CAIRO // The Muslim Brotherhood should be dissolved, Egyptian judges said yesterday.
The latest blow to the Islamist group comes as it sinks to its lowest ebb in decades.
The former president Mohammed Morsi, a former leader in the Brotherhood, was referred late on Sunday to a criminal court by the prosecutor general on charges of inciting murder in connection with the deaths of demonstrators in clashes in December last year.
Another 14 Brotherhood leaders are also set to be charged over the violence, which was sparked by the clear-out of an anti-Islamist protest after Mr Morsi issued a controversial decree granting himself wide powers.
Essam Al Erian, a senior Brotherhood leader, is to be charged with inciting violence in which 10 people were killed after he called for Morsi supporters to move against the sit-in outside the presidential palace.
Yesterday's recommendation that the Brotherhood be dissolved was made by the State Commissioner's Authority, a government judicial advisory panel, in accordance with a law forbidding non-governmental organisations from forming armed groups.
The authority said the Brotherhood should have its NGO status removed and its Cairo office should be shuttered.
Its recommendation to the administrative court that is to rule on the case is non-binding. The court is expected to examine the case in November.
After the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood won a large majority in parliamentary polls and eventually had Mr Morsi elected president.
For most of its history the Brotherhood was either barely tolerated or actively pursued by authorities. In 2011, the group technically had no legal standing but its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, was officially registered.
In March this year, the group officially set up an NGO in the name of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In bouts of violence since Mr Morsi was overthrown, Egyptian authorities have said the Muslim Brotherhood has strong links with terrorist movements, and has presented footage of armed demonstrators.
While the hierarchical movement has been thrown into disarray by the arrest of its leadership, it is not clear how much support it retains among its entrenched national membership.
In 2006, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, then a Brotherhood leader, said that of 5,000 legally registered NGOs and associations in Egypt, the Brotherhood administered about 1,000. He said that the groups were nationwide, rural as well as urban, and called the work an Islamic duty.
Supporters of the group remain vocal and active, though somewhat diminished for the moment. Today marks the second month since Mr Morsi was deposed. His supporters, the Anti-Coup Alliance, have called for demonstrations in Cairo and called the military removal of the president "terrorism".
Since Mr Morsi was removed, more than 1,000 people, most of them Islamist demonstrators, have been killed in protests and political violence across Egypt.
The group "calls for active participation in these demonstrations and other activities aimed at achieving the return of Morsi", said a statement by the Brotherhood-led organisation.
Demonstrations are still held regularly but in recent weeks have dwindled in numbers, and despite sporadic clashes, security measures in the capital have eased, with a curfew now beginning at 11pm, pushed back from 7pm last month.
afordham@thenational.ae
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
MATCH INFO
Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)
Delhi won the match by 11 runs
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
