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Egypt's decision fuels vigilante violence against Muslim Brotherhood

The Egyptian government's labeling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization has seemingly fueled vigilante violence against Brotherhood members.
A man walks near debris after an explosion near a security building in Egypt's Nile Delta city of Mansoura in Dakahlyia province, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Cairo December 24, 2013. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood condemned the bomb attack on the security compound in the Dakahlyia which killed 12 people and wounded more than 100 early on Tuesday, a month before a vote on a new constitution key to transition from military-backed rule. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST DIS

CAIRO — Immediately after Egypt's decision to brand the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, the Ministry of Interior announced a hotline for citizens to report suspected members of the outlawed organization. The act was reminiscent of a budget Malta hostel I lived at in 1998. Back then and there, illegal immigrants reported each other to the authorities when disputes broke out among them.

But in that Malta hostel, only the state authorities dealt with the offenders, raiding the hostel to arrest everyone except the Maltese owners and whoever carried a passport emblazoned with a valid visa. This wasn’t the case in Egypt's Dakahlia province in the aftermath of a bombing that targeted the security department late at night on Dec. 23.

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