War of words between Egypt and the UAE

Al Masry al Youm reports:

Emirati judicial authorities on Wednesday referred thirty Emirati and Egyptians citizens for trial on charges of founding a branch of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

UAE State Security Public Prosecutor Ahmed Rashed al-Dhanhani said, in a statement, that according to investigations, some of the defendants founded and ran a Muslim Brotherhood branch in the UAE without obtaining a license from the concerned authorities in the country.

They formed an administrative structure to attract new members, maintain the entity within the UAE, and preserve loyalty and financial support to the main organization in Egypt, said Dhanhani. They also collected donations and subscriptions without obtaining permission from the state.

Investigations claimed that the defendants received financial support from a secret organization made up of over 100 Emirati citizens in an effort to seize power in the UAE. Members of that organization have already been arrested and are facing trial, he said.

The Emirati prosecution also accused the defendants of publishing confidential documents, photographs, and maps that belong to the UAE government.

In January, the UAE said it had arrested several Egyptians who belonged to the Brotherhood on charges of forming a new cell in their country.

The Muslim Brotherhood's FJP party vice president added fuel to the fire:

During a debate on Arab relations in the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, FJP MP El-Erian warned that “Egypt has lost its patience” over Egyptians being detained in UAE prisons, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Speaking to Deputy Foreign Minister Ali El-Esheiry, El-Erian added, “Tell [the UAE] that nuclear Iran is coming...The Persians are coming, not the Egyptians, and you will become slaves of the Persians.”

“People's patience has run out concerning the way they treat Egyptians in a disgraceful and illegal manner that violates human rights and traditional Arab ethics,” Erian had said.

Columnists at UAE newspapers are furious, denouncing El-Erian and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Almost invariably, they mention El-Erian's statements in December saying that when Palestine is "liberated" the Jews who live in Israel should be allowed to return to Egypt. Those comments caused a huge uproar at the time. They are using it to make it appear as if Erian loves Jews, which is clearly unacceptable behavior.

So the UAE is denouncing the Islamists of Egypt by pretending that they love Jews.

The FJP is distancing itself from El-Erian's comments, trying to calm down a new intra-Arab squabble.