Cameron: Britain to investigate Muslim Brotherhood operations

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced the launch of a review — led by U.K.’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia — of Muslim Brotherhood activities in Britain, as the political group faces an intensifying crackdown in Egypt and Gulf Arab kingdoms.

Many members of the Brotherhood have moved to the U.K. since Egypt’s government began arresting thousands for alleged ties to the group, and hundreds of Brotherhood members were killed during a nonviolent sit-in to protest the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.

Britain said its review would include looking at allegations made by authoritarian Arab leaders that the group was linked to violence, a charge the Brotherhood has repeatedly denied.

"What is important ... is to make sure we fully understand what this organization is, what it stands for, what its links are, what its beliefs are in terms of both extremism and violent extremism, what its connections are with other groups, what its presence is here in the United Kingdom," Cameron told reporters.

The Brotherhood is part of the political landscape in many Arab and Islamic states where they have placed deep roots in society thanks to their involvement in social and charitable works.

Recently, the group has been accused by Egypt and Saudi Arabia of fomenting violence. On March 21, over 500 Muslim Brotherhood members were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court over charges of murder for deaths during clashes with security forces.

The Brotherhood has reiterated a decades-long policy of non-violence, denying any connection with recent bloodshed.

A spokeswoman for Cameron said the review would examine the philosophies and values of the Muslim Brotherhood and how it operated in different countries around the world, including in the UK, as well as its impact on Britain's national security.

"There have been some concerns as well that have been raised about potential linkages to violent activity … under the wider Muslim Brotherhood organization," another spokesman said. Therefore the review would look at "alleged and reported links to extremist organizations."

The Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed in Egypt for decades under successive presidents — Gamel Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and ousted president Hosni Mubarak — and forced underground or into exile until Mubarak was overthrown in 2011.

Afterwards, the Brotherhood returned to politics and its candidate — Morsi — briefly ruled the country before he was accused of consolidating too much power and ousted in a military coup.

After Morsi’s ouster, the group was again outlawed as a “terrorist” organization by the military-backed government. The claim was repeated in Saudi Arabia last month and has been echoed in other Gulf Arab kingdoms leery of any spread of any Arab Spring influence that could challenge their dynastic rule of oil-rich nations.

The British government hopes the review, being led by John Jenkins, its ambassador to Saudi Arabia, will report findings by July.

"I think there's a definite linkage between Cameron's announcement of investigation of the Brotherhood in the UK to Saudi and other Gulf state perceptions of the Brotherhood as a threat," said Theodore Karasik, director of research and consultancy at the Gulf security and military think-tank INEGMA.

"The pressure point is related to the fact that an event [can] occur on the Arabian Peninsula that is tied to the Brotherhood and originates in the UK," he told Reuters.

In Cairo, Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said: "Egypt welcomes Britain's decision in carrying out urgent investigations into the role the Muslim Brotherhood group carries out from British soil and the extent of the relationship between the ... Brotherhood and violent activities and extremism."

The Muslim Brotherhood Press Office in London, which has become the movement's main communication channel since July, said it would release a statement later on Monday.

Still, in the wake of Morsi's removal, Britain's Foreign Office voiced concern over the collective round-up of Brotherhood members, warning that politicized arrests would hinder Egypt's post-2011 transition towards democracy.

Al Jazeera and wire services