CAIRO, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Thursday vowed to pursue its quest for establishing an Islamic state despite government harassment.
"He who believes that harassment and persecution can succeed in eliminating the Islamic trend is wrong," Brotherhood spiritual guide Mohammed Mehdi Akef said in a statement marking the 45th anniversary of the assassination of the group's founder, Hassan al-Banna.
"Such (government) approach is wrong ... The faithful have no other choice and cannot give up or ignore God's will and call," Akef said.
He stressed the Brotherhood's objectives dictated by God have not changed since the organization was founded in 1928, including "ridding the Muslim nation from foreign hegemony and establishing a free Islamic state."
Akef succeeded the late Brotherhood leader Maamoum al-Hodeibi a month ago, amid a growing campaign by Egyptian security to crack down on the group's members on charges of preaching extremism in Egyptian provinces.
