Dealing with facts is the only way to make logical predictions, and the facts do not favor a reconciliation between the Egyptian regime and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Since the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in 2013, the facts have never pointed toward a potential compromise between the Brotherhood and the governments since then: the transitional regime that was led by President Adly Mansour, the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, or the current regime headed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, elected in 2014.

In fact, all the evidence points to the contrary. A get-together hardly seems to be on the political horizon when one considers all the reports compiled against Brotherhood leaders; their persecution; the “dispersal” at Rabia al-Adawiya Square in August 2013 — sometimes called Egypt’s Tiananmen Square; the continuing crackdown on the Brotherhood’s funds and companies; and the sentences issued against members. 

The government’s Oct. 4 slaying of Brotherhood official Mohamed Kamal forced observers and analysts to seek real answers to citizens’ questions about how serious reconciliation attempts are.