Enter: Ikhwanul Muslimin

Introduction to Ikhwanul Muslimin

(Muslim Brotherhood)

By Wan Muhammad Aliff Bin Rahmat

بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم .‎

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

A note from the writer:

( It has been a while since I've last written, forgive me if it be rusty or if error were to occur due to my failing delivery. Insyallah my intent and message will come across smoothly and without much conflict in any parts. What transpires this essay came from a class project in my second last semester studying in PERGAS (Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teacher's Association). My former Ustaz, divided us into groups to do a presentation on certain Muslim organisations around the world such as Jamiyah and Ikhwanul Muslimin. Our feeble attempt then with limited research vastly pales the significance of this little known organisation that rose into prominence largely due to their short-lived political victory in Egypt a few years back. Before I begin, do note that I am NOT a member of the Brotherhood and hence hopes that the views you see are both just and unbiased. Being not an Islamic expert (ulama'), there are ideas that I claim my own and may not be the true accepted piece and hence, please forgive me for such misguided attempts.)

Introduction

In the face of a global threat we see in the papers almost daily, the notorious Islamic State, Muslims around the world needs to seek the truth from the many lies that obscures our view. Myopic decisions, fused with our uncontrollable emotions, ingrained by our culture and blood and distorted by the lack of knowledge or rather the access to knowledge itself leads us to be strayed off the humane path. Bearing the weight of both the secularly driven world and the spiritual necessity to be in Allah's favour, it is not a wonder if there are minorities who have fumbled and perhaps wielded the wrong flag of Islam. In this troubled times as we search for a meaning in this temporary world and a place in Al-Jannah (One of the Heavens), comes an organisation that offers to those who seek, an answer to our daily struggles. Enter: The Muslim Brotherhood.

History 

Contrary to popular beliefs that the Brotherhood are for the few selected individuals and their secrets kept within their members such as the Church of Scientology and Masonic groups, it accepts anyone willing to embrace their long-term goals. Additionally, membership is not restricted to Egyptians only, a misconception perhaps derived from the fact that it was founded there in 1928 by the renowned, Hassan al-Banna. To date, those committed to the way of thinking and principles of Ikhwanul Muslimin is numbered to be approximately 100 million supporters worldwide making it the largest "hidden" Islamic political movement and entity, a far cry from the outnumbered Islamic State supporters. (approx. 30000)

Hassan al-Banna

Controversies rocked the Brotherhood throughout its existence however, giving it a dodgy vibe and a reason for the Western world to condemn it. In its early years in Egypt it was a political party that represented a fuse of democratic and capitalistic approach that relies strongly on Islamic Shariah. Rather simply, the solution to playing the Western game of politics but with an Islamic card. Its emphasis lies on education for the youth, innovation as well as reigniting Muslim interests. It was not popular however in its early years and instead, the Al-Wafd party, its opposition, was the victor in most political elections.

Despite the Brotherhood supporting the military when they overthrew the British from Egypt, it was later betrayed and branded a traitor. Bombs and weapons were found under the house of known Brotherhood members which the leaders claimed as an obvious frame-up to rid the Brotherhood from the political scene. This led to its eventual ban and the party was dissolved forcing the party to go underground. Adding salt to their wound, Abdel Meguid who claimed to be from the Brotherhood assassinated then Prime Minister Nokrashy Pasha, an act that Hassan al-Banna himself condemned. Furthermore, Hassan al-Banna did not recognize Abdel Meguid as being a member of the Brotherhood. Among the reasons given for the assassination was for losing Sudan, surrendering Palestine to the Jews and for dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood. Hassan al-Banna was assassinated in 1949, Cairo.

 Ikhwanul Muslimin symbol

 However, the days of the Brotherhood came to a near end when Colonel Gamel Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk to establish a nationalistic regime in 1952 which brought about the return of Pharaonic culture. Colonel Nasser won the votes of the people after an attempted assassination on him by a certain Mohamed Abdel Latif caught the hearts of the Egyptian people. Only after Nasser's death was the attempt revealed to be folly by CIA operative, Hassan al-Tuhami, because the would-be assassin was in no clear range of harming Nasser. Nevertheless, under Colonel Nasser, political parties including al-Wafd were dissolved and members of the Muslim Brotherhood were hunted down. Some like Youssef Nada and Muhammad al-Qaraxi were captured and tortured while some like Sayed Qutb were executed. Most of the Supreme Guide of the Brotherhood would later come from such prisons until the last, Mahdi Akef insisted a younger person be chosen, the popular Mohamed Badie, who later on was arrested after the recent military coup by  current president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. This henceforth explains the secrecy behind the Muslim Brotherhood.

Colonel Nasser

Moving with the times

Iran-Iraq War

Despite most of the Brotherhood leaders exiled, they still had their hands in influencing the Muslim world. They are known worldwide for their charity work in the Middle East now with clinics and healthcare offices ready to help those in need. They had their fair share in global politics too. For example, when the aristocratic Shah was overthrown marking the start of the Iranian Revolution, they personally met Khomeini who was in exile in France to congratulate him. To the Brotherhood, the revolution is a symbol of triumph from the US's manipulative foreign intervention. (The Shah of Iran was installed forcefully by the US replacing a democratically elected government in the first place.) They did not envision of course for it to lead to the devastating Iran-Iraq war in 1970 despite the Brotherhood calling for peace. They knew that there were foreign powers pulling their weight in this sticky situation. True enough, as Soviet Union and France was in support of Iraq, known as the "Defender of the Arab World", the United States was secretly selling arms to Iran through Israel in what is known as the Iran Contra affair.  Nevertheless, businessman Youssef Nada, now a billionaire with businesses in the cement and steel industry and the unofficial foreign minister for the Brotherhood helped the devastated Iranians with supplies despite making a loss. 

Iranian military voulnteers, Iran-Iraq War

Sectarian Divide

The Muslim world as we see today, riddled with bullets and blood of the fallen due to mainly sectarian strife was seen as a result of foreign intervention. To the Brotherhood who are mostly Sunni Muslims, Kurds (one of the primary victim of the Islamic State) were like brothers as do the Shi'ites in Iran. They believed that it was the work of the Saudis who are Wahhabi (a more extreme form of Sunni) and foreign saboteurs that conjured up the sectarian disputes on behalf of the Americans, a method that has caused the Middle Eastern nations to be divided, crippled and impossible to unite. 

Annexation of Kuwait

When Iraq annexed Kuwait in her desperate attempt to salvage her situation, the Brotherhood was there to offer good solid advice to Saddam Hussein himself. Granted an audience, Nada was informed about Kuwaiti nationalists who wanted to be freed by the Iraqis, about the stubborn Kuwaitis regarding the Rumaila oilfield and when Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Saad Alsabah told Saddam that "we are going to starve the Iraqi until Iraqi women could be bought with ten dinar". Note that Iraq by then was now in deep recession and many of its people were on the brink of poverty because of the Iran-Iraq war in which they had fought FOR the other Arab countries. Since Saddam claimed that it was Kuwaiti nationalists that provoked him to "free" the Kuwaitis, the Brotherhood offered a solution. To let neutral Muslim nations like Sudan and Malaysia partake in conducting a fair referendum for the Kuwait people to decide the fate of their own country and to prevent the Americans from intervening in the process. This of course as we know fell to deaf ears.

 Saddam Hussein

Contrary to popular beliefs, the Muslim brotherhood isn't as backwards or hell-bent to converting the masses into Islam. They believed that democracy is a necessary dividing tool to prevent a tyrant like Nasser or Gaddafi or Mubarak. Also, it was unwise to announce the public killing of figures like Salman Rushdie, the author of Satanic Verses which mocked the Quran, as it would bring down the good name of Muslims. They were against profiteering through the sweat of others, common of corrupted heads of states who had money such as Muammar Gaddafi. The form of utopia government envisioned by them was one that shares the revenue to its people according to the Shariah law. 

Modern day Controversy

Despite the efforts made to "correct" the troubled Muslim population, controversies surrounds this mysterious organisation persecuted all over the globe. It is banned in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. In Morocco on the other hand, it is the official party but under another name. Under former President Hafez Al-Assad of Syria, current President Bashir al-Assad's father, members of the Muslim Brotherhood were massacred in 1982 leaving 35000 dead in what is known as the Hama Massacre. It was declared a terrorist organization by the United States in 2001 after several bombings in Egypt. In fact, Ayman al-Zawahiri, former no.2 of Al-Qaeda was a Brotherhood member but when he tried to convince violence to other members, he was shunted and in return, he attacked the Brotherhood calling them "infidels".

Sayed Qutb, former Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood and famous for his poetry and books that were written while he was in prison during Nasser's regime is perceived by some to be ardent Marxist. Qutbism, his philosophy, is known to promote violence to achieve their aims. 

Despite the many criticism of this organization, they managed to be the first democratically elected party in Egypt. However due to their inability to form a concrete plan in salvaging Egyptian economy, coupled with many other organisational problems, they were ousted out by al-sisi eventually and most of their leaders arrested for inciting violence by forming protests against the government. The crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood supporters eventually ended with over 1400 dead and over 600 protesters given the death sentence.
 Until the day comes when the Muslim world is able to unite and work together for the greater good, let us pray that no tyrants, terrorists or saboteurs harm our brothers and our ulama'. Amin.