The deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Rashad al-Bayoumi, insisted Saturday that his organization explicitly rejected violence, in a German media interview.
"The government alone is responsible for the chaos. I swear that the Muslim Brotherhood has not called for violence and will not do so," al-Bayoumi, 76, told the weekly Spiegel news magazine, DPA reported.
He said the radical Islamic group had four key demands - regime change, new elections, the release of political prisoners and the formation of a transition government representing all opposition parties.
The Muslim Brotherhood had not yet met with government or army representatives, he said, adding that the revolution would continue until their demands were met.
Al-Bayoumi insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood was taking part in the mass popular protests across the country, but deliberately maintaining a low profile.
"We don't want this revolution to be presented as a revolution of the Muslim Brothers, or an Islamic revolution. This is a popular uprising of all Egyptians.
Western fears of an Islamist Egyptian state were unfounded, he added.
"We are no devils. We want peace, not violence. Our religion is no devilish religion. Our religion respects followers of other faiths, these are our principles," al-Bayoumi insisted.
He said the regime of President Hosny Mubarak had deliberately misrepresented the Muslim Brotherhood, adding that they enjoyed support across the country.
"We exist in every town, every village, every neighbourhood. We are an indispensable part of the nation," he said.
The interview is to be published in Monday's print edition of Spiegel magazine.
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