The political unrest in Egypt should not be described as Islamic, the Muslim Brotherhood said Saturday, reported dpa.
"The Egyptian protests are not an 'Islamic' uprising, but a mass protest against an unjust, autocratic regime, which includes Egyptians from all walks of life, all religions and all sects," read a statement from Egypt's largest opposition group.
"The revolution is a peaceful one which calls solely for reform and a democratic civil state," said the statement from Khaled Hamza, editor of IkhwanWeb, the Muslim Brotherhood's website.
He said much of the catalyst for the protests was a youth initiative on Facebook, and emphasized that it "is by no means linked to any Islamic tendencies."
Iranian leaders have compared the unrest in Egypt and other Arab states to the time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and described it as an "Islamic awakening."