The video in question featured the Islamist Morsi speaking with Khairat El-Shater — the secretary-general of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood who is serving several prison sentences on terrorism-related convictions — about a request made by El-Sadat for the Brotherhood deputies to support his bid to be elected as chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee in the parliament that was seated in early 2012.
The video, which dates back to late 2011 or early 2012 after the conclusion of the parliamentary elections, was aired as part of TV serial ‘El-Ikhtiar 3’ (‘The Choice 3’) — a documentary drama covering Egypt’s two-year-long confrontation between the now-terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian state.
In the video that was featured in the series' episode 18 last Monday, Morsi, who was chairperson of the now-outlawed Freedom and Justice Party - the political arm of the Brotherhood - accused El-Sadat of pressuring him to use his influence to ask his party's MPs to vote him as chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee in the new parliament that was dominated by Islamists.
“El-Sadat and businessman Ramy Lakah have been calling me several times over the phone to ask for our support in being elected as chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee,” Morsi said in the video.
Morsi also described El-Sadat as “Israel’s man in Egypt.”
In response, El-Sadat said he actually ran in the 2011 parliamentary elections against a Brotherhood candidate and was able to beat him to win the seat of the Talla electoral district in the Nile-delta governorate of Menoufiya.
“I was the only politician who was able to defeat a Muslim Brotherhood candidate in these elections, which were swept by Islamists,” said El-Sadat, adding that “it was natural that after the elections, all successful political forces would seek to compete for the leading posts in the new parliament.”
“In fact, I sought to be elected as chairperson of the Human Rights Committee and not the Foreign Relations Committee as Morsi alleged,” the former MP said.
“It was natural at the time to coordinate with the Muslim Brotherhood after it won the majority of seats in the parliamentary elections.”
“So, if anyone [is using] this video to show that I was supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, I am telling you that this is wrong and that all political forces were coordinating with the Muslim Brotherhood at the time,” he explained.
El-Sadat — who is also deputy chairperson of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) — dismissed Morsi’s description of him as a “Israel’s man in Egypt”.
“Some in Egypt believe that because my uncle late president Anwar El-Sadat made peace with Israel and forged diplomatic relations with that country - that all his family’s members also have relations with Israelis.”
“This is by no means correct, not to mention that I have never visited Israel or met with Israelis,” said El-Sadat.
The former MP also said he enjoys watching El-Ikhtiar and that he is adamant about following it every day.
“The show is very well made, and documents in videos and good drama how the Muslim Brotherhood deceived the Egyptian people and how Egyptians turned the tide against this group and removed it from power in 2013,” he concluded.
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