Egypt backs away from plan to dissolve Brotherhood

Egypt should not ban the Muslim Brotherhood or exclude it from politics after the army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, the interim prime minister said on Tuesday, reversing his previous stated view.
The apparent about-turn fuelled speculation that the military-installed government may now seek a political settlement to the crisis, but it also coincided with a new call for protests by Morsi's supporters.
Hazem el-Beblawi, the interim prime minister, had proposed on August 17 that the Brotherhood, the Arab world's oldest and arguably most influential Islamist group, should be dissolved, and said the government was studying the idea.
In an interview with state media late on Tuesday, Beblawi appeared to row back, saying the government would instead monitor the group and its political wing and that the actions of its members would determine its fate.
"Dissolving the party or the group is not the solution and it is wrong to make decisions in turbulent situations," the state news agency MENA quoted Beblawi as saying.
There has been no sign from the Brotherhood, most of whose leaders are now in jail or on the run, that it wants to engage with the army establishment that ousted it by force.
Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood was banned by Egypt's then military rulers in 1954. Though still outlawed during the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, it ran a large welfare network and its members ran as independents in limited elections.
After decades of operating in the shadows and winning support with its charities and preaching, the Brotherhood registered itself as a non-governmental organization in March in response to a court challenge by people contesting its legality.