CNN: Muslim Brotherhood Will Not Seek Presidency

According to CNN, the Muslim Brotherhood -- the Islamist organization credited with birthing the terrorist group Hamas -- says it will not field a candidate for the Egyptian presidential race.

CNN reports:

The Muslim Brotherhood said Wednesday it will promote democracy in Egypt but does not intend to field a candidate for president.

"The Muslim Brotherhood are not seeking power," Mohammed Morsi, a member of the group's media office, said at a news conference. "We want to participate, not to dominate. We will not have a presidential candidate, we want to participate and help, we are not seeking power."

The Islamist umbrella group also sought to dispel fears that it would push for an Islamic state in a post-Hosni Mubarak era.

"We reject the religious state," said Mohammed Katatny, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc. "We are not responsible of the speeches and statements of external forces. The regime have been using the Muslim Brotherhood scarecrow to tell the world that the regime is the only one who can safeguard the country, but this is wrong and it is their way to try to ignore the people's demands."

That statement comes a day after it was reported a 1995 book from the Brotherhood reveals the group’s objectives, including the “global conquest of Islam” and “reestablishing the Islamic Caliphate, the “public and private duties of jihad,” and the “struggles Muslims must wage against Israel.”