Cairo: A leader of al Qaeda`s Iraqi branch on Saturday called on Egyptians to fight their army and derided the Muslim Brotherhood as "evil" for seeking power through democracy.
The audio message by Abu Mohammed al-Adnani highlights the militant movement`s attempt to use Egypt`s July 3 coup, which toppled the country`s first freely elected president, to bolster a hard-line ideology favouring armed struggle over peaceful politics.
In the 32-minute audio, al-Adnani derided the Brotherhood, from which ousted President Mohammed Morsi hails, as "a secular party with an Islamic cloak, worshipping power and parliaments, and their jihad is for democracy and not for God`s sake."
It is "more evil and malevolent than the secularists, and if seizing power necessitates bowing to the Devil, they will bow without hesitation," he said.
Al-Adnani is official spokesman of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is battling Baghdad`s Shiite-led government. The audio could not be independently verified but appeared on a website commonly used by militants.
The Egyptian army overthrew Morsi after millions took to the streets demanding his removal. On August 14 the military-backed government moved to break up sit-ins of his supporters, leaving hundreds dead.
PTI
