Egypt is in turmoil following former President Morsi's ouster, with violent clashes between the authorities and Morsi supporters in the

.

Wafaa Hefny

from the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing and

, general secretary of the

, spoke with

Saumya Pant

about Egypt's face-off, allegations around America — and the way forward:

Where did the Muslim Brotherhood go wrong?

Considering the violence now, are you open to discussions with the government?

What are you experiencing at pro-Morsi sit-ins?

But there are also clips showing children claiming they're willing to die for the Brotherhood — your comment?

However, aren't Egypt's minorities suspicious of the Muslim Brotherhood?

But there was a popular uprising against the Brotherhood — why?

What do you believe is the army's plan?

What steps are you considering now?

Well, we were trying to build democratic institutions. We created schemes like paying support to widows, increasing pension and some tax benefits — but we were uprooted before we could implement any of those. This was the strategy of the army. Parties would support our proposals, then back out to make us look like fools on the army's orders.We were trying to gather international support by going to countries like China, India etc. This was not appreciated by the US. The army follows what the US tells it and they created rumours around Morsi's foreign visits to garner goodwill for Egypt.Look, this government first removed a democratically elected government within just one year of its term in a bloody coup. Now, they're saying they want to negotiate with us. Tomorrow, they'll arrange an election which we're sure we'll win — and they will again remove us at their will.The current regime is masquerading as a democratic regime — it's just a puppet in the hands of the army. We are not willing to negotiate. We want Morsi back.The army's used live bullets to disperse protesters. They killed women supporters in Mansoura. Army, police and thugs killed 127 people in Nasr city last week. Thousands of our supporters are in hospitals after being injured by the army and police.Those videos are fabricated. The army is trying to malign the reputation of the anti-coup parties. They're trying to spread fear in society, so people feel they need the army to protect them. Thugs are hired and create trouble. The army then tries to act like they're the country's saviour.Egypt is not a secular country. It will never be that as the people are religious. Everyone, Muslim or Christian, is a believer. Some Copts believe Egypt belongs to them and Muslims are invaders. But they're wrong. We have the support of many Christians.Tamarod is an organisation created by the army to remove the democratically elected president. How could a small, non-descript organisation like Tamarod gather over 20 million signatures in just two months?The Brotherhood has been working since 1928 at the grassroots level but managed to get 13 million votes. Tamarod is definitely part of the conspiracy by the army to remove the Muslim Brotherhood.The army wants to keep the US in good humour — the US wants instability in the region, so they can get more land for Israel.Thousands of people are ready to offer their lives as sacrifices for the cause. We have not told them to do this but they say Morsi is the people's president and they're ready to offer the supreme sacrifice to restore him — there is no other way.