BEIRUT // The power of Islamist groups if President Bashar Al Assad is toppled is worrying some members of Syria's opposition.
But Syria's Muslim Brotherhood - the main Islamist bloc within the opposition - has sought to allay such fears, laying out a political plan and pledging to share power and create a democratic new Syria.
"The regime is trying to show that the Muslim Brotherhood are trying to control Syria alone," said the group's leader, Mohammed Riad Al Shaqfa, in Istanbul on Sunday. "We want a democratic Syria and we do not want to control the country alone."
Ahead of this weekend's "Friends of Syria" conference in Istanbul, Syrian opposition groups are meeting in the Turkish city, including the Syrian National Council (SNC), the main internationally recognised umbrella opposition group, which includes the Brotherhood.
The SNC and the Brotherhood have been criticised for the power the moderate Islamist group holds over the council.
Kamal Al Labwani, one of several prominent members of the SNC to resign in the past month, described the council as "a liberal front for the Muslim Brotherhood".
"One day we will wake up to find an armed militia ... controlling the country through their weapons," he said recently.
Mr Al Shaqfa's description of the Brotherhood's vision for a post-Al Assad Syria, came as pressure mounts on Syria's divided opposition to form a united strategy to bring down the government and end more than a year of deadly violence.
"We assure that we will accept the result of free elections," The Brotherhood's deputy, Farouk Monir Khalid, said in Istanbul on Sunday.
"We assure that the rights of all Syrians will be guaranteed, of all groups and beliefs."
But, Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said it remains to be seen whether Syria's Muslim Brotherhood can live up to these words.
"I hope the Brotherhood are mature enough to adapt, which is the only way to operate in an environment as complex as Syria," he said.
Offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt and Tunisia have emerged with greater political influence after the Arab Spring uprisings. But the group remains illegal in Syria, where mere membership can result in a death sentence. Many of the Brotherhood's leaders remain in exile.
"They are strongly represented in the SNC, and even over-represented," said Mr Khashan. "But, we have no statistics on the strength of the group's support in Syria."
In the 1980s the Syrian Brotherhood waged a campaign against then-president Hafez Al Assad, President Al Assad's father, In retaliation, the then president ordered a massacre in the city of Hama in 1982 in which up to 25,000 people were killed.
Also on Sunday, the Dubai Police chief, Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas, the Muslim Brotherhood wanted to take over Gulf states.
In an interview, Gen Tamim said he had information the Brotherhood will try in the next few years, starting in Kuwait, to "make Gulf governments figurehead bodies only without actual ruling".
- With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press
zconstantine@thenational.ae
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
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Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
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Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.