Muslim Brotherhood hits out at TV show

Cairo: The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest but banned opposition force, has reacted angrily to a TV serial dramatising the life of Jamal Abdul Nasser, an icon of modern Arab nationalism.

Supporters of the group, which has been outlawed in Egypt since 1954, accuse Nasser - the TV series being shown on several Arab channels - of misrepresenting the Brotherhood.

"The aim of the series is to tarnish the image of the Brotherhood in a stark contrast to history" said Saif Al Islam Hassan Al Banna, the son of the group's founder. "I will not keep silent on the harm done to the history of my father or any other person in the Brotherhood," Saif Al Islam told Gulf News. He plans to file a lawsuit against the show makers.

'A fallacy'

The controversial series, banned on Egyptian state TV, presents the Brotherhood as fawning on King Farouk, who was later overthrown by Nasser and his comrades.

"This is a fallacy," said Al Banna. "The Brothers were not friends of the King. They used to attend national occasions, including the Coronation Day, like other politicians at the time."