Commenting on Sisi's call for political dialogue, Youssef Nada: The Brotherhood's door is open to turn the page of the past

Cairo -

Youssef Nada, a prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and former international commissioner on its behalf, announced for the second time the possibility of dialogue with the Egyptian regime, noting that the Brotherhood's door is open to turn the page on the past, after what he described as "responding grievances."

This came days after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for launching a dialogue between all political forces without discrimination or exception, in a call that is the first of its kind since he came to power in the summer of 2014. He also announced the reactivation of the work of the presidential pardon committee that was formed in late 2016.

Al-Sisi had stressed that he is keen - on a personal level - to activate political reform programs, indicating his desire to launch a dialogue for all political forces and present its results to the House of Representatives and the Senate for further discussion so that it will be activated with the launch of the "New Republic", a description that has become the authority and its media. They have been using it extensively over the past months.

The announcement of the release of 3,273 prisoners was accompanied by an amnesty.. # Sisi directs to conduct a “national dialogue” and “political reform” with all political forces without exception and to reactivate the “Presidential Pardon Committee” pic.twitter.com/jF2gWE3560

— Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) April 28, 2022

And in a message published yesterday, Saturday, Nada said, "Our beloved Egypt passed years in which good and evil were mixed, and entire generations got lost as they groped their way to a better future."

He added, "We, the Muslim Brotherhood, have learned from the Book of God the story of the two sons of Adam, one of whom killed his brother... Our blood has not dried up and we are still bleeding. Despite this, the demons of treachery failed to convince us to enter the path of Cain or the path of revenge."

Nada suggested that the beginning should be through "responding grievances, stopping the aggression, ending the suffering of imprisoned women and men, and the suffering of their families" by implementing the provisions of Article 241 of the current constitution.

The letter included the text of the constitutional article that states, “In its first session after the entry into force of this constitution, the House of Representatives is committed to issuing a transitional justice law that guarantees truth disclosure and accountability, proposing frameworks for national reconciliation, and compensating victims, in accordance with international standards.”

Nada said that thought does not end with killing or rejection, but with another thought that is better than it, wiser or closer to reason, in reference to a previous talk by Sisi about the thought of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood leader concluded his speech by saying, "I will continue to say that our door is open for dialogue and forgiveness after grievances are answered."

The former Commissioner for International Relations of the Muslim Brotherhood Youssef Nada confirms in an open letter to the Egyptian regime that the group’s door is open for dialogue and forgiveness after grievances are answered, calling for an end to the suffering of detainees and their families

. To see the text of the letter: https://t.co/OEQdYs2ZdA pic.twitter.com/ ypxaizyCAn

— Monitor Network (@RassdNewsN) April 30, 2022

Nada's message came under the title "A second open letter to those who hesitated to respond to the first message," indicating that he had not received a response to his first message last year.

On September 14, 2021, Nada said - in a message entitled "Egypt to where?" - that the door is open for dialogue with the presidency of the Egyptian regime, and it is spoiled by setting preconditions.

Nada's first message came as a comment on a conversation with Sisi - at the time - in which he said that he was not different from the thought that has been imbued with society for 90 years, but on the condition that he respects my path, does not intersect with me, and does not target me, in reference to the Brotherhood, which he did not name.

It is a conversation that he considered a call for dialogue with the Muslim Brotherhood.

In his first message, Nada also demanded that the beginning be with the implementation of what was stipulated in Article 241 of the Constitution (the issuance of the transitional justice law), adding, "Our papers are white, and the homeland is dearer to us than our souls. God then happens something."

The Egyptian authorities did not issue a comment or response to Nada's first message.

And in March 2021, Ibrahim Mounir, the acting general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, confirmed the group's readiness to accept any offer that serves the interest of the Egyptian people, days after Ankara announced the start of diplomatic contacts with Cairo in order to restore relations to normal.

Mounir said in an interview with "Al Jazeera Mubasher" that "if the Egyptian opposition, and we are part of it, is offered dialogue with the regime, including detainees, abductees and people of blood, and it improves the conditions of the people, we will not refuse, and if we refuse, we will certainly be wrong."

In April 2018, Mounir said that the Egyptian authorities contacted Nada to start a dialogue between the regime and the Brotherhood, and that the authorities asked Nada to come to Cairo for dialogue, but he refused due to security concerns, so I asked him to dialogue with Cairo’s ambassador to Switzerland, but he refused because of the inappropriateness of the position Ambassador and his authority for such dialogue.