Syria's Assad declares fall of 'political Islam'
In special interview, Syrian president battling civil war says ouster of Egyptian President Morsi 'is fall of political Islam'. 'You can't fool all the people all the time, he adds
"What is happening in Egypt is the fall of what is known as political Islam," Assad said in an interview with Syrian state newspaper Ath-Thawra, excerpts of which were posted on the Internet.
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"Anywhere in the world, whoever uses religion for political aims, or to benefit some and not others, will fall," Assad said.
"You can't fool all the people all the time, let alone the Egyptian people who have a civilization that is thousands of years old, and who espouse clear, Arab nationalist thought," he added.
Activists breaking into Muslim Brotherhood Cairo HQ (Photo: EPA)
"After a whole year, reality has become clear to the Egyptian people. The Muslim Brotherhood's performance has helped them see the lies the (movement) used at the start of the popular revolution in Egypt."
The full, pre-recorded interview is due to be published on Thursday, a day after massive street protests in Egypt ended with the ouster of the Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi.
There is long-standing animosity between the Damascus regime and the Muslim Brotherhood, and membership in the group has been punishable by death in Syria since the 1980s.
The Syrian branch of the Brotherhood today plays a key role in the exiled opposition National Coalition, which is recognized by more than 100 states and organizations as legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
In the same interview Assad claimed that countries conspiring against Syria have "used up all their tools" in their campaign to overthrow his regime.
Assad rejected the idea that what has been happening in Syria since more than two years is a revolution. Instead, he insisted it is a conspiracy by Western and some Arab states to destabilize his country.
"The countries that conspire against Syria have used up all their tools ... and they have nothing left except direct (military) intervention," Assad said in the interview, adding that such an intervention would not happen.
The comments coincided with a meeting of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul in the second attempt in as many months by Assad's opponents to unify their ranks.
AP and AFP contributed to this report
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