Live
Audio Only
Egypt has started burning books that it says promotes violence and ideas linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, part of the government's recent crackdown on the banned Islamist group, Reuters reported Saturday.
According to Samia Mehrez, an official in the Red Sea province, local authorities and the security forces had burned “a number of Brother books and literature” located at a public library in the resort town of Hurghada.
During the brief period when Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was in power, 36 books were donated to the library, which were the targets of the burning.
Morsi was ousted by the army last year following mass protests against his rule. The army has since enforced a major crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters, including thousands of arrests and hundreds killed.
Supporters have also staged regular protests in the country since Morsi's government was toppled.
Saturday it was also announced that the group's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, was banned, meaning it will not be able to participate in future elections.
According to a state security source, the destroyed materials included books on bomb making and books that compared Brotherhood found Hassan al-Banna to the Prophet Mohamed and praised Turkish Tayyip Erdogan.
The current President and former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has said the Brotherhood would cease to exist during his rule. The Brotherhood maintains it is a peaceful movement.
Newsletter
