There are common features among Islamic groups
in the Arab World:
1- They became more active after the war of 1967: Before 1967, most of the Arab World, led by Nasser, was advocating a pan-Arab ideology. The military defeat of 1967 seemed to have demonstrated the defeat of this ideology. Thus, more people started to think that if Arabism failed, then maybe Islam provides the solution. This led to a rise in the popularity and activity of Islamic groups throughout the Arab World.
2- Communalism ﺪﻴﻧﻲ ﺃﺴﺎﺱ ﻋﻟﻰ ﻤﺒﻧﻲ ﺴﻴﺎﺴﻲ ﺃﻭ ﺇﺠﺗﻤﺎﻋﻲ ﻟﺗﻜﺗﻝ ﺍﻟﻭﻻﺀ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﻄﺎﺌﻔﻴﺔ in Islamic groups: This is based on rallying people behind religious identity.
3- Protest or objection or rejection: The belief that society is rife with, or full of, wrongs or immoral or corrupt actions, and that Islam provides the solution or correction to these wrongs.
4- Rocky or difficult relations with the governments: Islamic groups usually do not have good relations with the governments in their countries.
If we take a look at the history of some Islamic groups, and their relations with their governments, we will see some common features.
The Muslim Brothers were established by Hassan Al Banna in Egypt in the late 1920s. As the group grew stronger, it also opened branches in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Sudan and other Arab countries
Here are the experiences of the Islamic groups in some of the other Arab countries. We will see that, like Egypt, many of them had difficult relations with their governments.
The Muslim Brothers in Jordan:
1- Elections: Even though there are parliamentary elections in Jordan, political parties are generally banned. Therefore, all candidates run for elections as independents.
The Muslim Brothers exist in Jordan not as a political party, but as a religious/social movement which provides religious, social and medical services to the poor. The MB’s candidates run for elections as independents, but their ties to the group are usually known to the public.[1] This is similar to the situation in Egypt under Mubarak.
1- They became more active after the war of 1967: Before 1967, most of the Arab World, led by Nasser, was advocating a pan-Arab ideology. The military defeat of 1967 seemed to have demonstrated the defeat of this ideology. Thus, more people started to think that if Arabism failed, then maybe Islam provides the solution. This led to a rise in the popularity and activity of Islamic groups throughout the Arab World.
2- Communalism ﺪﻴﻧﻲ ﺃﺴﺎﺱ ﻋﻟﻰ ﻤﺒﻧﻲ ﺴﻴﺎﺴﻲ ﺃﻭ ﺇﺠﺗﻤﺎﻋﻲ ﻟﺗﻜﺗﻝ ﺍﻟﻭﻻﺀ ﺃﻭ ﺍﻟﻄﺎﺌﻔﻴﺔ in Islamic groups: This is based on rallying people behind religious identity.
3- Protest or objection or rejection: The belief that society is rife with, or full of, wrongs or immoral or corrupt actions, and that Islam provides the solution or correction to these wrongs.
4- Rocky or difficult relations with the governments: Islamic groups usually do not have good relations with the governments in their countries.
If we take a look at the history of some Islamic groups, and their relations with their governments, we will see some common features.
The Muslim Brothers were established by Hassan Al Banna in Egypt in the late 1920s. As the group grew stronger, it also opened branches in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Sudan and other Arab countries
Here are the experiences of the Islamic groups in some of the other Arab countries. We will see that, like Egypt, many of them had difficult relations with their governments.
The Muslim Brothers in Jordan:
1- Elections: Even though there are parliamentary elections in Jordan, political parties are generally banned. Therefore, all candidates run for elections as independents.
The Muslim Brothers exist in Jordan not as a political party, but as a religious/social movement which provides religious, social and medical services to the poor. The MB’s candidates run for elections as independents, but their ties to the group are usually known to the public.[1] This is similar to the situation in Egypt under Mubarak.
Like the MB in Egypt,
the MB in Jordan support democratic representation and elections, while, at the
same time, they aim to reclaim Islamic civilization in a “gradual” fashion.[1]
2- Relations with the
government: There is tension
between the MB and the Jordanian king, due to the rise of corruption and
poverty in Jordan, and also due to his relations with the West (especially the
US and Britain) and Israel. This is why the king tends to put laws to make it
harder for the MB’s candidates to run for elections.[1]
The Muslim Brothers
in Palestine:
This has the name of
Hamas ﺤﻤﺎﺱ - ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﻘﺎﻭﻤﺔ ﺤﺭﻜﺔ which provides social and health services to
the poor as well as armed resistance against the Israeli military. They have
rocky relations with the Palestinian Authority ﺍﻟﻔﻟﺴﻄﻴﻧﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻟﻄﺔ, the Palestinian
government in the West Bank which goes through the peace negotiations with
Israel.[1]
The Muslim Brothers
in Sudan:
The National Islamic
Front (NIF, which mostly consists of the Muslim Brothers in Sudan) came to
power in a coup led by Omar al Bashir ﺍﻟﺒﺷﻴﺮ ﻋﻤﺮ in 1989, who became president and
has been in power until now.[1]
Before 1989, the
Sudanese president, Jaafar Al Nimeiri ﺍﻟﻧﻤﻴﺮﻱ ﺠﻌﻔﺮ, had a policy of
reconciliation with the opposition. This allowed the NIF to operate and expand.
He also applied some aspects of Sharia law ﺍﻟﺷﺮﻴﻌﺔ,
causing tension with the Christians and animists in the south of Sudan. Islamic
banking also expanded.[1]
Then, due to some
disagreements with the government, they supported Bashir’s coup in 1989. Bashir
and the NIF together Islamized the Sudanese society, expanded the application
of Sharia on a more radical scale, Islamized the universities, courts and civil
services, and restricted the rights of women.[1] For example, a Sudanese woman was poisoned
for wearing trousers, which is considered “dressing indecently” in Sudan’s
version of Islam, and faced a punishment of 40 lashes. However, she was
released after paying a fine. Several other woman were lashed for wearing
trousers.[2]
Sudan’s relations with
the West deteriorated as Khartoum supported Saddam Hussein in his invasion of
Kuwait in 1990. The regime in Khartoum uses its enmity with the West as an
excuse to advance its version of Islam on the Sudanese people.[1]
The Ennahda Party ﺍﻟﻧﻬﻀﺔ
in Tunisia:
Ennahda has two features:
1- It has set up a network of social and medical
services (like the MB in Egypt)
2- They cooperate with the more secular forces
and support various human rights and social issues. This features distinguishes it from the other Islamic groups
in the Arab World. In fact, Ennahda’s leader, Rachid al-Ghannouchi ﺍﻟﻐﻨﻭﺷﻲ ﺮﺍﺷﺪ
accuses Egypt’s Muslim Brothers of simply wanting to exert influence over
society without trying to change it.[1]
Ghannouchi
often says that Ennahda is not a religious party and claims no special
authority in interpreting Islam. Instead, he says, the party’s members only draw
their values from Islam.
Libya’s new Islamic direction:
Similarly, when Qaddafi was overthrown in Libya
and the National Transitionary Council (NTC) ﺍﻟﻭﻄﻧﻲ ﺍﻹﻨﺘﻘﺎﻠﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺠﻟﺱ
led by Mostafa Abdel Galeel, took over as the new government in Libya, and the
influence of Islamic groups (who were fighting against Qaddafi) was evident in
the NTC’s new policies. The NTC announced that it would ban all laws against
which contradict Islamic Sharia, would ban interest (or usury ﺮﺒﺎ) on loans less than 10,000 Dinars, and would remove the
restriction on polygamy.
In Libya under Qaddafi, polygamy was not banned,
but it was limited by certain laws. For example, the husband had to take legal
permission from his first wife and from a judge before he took a second wife.
After Qaddafi was overthrown, the NTC argued that, as 40,000 people died in the
war against Qaddafi, and many of them were men, and many women were widowed
because of this war, it would be better to lift the restrictions on polygamy to
help women find husbands.[1]
[1] “Libya’s new rulers declare country liberated”,
BBC News, October 23, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15422262,
Adam Nossiter and Kareem Fahim, “Revolution won, top Libyan official vows a new
and more pious state”, New York Times, October 23, 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/world/africa/revolution-won-top-libyan-official-vows-a-new-and-more-pious-state.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22,
Mary Beth Sheridan, “Libya declares liberation with an Islamic tone”, New
York Times, October 24, 2011,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/libya-declares-liberation-with-an-islamic-tone/2011/10/23/gIQA4VsbAM_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines,
مصطفى عبد الجليل في يوم "تحرير
ليبيا": كل القوانين التي تخالف الشريعة الإسلامية ملغاة , BBC Arabic,
October 23, 2011,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2011/10/111023_libyaliberation_ceremony.shtml
[2] “Sudan’s trousers woman released”, BBC
News, September 9, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8244339.stm
