Following are excerpts from an interview with Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef, Head of the Muslim Brotherhood, which aired on Al-Alam TV on May 14, 2006.

Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef: The Western world - American and Europe - is not fighting Egypt but Islam. They do not want Islam to survive. Therefore, whoever protects Islam is fought against.

The Arab and Islamic countries suffer from severe backwardness, and the Western world wants to make them even more backward. It does not want these countries to progress at all.

[...]

The Muslims are required to remain backward in all fields, not only the nuclear field. All fields of advanced modern technology are closed to the Arabs and Muslims - let alone the nuclear field.

Is it not the duty of all countries to have nuclear technology for peaceful purposes? Even if it is for military purposes... Doesn't America have this? Doesn't Israel have this? Doesn't Europe have this? Are all the countries entitled to this, except for the Arabs and Muslims? Brother, this is illogical, inconceivable, and unjustified.