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AlJazeera, February 10 - Egyptian authorities have arrested dozens of Muslim Brotherhood members following protests the day before over Israel's renovation work near Islam's third-holiest shrine.

An interior ministry official said 38 members of the group were arrested in Cairo on Friday on allegations that they attacked security forces and threw bricks at them.

Two other Brotherhood members were also arrested for allegedly being involved in skirmishes with the police in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Protests broke out across the Middle East on Friday, with demonstrations in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, demanding an immediate halt for the Israeli digging near the holy site.

Israel denies the repair work and accompanying excavations will come anywhere near the compound, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims.

Egyptian anti-riot police scuffled with demonstrators in Cairo and prevented worshippers from getting inside the Al-Azhar mosque, the Sunni Arab world's most powerful institution. Demonstrators held a smaller protests in Alexandria and other Egyptian cities.

Since late last year, police have detained at least 140 Brotherhood members, including its number 3 leader, Khayrat el-Shater, whose case was one of 40 who have been referred to a military court. State owned media have recently intensified their campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood.

The banned but tolerated movement is Egypt's largest opposition group, after having won 88 out of the 454 parliament seats in the 2005 legislative elections. Agencies

Labels: al-Aqsa, Ikhwan, Luar Negeri, Mesir

MB Leader Arrested in Alexandria

Cairo, Thursday, January 18, 2007 - Egyptian security forces in Alexandria arrested on Wednesday Ahmed Al Nahhas, the Engineers' Syndicate treasurer and Muslim Brotherhood leader. Sources said to Ikhwanweb that Al Nahhas is still being held in the state security headquarters and he hasn't appeared yet before the prosecution for interrogations.

The arrest of Al Nahhas is part of a wider campaign by the Egyptian regime targeting the Muslim Brotherhood, largest opposition to gvernment, in attempt to pave the way for the President proposed constitutional amendments which was approved by parliament yesterday and widely criticized by the MPs affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The crackdown also comes ahead of the Brotherhood's preparations underway for the upcoming Shura Council (Egypt's lower hourse) elections next Spring

The regime's crackdown, which was first launched in December 2006, led to arresting dozens of Muslim Brotherhood leaders topped by Mohamed Khayrat Al Shater, the MB second deputy chairman, Dr. Mohamed Ali Beshr, member of the MB Executive Bureau, in addition to a large number of businessmen and owners of companies and Islamic publishing houses. Ikhwanweb

Labels: Berita, Ikhwan, Luar Negeri, Mesir

Egyptian police have detained the deputy leader of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, about 10 other prominent members and scores of Brotherhood students in dawn raids.

On Thursday, Khairat el-Shatir - one of two deputies to Mohamed Mahdi Akef, the group's general guide - was taken from his home in a northeastern suburb of Cairo.

The main target of the crackdown appeared to be leaders and members from the movement who are associated with the students at al-Azhar University. The students had set up a union independent of that vetted by the authorities.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the country's largest opposition group, with 88 members in the 454-seat lower house of parliament.

Abdel Moneim Mahmoud, a Brotherhood official, said the sweep took in 180 students from the university's halls of residence, including Suhaib Gawdat el-Malt, whom he called the head of the free students union at the university.

Another prominent detainee is Ayman Abdel-Ghani, who runs the organisation's student section at the university, and three members of the teaching staff, he said.

The government refuses to recognise the Muslim Brotherhood and the police frequently harass its members by detaining them without charge, sometimes for months at a time.

But the Islamist group does maintain an office and is able to organise some events within limits. alJazeera.net

Labels: Berita, Ikhwan, Luar Negeri, Mesir