What is the Muslim Brotherhood?
On July 4,
2013, the day after the Egyptian military liberated the country from the Muslim
Brotherhood; Christian Copts were targeted by them as being instrumental in
ousting the Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi.
Even so, religious violence against Christians remains largely
unreported in the US main-stream media. Actually, persecution of Christians by
Muslims appears to be reaching pandemic proportions.
Who was it
that gave support to the Muslim Brotherhood in the elections that put Morsi in
office? Did it rest on the shoulders of
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? I wonder who will be singled out to take the
blame for this major foreign policy blunder.
Rather than pursue this direction, let’s see what the Muslim Brotherhood
really stands for.
First,
Islamists contrast with Muslim traditionalist in many areas, especially in their ideological emphasis on
the state. Islamists view the state as
the main instrument for implementing their vision of a God-pleasing society
under Sharia laws. They concentrate on capturing the state and
its centers of power. The first step is
to try to take over legally within the democratic framework. If this fails, then violent revolution is
necessary. Islamists are in the minority in most Muslim societies
and states. However, their fiery
rhetoric has caused much of the violence in the Muslim world. They have filled the vacuum created by failed
secular regimes. Their rabid discourse has resonated in the hearts of the
impoverished masses. Surprisingly, it
has appealed to the new strata of literate people with modern technical
educations.
Islamists visualize a struggle between good
and evil – good being Islam and evil Western secularism, Judaism, Christianity,
etc. The true believers do not always
win, and often suffer defeat and martyrdom.
However, if they fail, there is no cause for despair because God
comforts them, and assures them that there will be a final victory. Yes, Westerners find this completely contrary
to their cultural values.
What is the
stated doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood?
In the 1940s, Hasan al-Banna, an
Islamic activist wrote the doctrine. It is far too lengthy to include in this
article, but a summary of the main features follows:
1. It states that Islam is applicable to not only
spiritual matters and religious worship, but is all inclusive. It includes religion and the state, spirit
and work, holy book and sword, etc …...
2. The Brotherhood believes the basis
and source of Islam are the Koran and Sunna[1]
of the prophet. If a nation holds to these,
it will never lose its way.
