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The Muslim Brotherhood Fights For Legacy, Not for Morsi

The protests have shocked the Muslim Brotherhood into reconsidering its position in Egyptian society beyond whether President Mohammed Morsi stays or goes.
Protesters are seen through a damaged window from inside the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters after it was attacked by protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in Cairo's Moqattam district July 1, 2013. The Brotherhood said on Monday that armed men who ransacked its national headquarters had crossed a red line of violence, and the movement was considering action to defend itself. Hundreds of people threw petrol bombs and rocks at the building, which caught fire as guards and Brotherhood members

CAIRO — As millions of protesters converged on the streets of Egypt on June 30 to peacefully yet boisterously demand the downfall of Egypt’s first elected president, Mohammed Morsi, deadly clashes broke out in several spots across the volatile nation. Around midnight, the Muslim Brotherhood’s international headquarters, located in Cairo’s upscale Moqattam district, was in flames.

The six-story building declared as the Muslim Brotherhood General Center in 2011 — after decades of underground operations and being hunted down by Hosni Mubarak, Anwar Sadat, and Gamal Abdel Nasser’s security — was attacked by dozens of rock- and Molotov cocktail-hurling protesters. The attacks ensued despite the obvious security precautions taken by the Brotherhood youth over the past week: they covered the building’s windows with street-war like sandbags, chain-locked the gates, wielded their weapons and bunkered inside.

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