Muslim Brotherhood
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Muslim Brotherhood emblem:
Qur'an and Swords | The Muslim Brotherhood (Arabic: Hizb al Ikhwan al Muslimeen - The party of the Muslim Brothers) is a fundamentalist international organization
or organizations originating in Egypt, whose goals are the conversion of
Muslim countries into states ruled by
Sha'aria law, the re-establishment of the
Caliphate and ultimately, world dominion.
The Muslim Brotherhood's ideology, which insists that Islam is a prescription for governance as well as religion, is the
prototypical example of
Islamism.
Different factions of the Muslim Brotherhood believe that an Islamic society can be achieved violent means in the near term, or
by education and "preparation" of society and "democratic" takeover. The Muslim Brotherhood was
founded about 1924 in Egypt by Hassan al Banna.
Muslim Brotherhood ideology is virulently anti-Semitic anti-Western and
anti-democratic in principle. It is important to emphasize this last point, in view of the optimistic theories of
certain academics which insist that the Muslim Brotherhood and similar groups would evolve toward democracy because of
democratic traditions in Islam. The original Muslim Brotherhood ideology views all such democratic traditions as heresy, though it
might use democratic means to gain power. The reasoning behind this opposition is explained in Chapter 6 of Sayyed
Qutb's book, Milestones: just government is government by God, and not by men. Qutb believed that the best sort of
government was a dictatorship based on
Sha'aria Muslim law.
In World War II, the brotherhood sided
with the Nazis and actively aided the Nazi cause when possible. It became even more anti-Western under the
influence of Sayyid Qutb, an intellectual who had studied in the United States. Qutb was shocked by mixing of the sexes
at a church dance, and expressed contempt for jazz music because it was a product of Negro culture. Qutb viewed all
Islamic society as being in a state of Jahiliya, the name given to the state of Arab society before the advent of Islam.
A basic tenet of the movement is holy war,
Jihad in the sense of Jihad bis Seif,
struggle by the sword. Jihad means "struggle" literally, and
refers to a holy struggle or holy war. Some Muslims believe that it refers primarily to an inner spiritual
struggle. Others believe that Jihad in the sense of war should be waged only against idolators or only against those who
threaten Islam. Al-Banna however, was quite explicit in stating that Jihad was to be waged as a holy duty ("fard") to
subdue any society that did not submit to Islam. (For al-Banna's definition of Jihad, see the article on
Jihad). Likewise Sayyed Qutb was explicit
that Jihad was not a defensive war, but a staged struggle to "liberate" all mankind:
The second aspect of this religion is that it is a practical movement which progresses stage by stage,
and at every stage it provides resources according to the practical needs of the situation and prepares the ground for
the next one. It does not face practical problems with abstract theories, nor does it confront various stages with
unchangeable means. Those who talk about Jihaad in Islam and quote Qur'anic verses do not take into account this aspect,
nor do they understand the nature of the various stages through which this movement develops, or the relationship of the
verses revealed at various occasions with each stage. Thus, when they speak about Jihaad, they speak clumsily and mix up
the various stages, distorting the whole concept of Jihaad and deriving from the Qur'anic verses final principles and
generalities for which there is no justification. This is because they regard every verse of the Qur'an as if it were
the final principle of this religion. This group of thinkers, who are a product of the sorry state of the present Muslim
generation, have nothing but the label of Islam and have laid down their spiritual and rational arms in defeat. They
say, "Islam has prescribed only defensive war"! and think that they have done some good for their religion by depriving
it of its method, which is to abolish all injustice from the earth, to bring people to the worship of God alone, and to
bring them out of servitude to others into the servants of the Lord . Islam does not force people to accept its belief,
but it wants to provide a free environment in which they will have the choice of beliefs. What it wants is to abolish
those oppressive political systems under which people are prevented from expressing their freedom to choose whatever
beliefs they want, and after that it gives them complete freedom to decide whether they will accept Islam or not.
....
When writers with defeatist and apologetic mentalities write about "Jihaad in Islam," trying to remove
this 'blot' from Islam, then they are mixing up two things: first, that this f religion forbids the imposition of its
belief by force, as is clear from the verse, "There is no compulsion in religion"(2:256), while on the other hand it
tries to annihilate all those political and material powers which stand between people and Islam, which force one people
to bow before another people and prevent them from accepting the sovereignty of God. These two principles have no
relation to one another nor is there room to mix them. In spite of this, these defeatist-type people try to mix the two
aspects and want to confine Jihaad to what today is called 'defensive war'. The Islamic Jihaad has no relationship to
modern warfare, either in its causes or in the way in which it is conducted.
....
This religion is not merely a declaration of the freedom of the Arabs, nor is its message confined to
the Arabs. It addresses itself to the whole of mankind, and its sphere of work is the whole earth. God is the Sustainer
not merely of the Arabs, nor is His providence limited to those who believe in the faith of Islam. God is the Sustainer
of the whole world. This religion wants to bring back the whole world to its Sustainer and free it from servitude to
anyone other than God. In the sight of Islam, the real servitude is following laws devised by someone, and this is that
servitude which in Islam is reserved for God alone. Anyone who serves someone other than God in this sense is outside
God's religion, although he may claim to profess this religion. The Prophet- peace be on him - clearly stated that,
according to the Shari'ah, 'to obey' is 'to worship'. Taking this meaning of worship, when the Jews and Christians
'disobeyed' God, they became like those who 'associate others with God'.... (Qutb, Sayyed, Milestones, Chapter 4)
The Muslim Brotherhood believed in violent overthrow of Arab governments, and was implicated in the murder of several
Egyptian politicians. Al-Banna himself was killed following the assassination of the Egyptian Prime Minister in 1949.
The Muslim Brotherhood cooperated with the young officers who overthrew King Farouk of Egypt, but soon fell out with the
Pan Arab nationalists. Sayyid Qutb, was involved in
a plot to kill Gamal Abdul Nasser and was executed on August 29, 1966. In 1981, members of yet another offshoot of the Muslim
Brotherhood, the Al Jihad, assassinated
Egyptian President Anwar as Sadat. The assassination was followed by widespread suppression of the group.
Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood
Various organizations with the same or similar ideology have been called
Ikhwan, Gama'a al Islamiyeh, al Jihad and many
other titles. It is
difficult to determine the degree to which any "Jihadi" group is independent, and it is probably that most
Sunni Jihadist groups are related to the
original brotherhood in some way. As the Muslim Brotherhood home page explains:
Al-Ikhwan has branches in over 70 countries all over the world. The movement is flexible enough to
allow working under the "Ikhwan" name, under other names, or working according to every country's circumstances.
(Source: Mulsim Brotherhood home page)
Indeed, the Muslim Brotherhood and its derivatives have branched out to numerous countries, in some cases transmuting
to a slightly different, generally more virulent ideology. It had a very strong representation in Gaza.
Yasser Arafat sprang from a family
background in the e Ikhwan of Gaza and more importantly, the
Hamas was founded by breakaway Palestinian
members of the
Ikhwan. The principle innovation of the
Hamas was the focus of Jihadist ideology on Palestine.
The Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) is in one way or another responsible for most of the
Sunni terrorist fundamentalist groups. "New"
groups formed either when the original group was suppressed and it was necessary to take another name, or because of
personal difference or minor or major differences in tactics or theology, or by merger with other similar groups. The
most famous such group today is probably Al-Qaeda,
which resulted from a merger of Osama Bin Laden's followers with those of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood activist Ayman
Zawahiri and other groups.
It is difficult to understand the internal organization of each group or the relations between them. Groups and
terrorist actions may in some cases be directly traceable to a central group such as Al Qaeda, or they may be derivative
organizations or actions such as bombings may apparently be "inspired" by Muslim Brotherhood or Al-Qaeda teachings. As
noted, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Group had adopted a cellular organization at one time. The home page of the
Muslim Brotherhood Ikhwan group states the following under the heading "Organization:"
Organization
Al-Ikhwan has branches in over 70 countries all over the world. The movement is flexible enough to allow
working under the "Ikhwan" name, under other names, or working according to every country's circumstances. However, all
Ikhwan groups, in all countries are characterized by the following with respect to their method [3]:
- 1- Following the Salaf: Rejecting any action or principle which contradicts the Quran or Sunna, and
inviting people to nothing but them both.
- 2- Establishing the Sunna: Working -as much as possible- to spread the Sunna in every aspect of life.
- 3- Increasing the Iman: By concentrating on the purity of hearts, loving Muslims in the sake of
Allah, and remembrance (plus being away of any Sufi mistakes).
- 4- Political Activism: By putting political programs for "Islamising" government in different
countries (after realistic studies), and establishing these programs thru the convenient ways which do not conflict with
Islam.
- 5- Stressing Physical Health: By forming sports clubs and committing members to regular exercises.
- 6- Enriching Scientific Study: By enhancing the knowledge of members and others about Islam. Members
with "Shari'a" major have special study programs.
- 7- Establishing a Sound Economic Infrastructure: By supporting and/or sponsoring any Islamic project
and facing its "fiqh" problems. By the way, the ONLY accepted source of money to the Ikhwan is its members' OWN money
[3].
- 8- Fostering Social ties: By maintaining brotherhood links among the members of the Islamic society.
What is noteworthy of the above is that it gives almost no hint of organization, but is rather a potpourri of
percepts and goals and principles. Despite the bolded text, it is likely that Muslim Brotherhood funding has come from
supporters in Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Holy Land Foundation was apparently established to finance terror.
Wikipedia gives an organizational scheme for the Muslim Brotherhood, but it is evidently only derived from a
description of organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States. From evidence released in the Holy Land
foundation trial, it appears that the different groups adopt different methods suited to each country in which they are
formed, but with essentially the same goals (see here).
The organizational relations between these different groups are unclear.
Goals of the Muslim Brotherhood
The goals of the Muslim brotherhood are set forth in the "home page" of the group:
Main objectives
A huge tree of "sub-goals" branches from these main objectives which are derived from the Quran and the
tradition of the prophet (pbuh) [3,4]:
- 1- Building the Muslim individual: brother or sister with a strong body, high manners, cultured
thought, ability to earn, strong faith, correct worship, conscious of time, of benefit to others, organized, and
self-struggling character [3].
- 2- Building the Muslim family: choosing a good wife (husband), educating children Islamicaly, and
inviting other families.
- 3- Building the Muslim society (thru building individuals and families) and addressing the problems
of the society realistically.
- 4- Building the Muslim state.
- 5- Building the Khilafa (basically a shape of unity between the Islamic states).
- 6- Mastering the world with Islam.
It should be pointed out that the "home page" notes that the person who prepared it is not a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood. Therefore the information may not be authoritative. It cites two sources:
[3] "The Messages of Al-Imam-u-shaheed", Hassan Al-Banna.
[4] "An introduction to the Da'wa of Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon", Saiid Hawwa.
Muslim Brotherhood in North Americaa
The Ikhwan or Muslim Brotherhood have also been established in North America since the 1960s.
A document published by them explained:
“The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and
destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the
believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions. (Source: United
States of America v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development et al, No. 3:04-CR-240-G, United States District
Court for the Northern Division of Texas, Dallas Division, Gov't exhibit: Government
Exhibit 003-0085; 3:04-CR-240-G; U.S. v. HLF, et al. p.21. Cited here ) .
The above document came to light as evidence in the case of the Holy Land Foundation. Among other institutions, the
Ikhwan in the United States founded the Muslim Students Union and the Muslim Students Association, which spread their
ideology and apparently engaged in underground activities under the cover of innocent activities such as civil rights
groups and charitable foundation.
Moderation in the Muslim Brotherhood
Since about 1970, the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt has professed to have become "democratic," seeking to
take power in Egypt through free elections, education and political work. A splinter group formed the Gamaa al Islamiya,
and the
Egyptian Islamic Jihad, supposedly recruited "spontaneously" from a loose aggregation of
university students and other individuals which continued to support
violence. The Gamaa al Islamiya itself supposedly renounced violence in 1997, apparently as a result of a deal struck
with the Egyptian government. The group would renounce terror, in return for a massive release of its jailed members.
Though the Muslim Brotherhood party is outlawed, candidates
affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood have gained considerable representation (about 20%) in the Egyptian parliament,
even though elections are heavily rigged in favor of the governing party. The announced philosophy of action of the "New faction" of Muslim Brotherhood itself at this time is that violent or "democratic" overthrow of
an Arab government must be preceded by intensive Islamic education. They also court dialogue with the west, which is
opposed by the "old" faction.
There is no agreement as to whether the renunciation of violence by Muslim Brotherhood groups is permanent and
sincere or a tactic that was adopted due to exigencies of government repression. There is also disagreement about the
relation between different offshoots of the brotherhood. There has been, over time, a progressive process in which older
groups assume non-violent means either in reality or professedly, and new groups are formed from members and
leaders of the older groups, which are more violent. Thus, the Ikhwan Muslim brotherhood became professedly non-violent
in the 1970s, spawning the al Jihad or
Egyptian Islamic Jihad and
the Gama'a Islamiyeh of the blind Sheikh Omar abdel Rahman. In turn, when the Gama'a Islamiyeh renounced violence
in 1997, a part of its members joined other groups to form Al-Qaeda. All these groups apparently believe in imposition
of a Sha'aria state and Muslim world dominion as an end goal, and in education toward this goal, but some profess
non-violent and democratic means, others are committed to violence against the west and Israel, and others are committed
to violence against "non-believing" or "hypocritical" (takfiri) Muslims as well.
Synonyms and alternate spellings:
Further Information:
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