CAIRO — The Egyptian parliament is scrambling to respond and deal with criticism by the US Congress regarding human rights violations in Egypt.

The parliamentary Human Rights Committee announced Feb. 6 the launching of a series of initiatives and campaigns, including organizing trips to the US Congress and inviting congressmen to visit the Egyptian parliament. Tarek Radwan, head of the parliamentary committee, told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, “The committee decided to initiate face-to-face dialogue with members of Congress in order to familiarize them with the challenges facing Egypt in the human rights field, especially with regard to terrorism.”

He continued, “The aim of the initiative is to remind and warn members of Congress against dealing with political Islamists in general, and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, which would harm the national security of the United States, and affect the stability and security in Arab countries and in Egypt in particular, which classified the group as a terrorist organization."

On Jan. 25, two members of the US Congress — Don Beyer and Tom Malinowski — announced the formation of the “Egypt Human Rights Caucus.” Both members, who previously served in the US State Department, said they would mobilize support on a bipartisan basis, from the Democratic and Republican parties, in a bid to pressure the Egyptian government regarding its human rights record.