Muhammad Badi, the 'General Guide' of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, telling judges, "we fought only against Jews." Photo: Screenshot.

Mohammad Badie, the ‘General Guide’ of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, rejected accusations brought against him and other members of the movement, telling judges in a trial hearing, “We have fought only against the Jews… yet now we are being accused of conspiring with Hamas against the Egyptian people. This is an absolute lie.”

“Never have we responded to violent attacks against us with violence. We are commanded to spread Allah’s mercy through peaceful means,” Badie said to the judges on Sunday, according to a transcript published on Wednesday by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Badie was charged with inciting violence and blocking the Cairo-Alexandria road in July 2013, along with 45 other defendants, including Freedom and Justice Party secretary-general Muhammad Al-Beltagy and preacher Safwat Higazi. The verdict in his case is expected on June 7.

MEMRI’s published the following edited transcript of his speech:

“Assalam Alaykum. Allah’s blessings and prayers upon you.”

“This scene is recorded in the heavens, and if we do not meet again in this world, we shall definitely and undeniably meet on Judgment Day before the Lord’s court of justice.”

“Never have we responded to violent attacks against us with violence. We are commanded to spread Allah’s mercy through peaceful means.”

“We have fought only against the Jews, and Kamel Al-Sharif may testify about the conduct of the Muslim Brotherhood in the [1948] war in Palestine. We fought against the Jews. The Israeli strategic research institute wrote in a report: ‘Our greatest enemies in the world are the Muslim Brotherhood.’ This is an honor for us, yet now we are being accused of conspiring with Hamas against the Egyptian people. This is an absolute lie.”

“Allah said: ‘They will know tomorrow who the insolent liar is.’ Our record is unblemished, and so is the record of our Egyptian judiciary, which is why the despotic rule in the days of Hosni Mubarak could not try us in civil courts. All our trials were held in military courts. Despite all that, we love our army. We were sentenced in military courts to a total of 15,000 years in prison. The regime could not try us in civil courts, so we were tried in military ones.

“Beware of being used in this political conflict, the likes of which we have not seen in the entire history of Egypt. Such crimes, killings, and bloodshed have not occurred in the history of Egypt.”

“Let me tell you, Allah knows that we are innocent of all these accusations. Our evidence will be decisive, because Allah defends those who believe.”

Watch video of Badie’s testimony below: