Son of man featured on IS magazine cover explains why it made him happy

The front cover of Islamic State's English-language propaganda magazine this week screamed out the words "Murtadd Brotherhood" - denouncing the Muslim Brotherhood as "apostates" - beneath a picture of a smiling Mohammed Morsi casting his vote in Egypt's 2012 presidential election.

The magazine's contents went on to slam the Brotherhood for its close ties to Shia-led countries, as well as naming several prominent Western Muslims in a lengthy "hit list," accusing them of being "overt crusaders".

Some were shocked that IS would take aim at the Brotherhood and accuse it of being contrary to Islam, especially after Egypt and Saudi Arabia labelled the group a "terrorist" organisation.

But one man was surprised for a very different reason: next to Morsi on the magazine's front cover, holding the ballot box steady, was his father.

Mamdouh Moawed is a Brotherhood activist who previously served on its National Council. Imprisoned after the organisation was toppled from power in a popular-backed coup in 2013, Moawed has also seen several family members thrown in jail on charges of terrorism.

Middle East Eye spoke to his son Ahmed, a civil rights lawyer, about why he was happy to see his father's face on the front page of IS's propaganda magazine, despite their chilling threats. 

"I first saw the front cover on Al-Jazeera. Then people started sending it to me, saying, 'Oh, there’s your dad'. It is absolutely absurd - IS accuse us of being apostates, but they don’t know anything," he said.

“When I saw it I was actually happy," he explained. "In the eyes of [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al] Sisi, we are terrorists: my father just got out of prison a month ago, and my uncle has been sentenced to three years behind bars.

"My sister has been expelled from university because of her political activities. In Egypt, we are hounded as terrorists. But still in the eyes of IS, we are apostates."

Being on the front cover made his father scared of IS, said Moawed. "But he is just as afraid of Sisi. They are two sides of the same coin – both kill their opponents and detain people without justification. The only difference is that one gets support, and the other gets a war waged against it."

The lawyer, who lives in Egypt, said that while the US and EU fight IS, they continue to give Sisi financial and political support.

"Otherwise there is no difference between IS and Sisi’s Egypt – there is no democracy, and people are not allowed to express their opinions," he said. 

"This is why I shared it sarcastically on Facebook, saying 'Long live Egypt [Sisi’s election campaign slogan] and long live the Caliphate of the Islamic State'. Satire is the best weapon against these people."