Foreign companies operating in Egypt are given an ultimatum to end their operations by 20 February or else their projects will be targeted by the revolutionaries ”
A number of TV stations and websites loyal or directly affiliated to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (MB) have been airing statements inciting violence and vandalism.
This has especially been the case since the fourth anniversary of the 25 January revolution which swept President Husni Mubarak out of power. It also comes ahead of an important international economic conference, due to be held in Egypt in March, which aims to boost foreign investment in the country.
The broadcasters involved are mainly based in Turkey, which is at loggerheads with Egypt and has hosted a large number of Islamist activists and leaders who fled Egypt following the ouster of Islamist President Muhammad Morsi in July 2013.
Warning to foreigners
On 29 January, Rabi'ah TV, a Turkey-based channel, aired a statement which it said was from a "revolutionary" group threatening to target foreign nationals and businesses in Egypt.
Presenter Ahmad Rushdi said that the Revolutionary Youth Leadership warned all foreigners, including diplomatic missions and multinational corporations to leave Egypt "or risk being targeted".
"All foreign companies operating in Egypt are given an ultimatum to withdraw their licenses and put an end to their operations by 20 February 2015, or else all their projects will be targeted by the revolutionaries."
Reading out the statement, the presenter added that all tourists planning to visit Egypt should cancel their flights.
"All countries supporting and financially or politically backing the coup should immediately cease their support for the coup within a period of one month... or else all their interests in the Middle East will be subjected to severe attack leading to grave consequences."
Later, on its Facebook page, Rabi'ah TV posted a statement saying that the "discussion" of any topic by the channel "does not necessarily mean that we endorse it or not".
"Kill officers"
Direct threats have come from other pro-MB TV stations.
A recent video widely circulated on the internet shows presenter Muhammad Nasir of Al-Sharq TV making a direct call for violence.
Launched in April last year, Al-Sharq TV is backed by pro-MB businessman Basim Khafaji, who describes it as "the voice of the conservative trend".
Addressing those he called "revolutionaries", presenter Nasir said: "Kill officers. I say it to you on the air here, kill the police officers. I say to every wife of an officer, your husband will be killed, without question. If he is not killed tomorrow, he will be killed the day after."
Websites
An article published on the MB's official Arabic-language website Ikhwanonline urged MB members to prepare for "a long jihad".
Published on 27 January, the article was headlined "A message to the ranks of the revolutionaries: 'And prepare'". It was written by someone calling himself Faris al-Thawrah (Knight of the revolution).
The writer quotes sayings by the late MB founder, Hassan al-Banna, including "The MB will use practical force when it is the only effective means."
He added: "Everyone should be aware that we are on the threshold of a new stage where we recall our latent power and evoke the meanings of jihad.
''We should prepare ourselves and our wives and children as well as our followers for a restless, long jihad in which we should seek the status of martyrs."
The London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper on 1 February quoted Egyptian security sources as saying that the Facebook page of the disbanded Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the MB, had carried a statement under the name of "Get angry" on 27 January and "incited to killing and committing terrorist acts in all governorates".
The security sources said that "the investigating authorities have stressed that the videos and statements uploaded on the social networking sites were from outside the country".
In response, Egypt has been seeking to stop the broadcasting of the pro-MB channels on Eutelsat.
In statements on 1 February, Badr Abd-al-Ati, the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman, said that Foreign Minister Samih Shukri had asked the embassy in Paris to contact the administration of the Paris-based satellite operator to close the "terrorist promotion channels".
Spanner in the works
The MB appears to have lost is ability to mobilise masses of people. Since Morsi's ouster, thousands of its members have been imprisoned, mostly on charges of involvement in violence, and the group's image has been severely damaged.
Besides, Egyptians are now more cautious, having seen the existential crises rocking other countries such as Syria, Yemen and Libya. President Abd-al-Fattah al-Sisi also enjoys a broad base of support among ordinary people.
Having failed to make any changes to the status quo in Egypt, some MB circles appear to be seeking to undermine the efforts made by Al-Sisi and his government to fix the ailing economy.
The latest encouragement of vandalism and violence seems to be intended to portray Egypt as a chaotic, insecure country ahead of the economic conference which is hoped to bring in investments.