Egypt's Islamist Shadow
2011; Middle East Forum; Volume: 18; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2767-049X
Autores Tópico(s)Middle East Politics and Society
ResumoWill Muslim Brotherhood seize power in Egypt? This often repeated question, or rather fear, assumes that Islamist organization does not already wield power yet may be able hijack largely secular revolution owing its superior organization, tight discipline, and ideological single-mindedness.1 In fact, this situation already exists. For while Muslim Brotherhood does not formally or organizationally rule Egypt, it has ideologically controlled country for nearly sixty years since overthrow of monarchy by 1952 coup d'etat (euphemized as July Revolution). The real question, then, is not whether Muslim Brotherhood will seize power but whether it will continue hold it, either directly or by proxy. THE FREE OFFICERS' ISLAMIST-FASCIST ROOTS Since it is exceptionally difficult define ideological differences and allegiances in Egypt's Islamic politics, a simple rule of thumb will suffice: Politicians or institutions bent on implementing Shari'a (Islamic law), or some elements of it, qualify as Islamists; Egypt's ruling military oligarchy clearly falls into this category. Not only does Egyptian constitution make Shari'a the principal source of legislation, but Free Officers, as perpetrators of 1952 putsch called themselves, were closely associated with both Muslim Brotherhood's military wing and Young Egypt Society (Misr al-Fatat), a nationalist-fascist militia established in 1929 by Ahmad Hussein, a religiously educated lawyer. Both Egyptian presidents hailing from Free OfficersGamal Abdel Nasser (1956-70) and Anwar Sadat (1970-81)-received their early political schooling in al-Fatat, which in 1940 transformed into National Islamic Party. 2 The group spread its xenophobic and militant ideas through its magazine, al-Sarkh'a (Scream), which combined vicious attacks on Western democracy with praise for Fascism and Nazism and advocacy of implementation of Shari'a rule. In a famous letter, Hussein invited Hitler to convert Islam. 3 This outlook was shared by Muslim Brotherhood's publication, al-Nazir , which referred Nazi tyrant as Hajj Hitler, and by society's founding father, Hassan al-Banna-an unabashed admirer of Hitler and Mussolini, who guided their peoples unity, order, regeneration, power, and glory. 4 As late as 1953, Anwar Sadat, whose staunch pro-Nazi sympathies landed him in prison during World War II, wrote an open letter Hitler in a leading Egyptian newspaper, in which he applauded tyrant and pronounced him real victor of war. Misr al-Fatat's attempted assassination in 1937 of Egypt's democratically elected liberal prime minister, Mustafa Nahhas, got organization banned, and in 1940s, officers took their radicalism a step further by collaborating with Muslim Brotherhood's military wing. Some of them even joined Brotherhood as did Nasser, who reportedly joined in 1944. In his memoirs, Khaled Mohieddin, a fellow Free Officer, claimed that Banna had personally asked Nasser join Brotherhood, recounting how he and Nasser swore allegiance on a gun and a Qur'an.6 This background has continuing relevance because it informs Free Officers' DNA: The leaders of Egypt since 1952 have pursued means and goals that originated in Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, Misr al-Fatat's Islamic-socialist and fascistic ideas are very much alive and well, and in 1990, party was reestablished and granted a license work as a legal entity by Mubarak's regime. FROM NASSER TO MUBARAK Following Banna's murder on February 12, 1949, by government agents in retaliation for assassination of Prime Minister Nuqrashi Pasha a few weeks earlier, military and civilian wings of Muslim Brotherhood split. Nasser proceeded form Free Officers movement, which mounted 1952 coup. In coming decades, military regime and Brotherhood would maintain a strenuous relationship interrupted by occasional outbursts of violence and terrorism-notably a 1954 attempt by Brotherhood on Nasser's life-and repressive countermeasures by regime including mass arrests and sporadic executions. …
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