All supporters and opponents have agreed that Mr. Omar Telmensani was truly a leader that had all the righteous qualities: he had good morals and used to behave properly in difficult situations, having a practical character both as an Islamic preacher and Muslim Brotherhood leader.
He was the only deceased Muslim Brotherhood General Guide whose funeral was attended by thousands of people that lined up in the Tahrir (liberation) Square, led by official delegations, Sheikh Al-Shaarawi, Opposition leader Ibrahim Shukri, the representative of the Egyptian Coptic Church, former Parliament Speaker Rifaat Al-Mahgoub, Islamic delegations, and his fans from all sects and social categories as well as his beloved ones. Mr. Telmesani’s practical positions are the best witness to his character, including:
- Once, when Mr. Omar Telmesani arrived at his office, 1 Souk El-Tawfiqeya Street, he found a number of Brotherhood members mad at an article written by Amina Al-Saeed and published in Rose al-Yusuf Egyptian weekly magazine in which she severely attacked the Islamic movement. In fact, the article was the first of a series of articles that al-Saeed intended to publish in Rose al-Yusuf magazine attacking the Brotherhood. Soon after reading al-Saeed’s article in full, Mr. Temesani called her on the phone amid astonishment of the angry Muslim Brotherhood members who were following what he was doing.
Mr. Telmesani: Hello, Ms Amina. I’m Omar Telmesani. Do you have time for drinking a cup of coffee with you?
Ms. Al-Saeed: ………………………………
Mr. Telmesani: Where?
Ms. Al-Saeed: ………………………………
Mr. Telmesani: When?
Ms. Al-Saeed: ………………………………
Mr. Telmesani: What is the time allowed for the meeting?
Ms. Al-Saeed: ………………………………
Mr. Telmesani: Thank you. Thank you.
The angry Brotherhood members strongly objected to Mr. Telmesani’s phone call with Ms. Amina Al-Saeed, shouting: Have you said: Ms. Amina! And you want to go to her! You represent the Muslim Brotherhood and you should never do that. However, Mr. Telmesani insisted on his decision to go and meet al-Saeed, stating that he was ready to do anything to defend the Brotherhood no matter what the cost would be (including going and meeting the group’s critics and discussing any allegations with them).
After meeting Ms. Al-Saeed and discussing everything with her, the result was that the second article of Ms. Amina Al-Saeed was entitled, “A precious interview with an honorable man”, describing her meeting with Mr. Telmesani and praising the man’s intellect, morals and culture. In addition, she stopped her anti-Brotherhood series of articles that she had intended to publish in Rose Al-Yusuf magazine.
A similar situation happened in in 1984 with Mr. Ibrahim Sie’da, a prominent journalist and former editor-in-chief of Akhbar El-Youm, an Egyptian weekly newspaper, at the time.
In one of Akhbar El-Youm editorials, Mr. Sei’da criticized the Muslim Brotherhood for running for the parliament elections in coalition with the Wafd party, a secularist political party. The article was titled, “Yesterday's Enemies Are Today’s Friends!”, claiming that the Brotherhood abandoned their religious principles by cooperating with a secular party. Mr. Sei’da also criticized Al-Wafd Party for abandoning its secular principles in allying with a religious group, describing this position as preference of interests to the party’s principles.
Immediately after reading the article, Mr. Telmesani contacted Mr Ibrahim Sei’da and visited him at his office in Al-Akhbar Building. After receiving his guest, Mr. Sei’da engaged in a long dialogue with Mr. Telmesani. The result of the meeting was that the following article that Sei’da published in Akhbar al-Youm was entitled, “A precious interview with an honorable man”, describing his meeting with Telmesani. Doing this, Mr. Omar Telmesani gave Muslim Brotherhood members a lesson in how to deal with their critics and opponents.
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