Syrian Muslim Brotherhood pledges to bring down Assad
Mohammad Hekmat Walid, the group's new leader, spoke exclusively to al-Arab al-Jadeed.
2 min read
The Brotherhood aims to 'free' Syria from Assad [AFP]
The new leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Hekmat Walid, has said the organisation's aim is to "liberate" Syria from the administration of President Bashar al-Assad and to "achieve the revolution's goals". He also stressed the Islamist organisation's support for Syrian National Coalition forces led by Ahmad Tumeh.
"I pledge to re-establish the role of the Brotherhood at home and abroad, by strengthening our institutions and forces," Walid told al-Araby al-Jadeed.
"We are not interested in returning to the frontline or to power. Our goal is to liberate the country from Assad, achieve the goals of the revolution and cooperate with other opposition parties to build a free and independent country. One in which everyone enjoys freedom and dignity."
Walid is a 70-year-old, British-educated opthalmologist by profession. Coincidentally, Assad also trained in opthalmology in London.
Walid also confirmed the Brotherhood's support for the Syrian National Coalition opposition movement. "We think it will serve the Syrian people. We are part of the opposition and its national institutions. We want the government to succeed with our presence and the presence of others. The most important thing is achieving our goals."
Walid, from the coastal town of Latakia, told al-Araby about the Brotherhood's relationship with the Waad Party, its political incarnation.
"The party is totally independent from the Brotherhood and has its own policies, even though the Brotherhood was one of its founders - along with other parties."
Walid, a former leader in the Waad Party, was elected head of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood for four years in a meeting held by the group's Shura Council in Istanbul on Thursday. He succeeds Mohammad Riad al-Shaqfeh, becoming the 12th leader of the Syrian Brotherhood since its beginnings in the early 1940s.
"The Syrian regime and its sectarian allies are the source of extremism and terrorism," the Brotherhood said in a statement. "Any party, such as [the Islamic State group], whose motives are based on extremism and terrorism, are questionable - because they distort the goals of the Syrian revolution, which are freedom and dignity."
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
"I pledge to re-establish the role of the Brotherhood at home and abroad, by strengthening our institutions and forces," Walid told al-Araby al-Jadeed.
"We are not interested in returning to the frontline or to power. Our goal is to liberate the country from Assad, achieve the goals of the revolution and cooperate with other opposition parties to build a free and independent country. One in which everyone enjoys freedom and dignity."
Walid is a 70-year-old, British-educated opthalmologist by profession. Coincidentally, Assad also trained in opthalmology in London.
Walid also confirmed the Brotherhood's support for the Syrian National Coalition opposition movement. "We think it will serve the Syrian people. We are part of the opposition and its national institutions. We want the government to succeed with our presence and the presence of others. The most important thing is achieving our goals."
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The Waad party is totally independent from the Brotherhood and has its own policies. - Mohammad Hekmat Walid |
Walid, from the coastal town of Latakia, told al-Araby about the Brotherhood's relationship with the Waad Party, its political incarnation.
"The party is totally independent from the Brotherhood and has its own policies, even though the Brotherhood was one of its founders - along with other parties."
Walid, a former leader in the Waad Party, was elected head of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood for four years in a meeting held by the group's Shura Council in Istanbul on Thursday. He succeeds Mohammad Riad al-Shaqfeh, becoming the 12th leader of the Syrian Brotherhood since its beginnings in the early 1940s.
"The Syrian regime and its sectarian allies are the source of extremism and terrorism," the Brotherhood said in a statement. "Any party, such as [the Islamic State group], whose motives are based on extremism and terrorism, are questionable - because they distort the goals of the Syrian revolution, which are freedom and dignity."
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
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