Egypt bans Muslim Brotherhood's annual Ramadan event

Egypt bans Muslim Brotherhood's annual Ramadan event
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The Egyptian government has banned the Muslim Brotherhood's largest annual social gathering for the first time in 20 years, part of a concerted crackdown against the country's opposition, the group's leadership said Sunday.

Every year, the Brotherhood invites a diverse group of some 1,500 people to one of Cairo's five-star hotels for a gala dinner during Ramadan, the monthlong period when many Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef criticized Egypt's Interior Ministry on Sunday for banning the annual meal, which the country's largest opposition group had planned for Saturday.

"This decision hurts Egypt's reputation and dignity and gives an impression of instability, which negatively affects the political, economic, and social environment in our beloved Egypt," Akef said in a statement.