"It looks like the ruling National Democratic Party is not able to compete fairly with the Muslim Brotherhood," the Brotherhood's Deputy Chairman, Mohammed Habib, tells me. "Therefore it is resorting to odd and exceptional measures."
In 2005, Brotherhood candidates - running as independents - clinched more than a fifth of seats in Egypt's parliamentary elections. Mr Habib says the government wants to prevent a repetition of that success.
"They felt scared and panicked when they saw the result. Afterwards they changed their strategy and tried to marginalise and undermine the Muslim Brotherhood."
"The West has a lot of misconceptions, such as linking the Muslim Brotherhood to violence or believing that we are a Machiavellian movement which is trying to turn Egypt into a caliphate [Islamic state] or dictatorship."
"We are trying to correct all these misconceptions."
There has been strong international condemnation of the latest round-up of Muslim Brotherhood members.
Last month the White House expressed its concern. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch called the action "shameless" and said it cast serious doubt on the election's legitimacy.
It also criticised the ongoing military trial of 40 senior Brotherhood members - charged with belonging to a banned group and possessing anti-government literature.
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