Bin Salman talks evil triangle of MB, Iran, terrorism

CAIRO – 4 April 2018: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohamed Bin Salman Al Saud said that both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have suffered the consequences of their fight against terrorism.

During his interview with The Atlantic on Monday, Bin Salman contended that the Muslim Brotherhood is the incubator of all extremist groups in the region, adding that leaders of terrorist organizations like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, namely Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri, were former members of the group.

He further said that the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to form their autocratic empire under the guise of democratic rule, which they claim to be the sole supporters of.

“Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Yemen – all of these countries are defending the idea that independent nations should focus on their own interests, in building good relations on the foundation of U.N. principles. The evil triangle doesn’t want to do that,” the Crown Prince said.

The 36-year-old Crown Prince divided the Muslim world into two camps. The first includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen, and the other camp, which he labeled “the evil triangle”, contains the Muslim Brotherhood, other Sunni terrorist groups and Iran.

The vast bulk of the Iranian economy is under the control of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, he added, describing Iranian Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei as “the Hitler of the Middle East”.

Regarding the Gulf crisis that erupted around a year ago between Qatar and its neighboring states, Bin Salman said that the ball is now in Doha’s court. “We hope they learn fast,” he said.

During his three-day landmark visit to Egypt in early March, Bin Salman paid an unprecedented visit to the Coptic Cathedral, where he met with Pope Tawadros II, and he attended a show at Cairo Opera House. The visit was hailed by the Coptic Orthodox Church’s spokesperson, Priest Bolus Halim, as a major deterrent to the growing prevalence of terrorism, as it “shakes all pillars of extremism.”

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman inaugurated Al-Azhar Mosque on Tuesday after its three-year maintenance and restoration works were completed. During his meeting with Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb, Bin Salman reportedly insisted on the significance of filtering religious heritage books and renewing religious discourse in general.