotherhood also appealed to the foreign forces stationed in the Central African Republic, particularly French troops “to uphold social peace, and to immediately intervene to provide security and protection for the people without discrimination or bias to any party at the expense of another, so the Organisation of African Union can oversee the launch of the political process in the country”.