CAIRO: Islamists seized most seats in the two-stage vote for Egypt's upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, the electoral commission said on Saturday.
The results cap landmark legislative elections that saw Islamists propelled to the center stage of Egyptian politics.
A commission official said the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) secured 105 seats or about 58 percent, the Salafi Al-Nour Party took 45, the liberal Al-Wafd won 14, and the Egyptian Bloc eight. Another eight seats went to smaller factions.
The vote, which began on Jan. 29, was for 180 seats in the 270-seat chamber in which the remaining third of seats are allocated by the head of the state.
Electoral commission chief Abdel Moez Ibrahim told reporters on Saturday the turnout in voting for the Shura was not more than 10 percent.
Many polling stations were empty on Wednesday, the final day of voting for the Shura, in sharp contrast to the long queues and active campaigning that marked the People's Assembly vote.
Members of both houses of parliament will now choose a panel to draft a new constitution.
The elections are part of a roadmap for a transition to democratic rule laid out by the ruling military council that took power after the popular uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak last year.
Under the complex system adopted after Mubarak's ouster, two thirds of the Shoura's 180 elected members are elected via a party-list system, while one third are elected directly.
The powerful Brotherhood's FJP won a crushing victory in the lower house elections, contested over three months, to clinch 47 percent of seats.
Al-Nour, representing the ultra-conservative Salafi current of Islam, came second, with liberal parties trailing far behind.
The election comes amid nationwide protests calling for the ouster of the SCAF led by Tantawi, who was also Mubarak's long-time defense minister.
Protesters accuse the military council of mismanagement and of human rights abuses.
The SCAF has vowed to cede power to civilian rule by June when a new president is elected, but there is a widespread belief it seeks to maintain some degree of control even afterwards.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Muslim Brotherhood...Will The False Prophet Rise from MB?
The Society of the Muslim Brothers (often simply الإخوان Al-Ikhwān, The Brotherhood or MB) is an Islamist transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. The group is the world's oldest and largest Islamic political group,[1] and the "world's most influential Islamist movement."[2] The Brotherhood has as its slogan Islam is the solution.[3] It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and Sufi schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna.
The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state".[4] Since its inception in 1928 the movement has officially opposed violent means to achieve its goals.[5][6] Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, calls it "conservative and non-violent,"[7] and "poorly understood - especially in the West."[8]. The Brotherhood condemned terrorism and the 9/11 attacks,[9][10] but whether or not it has ties to terrorism is a matter of dispute.[11] The Brotherhood's nonviolent stance has resulted in breakaway groups from the movement, including the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and Al Takfir Wal Hijra.[12] Osama bin Laden has similarly criticized the Brotherhood, and accused it of betraying jihad and the ideals of Sayyid Qutb, an influential Brother member and author of Milestones.[13][14] In Egypt, the Brotherhood has stated that, while it seeks the establishment of an Islamic state, it would not force women to cover up.[15]
The Muslim brotherhood started off as a social organization, preaching Islam, teaching the illiterate, setting up hospitals, and even launched commercial enterprises. As it continued to rise in influence, starting in 1936, it began to oppose British rule in Egypt.[16] Many Egyptian nationalists accuse the Brotherhood of violent killings during this period.[17] After the Arab defeat in 1948, the Egyptian government dissolved the organization and arrested its members; its founder, al-Banna, was assassinated.[16] After the Egyptian coup of 1952, which was supported by the Brotherhood, it was once again banned and repressed.[3] Though the Brotherhood spread to other countries, it was suppressed there too: in 1982, Syria violently crushed a Brotherhood revolt (Hama massacre).[18] Starting in the 1980s it entered Egypt's political arena, forming alliances with other parties, and fielding "independent"[19] candidates. When in 2005, the Brotherhood won 20% of the seats, Hosni Mubarak cracked down on the group. As of 2011, the Brotherhood took an active part in the Egyptian protests.[3]
The Brotherhood is financed by contributions from its members, who are required to allocate a portion of their income to the movement. Some of these contributions are from members who live in oil-rich countries.
In the group's belief, the Quran and Sunnah constitute a perfect way of life and social and political organization that God has set out for man. Islamic governments must be based on this system and eventually unified in a Caliphate. The Muslim Brotherhood's goal, as stated by Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna was to reclaim Islam’s manifest destiny, an empire, stretching from Spain to Indonesia.[21] It preaches that Islam enjoins man to strive for social justice, the eradication of poverty and corruption, and political freedom to the extent allowed by the laws of Islam. The Brotherhood strongly opposes Western colonialism, and helped overthrow the pro-western monarchies in Egypt and other Muslim nations during the early 20th century.
An important belief on the part of intellectuals who have assisted the organization is the reemergence of Islamic Civilization because Western Civilization is perceived to be in decline; in the words of a 2007 essay, "More than forty years ago the premise was made clear: The period of the Western system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those life-giving values, which enabled it to be the leader of mankind." As Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic intellectual and supporter of the Brotherhood wrote in his 1963 book, Milestones, (Ma'alim fi al-Tariq), "The leadership of mankind by Western man is now on the decline, not because Western culture has become poor materially or because its economic and military power has become weak. The period of the Western system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those life-giving values, which enabled it to be the leader of mankind. It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which is positive and constructive, and which is practicable. Islam is the only System which possesses these values and this way of life. [22]
On the issue of women and gender the Muslim Brotherhood interprets Islam conservatively. Its founder called for "a campaign against ostentation in dress and loose behavior," "segregation of male and female students," a separate curriculum for girls, and "the prohibition of dancing and other such pastimes..."[23]
The MB is a movement, not a political party, but members have created political parties in several countries, such as the Islamic Action Front in Jordan and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. These parties are staffed by Brotherhood members but kept independent from the MB to some degree, unlike Hizb ut-Tahrir which is highly centralized.[24]
Organization
The Transcripts[25] the following hierarchical Organisation structure can be derived:
* The General Organisational Conference is the highest body of the Ikhwans stemming from the Ikhwans bases, every Usra elects one or two deputies according to its number.
* The Shura Council has the duties of planning, charting general policies and programs that achieve the goal of the Group. Its resolutions are binding to the Group and only the General Organisational Conference can modify or annul them and the Shura Office has also the right to modify or annul resolutions of the Executive Office. It follows the implementation of the Group policies and programs. It directs the Executive Office and it forms dedicated branch committees to assist in that.[26]
* Executive Office (Guidance Office) with its leader the General Masul (General Guide) and its members, both appointed by the Shura Office, has to follow up and guide the activities of the General Organisation. It submits a periodical report to the Shura Council about its work and of the activity of the domestic bodies and the general organisations. It distributes its duties to its members according to the internal bylaws.
It has the following divisions (not complete): – Executive leadership – Organisational office – Secretariat general – Education office – Political office – Sisters office
In each country there is a Branch committee with a Masul (leader) appointed by the General Executive leadership with essentially the same Branch-divisions as the Executive office has. To the duties of every branch belong fundraising, infiltrating in and overtaking other Muslim organisations for the sake of uniting the Muslims to dedicate them to the general goals of the MB.
The general goals and strategic plans of the MB are only found in Arabic documents. One for Europe called "The Project" was found in 2001 in Switzerland, another for North America was found in 2005 called the "General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America."[27] An evaluation of this Memorandum was made for the US-Congress and for the Pentagon.[28] Their influence is fast growing, especially in Europe, but not easy to trace while the active members have to keep their membership secret.
One citation from the document "General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America"[29] makes the objectives of the MB clear: "The process of settlement is a 'Civilization-Jihadist Process' with all the word means. 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."
Main activity-plan
The main goals on mid-term as approved by the Executive office and the Shura Council are formulated in a 5-year action plan derived from transcripts. Note that the following goals are derived from a speech made in the 1980s by Zeid al-Norman - an American-based supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and may or may not reflect the global goals of the organization:[30]
Primary goals
* reinstatement of the caliphate and reunite the "dar el Islam" (Countries where Muslims are free to practice their religion)
* Strengthening the internal structure
* Administrative discipline
* Recruitment and settlement of the Dawa'a (lectures and speeches about Islam)
* Energizing the organisations work
* Energizing political work fronts (e.g. in civil political organisations)
Secondary goals
* Finance and Investment
* Foreign relations
* Reviving Woman's activity
* Political awareness to the members of the Group
* Securing the group (To find out if they are being monitored, and if, how they can get rid of them)
* Dawa'ah (the lecture/speech of religion)
* Media (influencing of and infiltration in the media)
* Taking advantage of human potentials (e.g. infiltration in education, civil organisations)
In Egypt
Main article: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
Hassan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Ismailia in March 1928 along with six workers of the Suez Canal Company. It began as a religious, political, and social movement with the credo, “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”[31][32] Al-Banna called for the return to an original Islam and followed Islamic reformers like Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida. According to him, contemporary Islam had lost its social dominance, because most Muslims had been corrupted by Western influences. Sharia law based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah were seen as laws passed down by Allah that should be applied to all parts of life, including the organization of the government and the handling of everyday problems.[33]
The Brotherhood also saw itself as a political and social movement . Al-Banna strived to be a populist. The Muslim Brotherhood claimed to want to protect the workers against the tyranny of foreign and monopolist companies. It founded social institutions such as hospitals, pharmacies, schools, etc. However, in addition to holding conservative views on issues such as women's rights,[23] it was from the start extremely hostile to independent working-class and popular organisations such as trade unions.[33] This is disputed however by William Cleveland, who points out that the Muslim Brotherhood became involved with the labour movement early on, and supported efforts to create trades unions and unemployment benefits.[34]
By 1936, it had 800 members, then this number increased greatly to up to 200,000 by 1938. By 1948, the Brotherhood had about half a million members. Robin Hallett says: "By the late 1940s the Brotherhood was reckoned to have as many as 2 million members, while its strong Pan-Islamic ideas had gained its supporters in other Arab lands".[35] The Muslim Brotherhood also tried to build up something like an Islamist International, thus founding groups in Lebanon (in 1936), Syria (1937), and Transjordan (1946). It also recruited among the foreign students in Cairo. Its headquarters in Cairo became a center and meeting place for representatives from the whole Muslim world.[33]
Underground links to the Nazis began during the 1930s and were close during the Second World War, involving agitation against the British, Jewish immigration to Palestine, espionage and sabotage, as well as support for terrorist activities orchestrated by Haj Amin el-Hussaini in British Mandate Palestine, as a wide range of declassified documents from the British, American and Nazi German governmental archives, as well as from personal accounts and memoirs from that period, confirm.[36] Reflecting this connection the Muslim Brotherhood also disseminated Hitler's Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion widely in Arab translations, helping to deepen and extend already existing hostile views about Jews and secular Western societies generally.[37]
In November 1948 police seized an automobile containing the documents and plans of what was thought to be the Brotherhood's "secret apparatus" (its military wing) with names of its members. The seizure was preceded by an assortment of bombings and assassination attempts by the apparatus. Subsequently 32 of its leaders were arrested and its offices raided.[17] The next month the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mahmud Fahmi Nokrashi, ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood.
In what is thought to be retaliation for these acts, a member of the Brotherhood, veterinary student Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, assassinated the Prime Minister on December 28, 1948. A month and half later Al-Banna himself was killed in Cairo by men believed to be government agents and/or supporters of the murdered premier.
The Brotherhood has been an illegal organization, tolerated to varying degrees, since 1954 when it was convicted of the attempt to assassinate Gamal Abdel Nasser, head of the Egyptian government. The group had denied involvement in the incident and accused the government of staging the incident to use it as a pretext to persecute the group and its members. On this basis from 1954 until Nasser's death in 1970, thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members were systematically tortured under Nasser's secular regime, highlighted in Zainab al Ghazali's Return of the Pharaoh. More recently, since the mid-2000s, some young Muslim Brotherhood members have publicly identified themselves as members of the banned organizations on their blogs, where they have been critical of both the existing system as well as aspects of the Muslim Brotherhood organization itself.[38]
The Brotherhood is still periodically subjected to mass arrests. It remains the largest opposition group in Egypt, advocating Islamic reform, democratic system and maintaining a vast network of support through Islamic charities working among poor Egyptians.[39] The political direction it has been taking lately has tended towards more moderate secular "Islamism" and so-called Islamic Democracy comparable to Christian Democrat movements in Europe, the Christian-right in the United States, and the Muslim oriented democratic parties of Turkey.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood's candidates, who had to run as independents due to their illegality as a political party, won 88 seats (20% of the total) to form the largest opposition bloc. The electoral process was marred by many irregularities, including the arrest of hundreds of Brotherhood members. One observer, Jameel Theyabi, writing in an op-ed for Dar Al-Hayat, noted that a December 2006 campus demonstration by Muslim Brotherhood university students that included the "wearing of uniforms, displaying the phrase, 'We Will be Steadfast', and the drills involving martial arts, betray the group's intent to plan for the creation of militia structures, and a return by the group to the era of 'secret cells'...." .[40]
Of course, the huge gains in the 2005 parliamentary elections allowed the Brotherhood to pose "a democratic political challenge to the regime, not a theological one" .[41] Initially, there has been widespread skepticism regarding the movement's commitment to use its influence to push Egypt forward towards a democratic state. For instance, briefly after the elections Sameh Fawzy remarked in the Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, "If the Muslim Brotherhood were in a position to enforce its ideological monopoly, the vast majority of the populace would face severe restrictions on its freedom of opinion and belief, not just on religious matters, but on social, political, economic and cultural affairs as well" [42] However, considering its actions in the Egyptian parliament since 2005, it appears that those skeptics misjudged the movement's scope. In an article for the Middle East Report Samer Shehata from Georgetown University and Joshua Stacher from the British University in Egypt claim that, in fact, it was the Muslim Brotherhood that revived a parliament that till then had "a reputation for being a rubber stamp for the regime" .[43] First of all, according to their observations, the movement did not simply "focus on banning books and legislating the length of skirts" .[44] Instead, the movement's involvement shows attempts to reform the political system. Unlike other MPs, those associated with the Brotherhood took their parliamentary duties very seriously as an "unmatched record of attendance" [43] already shows. Moreover, they also took their role as members of the opposition to the ruling NDP quite seriously. A significant example is the creation of a considerable opposition to the extension of the emergency law when MPs associated with the Brotherhood "formed a coalition with other opposition legislators and with sympathetic members of the NDP, to protest the extension" .[41] The overall involvement leads Shehata and Stacher to the conclusion that the Brotherhood has convincingly attempted to transform "the Egyptian parliament into a real legislative body, as well as an institution that represents citizens and a mechanism that keeps government accountable".[43]
Meanwhile, approved opposition parties won only 14 seats. This revived the debate within the Egyptian political elite about whether the Brotherhood should remain banned.
Since 2005 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt have also become a significant movement online. In 2006 Abdel Menem Mahmoud created the first publicly identified Brotherhood blog, Ana Ikhwan (http://ana-ikhwan.blogspot.com). In an article for Arab Media & Society (http://www.arabmediasociety.com), Courtney C. Radsch of American University explores how the Egyptian blogosphere expanded as many younger members followed suit, especially the activists who were sympathetic to Kefaya and members who wanted to be part of the discussion about the draft party platform.[38] These "cyberactivists" are often critical of the organization, such as its rejection of women and Copts as being permitted to hold the presidency, and more liberal than their offline counterparts.[38][45][46]
General leaders (G.L) or Mentors of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt المرشد العام لجماعة الإخوان المسلمون
* Founder & First G. leader: (1928–1949) Hassan al Banna
* 2nd G.L. : (1949–1972) Hassan al-Hudaybi
* 3rd G.L. : (1972–1986) Umar al-Tilmisani
* 4th G.L. : (1986–1996) Muhammad Hamid Abu al-Nasr
* 5th G.L. : (1996–2002) Mustafa Mashhur
* 6th G.L. : (2002–2004) Ma'mun al-Hudaybi
* 7th G.L. : (2004–2010) Mohammed Mahdi Akef
* 8th G.L. : (16 January 2010 – present) Mohammed Badie[citation needed]
In West Asia
Bahrain
In Bahrain, the Muslim Brotherhood is represented by the Al Eslah Society and its political wing, the Al-Menbar Islamic Society. Following parliamentary elections in 2002, Al Menbar became the joint largest party with eight seats in the forty seat Chamber of Deputies. Prominent members of Al Menbar include Dr Salah Abdulrahman, Dr Salah Al Jowder, and outspoken MP Mohammed Khalid. The party has generally backed government sponsored legislation on economic issues, but has sought a clamp down on pop concerts, sorcery and soothsayers. It has strongly opposed the government's accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds that this would give Muslim citizens the right to change religion, when in the party's view they should be "beheaded".[47]
Municipal councillor, Dr Salah Al Jowder, has campaigned against people being able to look into other people's houses, changing the local by-laws in Muharraq to ensure that all new buildings are fitted with one way glass to prevent residents being able to see out.[48] Although a competitor with the salafist Asalah party, it seems likely that Al Menbar will opt for a political alliance in 2006s election to avoid splitting the Sunni Islamist vote.
Syria
Main article: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria
Muslim Brotherhood in Syria was founded in the 1930s (according to lexicorient.com) or in 1945, a year before independence from France, (according to journalist Robin Wright (author)). In the first decade or so of independence it was part of the legal opposition, and in the 1961 parliamentary elections it won ten seats (5.8% of the house). But after the 1963 coup that brought the Baath Party to power it was banned.[49] It played a major role in the mainly Sunni-based resistance movement that opposed the secularist, pan-Arabist Baath Party, (since 1970, it has been dominated by the Alawite Assad family, adding a religious element to its conflict with the Brotherhood). This conflict developed into an armed struggle that continued until culminating in the Hama uprising of 1982, when the rebellion was bloodily crushed by the military.[50]
Since then, the Brotherhood has ceased to be an active political force inside Syria, but it retains a network of support in the country, of unknown strength, and has external headquarters in London and Cyprus. In recent years it has renounced violence and adopted a reformist platform, calling for the establishment of a pluralistic, democratic political system. The leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni, who lives as a political refugee in London.
Membership in the Syrian Brotherhood became a capital offence in Syria in the 1980 (under Emergency Law 49) and remains so, but the headquarters of the MB-linked Palestinian group, Hamas, is located in the Syria's capital Damascus, where it is given Syrian government support. This is seen by some as an example of the lack of international centralization or even coordination of the MB.[51]
According to leaked American cables, Syrian President Bashar al Assad allegedly called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence.", comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father Hafez al Assad. He then allegedly claimed Hamas would disappear if peace were brought to the Middle East.[52][53]
Palestinian territories
'Abd al-Rahman al-Banna, brother of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, went to Palestine and established the Muslim Brotherhood there in 1935. A local nationalist, Al-Hajj Amin al-Husseini (see article under Mohammad Amin al-Husayni), eventually appointed by the British as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in hopes of accommodating him, was the leader of the group in Palestine. Another important leader associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine was 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam, an inspiration to Islamists because he had been the first to lead an armed resistance in the name of Palestine against the British in 1935.[54] Under these leaders, many moderate local Arab leaders were assassinated, including King Abdullah I of Jordan, and, from 1921 on, numerous terrorist attacks were perpetrated against Jews, amongst which was the murder of 67 religious Jews, men, women and children, and wounding of many others, in the 1929 Hebron massacre. Al-Hajj Amin al-Husseini led a general uprising against the British from 1936 to 1939; as a Nazi ally he spent the Second World War in Nazi Germany and advocated for and aided their annihilation of the Jews.[55] In 1945, the group established a branch in Jerusalem, and by 1947 twenty-five more branches had sprung up, in towns such as Jaffa, Lod, Haifa, Nablus, and Tulkarm, which total membership between 12,000 to 20,000.
Brotherhood members fought alongside the Arab armies during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and, after Israel's creation, the ensuing Palestinian refugee crisis encouraged more Palestinian Muslims to join the group. After the war, in the West Bank, the group's activity was mainly social and religious, not political, so it had relatively good relations with Jordan, which was in control of the West Bank after 1950. In contrast, the group frequently clashed with the Egyptian regime that controlled the Gaza Strip until 1967.[56]
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood's goal was "the upbringing of an Islamic generation" through the restructuring of society and religious education, rather than Palestine's liberation from Israel, and so it lost popularity to national resistance movements and the presence of Hizb ut-Tahrir.[57] Eventually, however, the Brotherhood was strengthened by several factors:
1. The creation of al-Mujamma' al-Islami, the Islamic Center in 1973 by Shaykh Ahmad Yasin had a centralizing effect that encapsulated all religious organizations.
2. The Muslim Brotherhood Society in Jordan and Palestine was created from a merger of the branches in the West Bank and Gaza and Jordan.
3. Palestinian disillusion with the liberation front caused them to become more open to alternatives.
4. The Islamic Revolution in Iran offered inspiration to Palestinians. The Brotherhood was able to increase its efforts in Palestine and avoid being dismantled like national resistance groups because it did not focus on the occupation. While national resistance groups were being dismantled, the Brotherhood filled the void.[58]
After the 1967 Six Day War, as Israel's occupation started, Israel may have looked to cultivate political Islam as a counterweight to Fatah, the main secular Palestinian nationalist political organization.[59][60] Between 1967 and 1987, the year Hamas was founded, the number of mosques in Gaza tripled from 200 to 600, and the Muslim Brotherhood named the period between 1975 and 1987 a phase of 'social institution building.'[61] The Brotherhood was able to spread its ideology in six important ways. It established associations, used zakat (alms giving) for aid to poor Palestinians, promoted schools, provided students with loans, used waqf (religious endowments) to lease property and employ people, and established mosques. The establishment of mosques was the most effective, because it built hundreds of mosques in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 1967 and 1987 and could use them for political and recruitment purposes.[58] Likewise, antagonistic and sometimes violent opposition to Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organization and other secular nationalist groups increased dramatically in the streets and on university campuses.[59]
The Brotherhood's downfall was its failure to fight the Israeli occupation, but the Intifada changed the Brotherhood's position and Hamas was established.[58] The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, founded in 1987 in Gaza, is a wing of the Brotherhood,[62] formed out of Brotherhood-affiliated charities and social institutions that had gained a strong foothold among the local population. During the First Intifada (1987–93), Hamas militarized and transformed into one of the strongest Palestinian militant groups.
The Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007 was the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, that a Muslim Brotherhood group ruled a significant geographic territory.[63]
Israel
Main article: Islamic Movement in Israel
The Muslim Brotherhood in Israel -the Islamic Movement- is divided between the southern and northern branches. The southern branch is represented in the Knesset, Israel's parliament while the northern radical branch boycotts Israeli elections.[citation needed]
Jordan
The Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was formed in 1942, and is a strong factor in Jordanian politics. While most political parties and movements were banned for a long time in Jordan such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Brotherhood was exempted and allowed to operate by the Jordanian monarchy. The Jordanian Brotherhood has formed its own political party, the Islamic Action Front, which has the largest number of seats of any party in the Jordanian parliament.[64]
The Muslim Brotherhood is playing an active role in the unrest in several Arab countries in January 2011. For example, at a rally held outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman on Saturday, 29th January 2011 with some 100 participants, Hammam Saeed, head of the Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan and a close ally of the Hamas's Damascus-based leader, Khaled Meshaal, said: "Egypt's unrest will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States." However, he did not specifically name Jordanian King Abdullah II. [65]
Iran
Although Iran is a predominately Shia country and the Muslim Brotherhood is Sunni in doctrine, Olga Davidson and Mohammad Mahallati claim the Brotherhood has had influence among Shia in Iran.[66] Navab Safavi, who founded Fadaian Islam, (also Fedayeen of Islam, or Fadayan-e Islam), an Iranian Islamic organization active in Iran in the 1940s and 1950s, "was highly impressed by the Muslim Brotherhood."[citation needed] From 1945 to 1951 the Fadain assassinated several high level Iranian personalities and officials who they believed to be un-Islamic. They included anti-clerical writer Ahmad Kasravi, Premier Haj-Ali Razm-Ara, former Premier Abdul-Hussein Hazhir, and Education and Culture Minister Ahmad Zangeneh.[67]
At that time Navab Safavi was an associate and ally of Ayatollah Khomeini who went on to become a figure in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Safavi is thought to have influenced Khomeini with the ideas of the Brotherhood.[67] Khomeini and other religious figures in Iran worked to establish Islamic unity and downplay Shia-Sunni differences.[citation needed]
Iraq
The Iraqi Islamic Party was formed in 1960 as the Iraqi branch of the Brotherhood,[68] but was banned from 1961 during the nationalist rule of Abd al-Karim Qasim. As government repression hardened under the Baath Party from February 1963, the group was forced to continue underground. After the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, the Islamic Party along with Hizb ut-Tahrir have reemerged as one of the main advocates of the country's Sunni community. The Islamic Party has been sharply critical of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, but participates in the political process.[69] Its leader is Tariq Al-Hashimi.
Also, in the north of Iraq there are several Islamic movements inspired by or part of the Muslim Brotherhood network. The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) holds seats in the Kurdish parliament, as is the main political force outside the dominance of the two main secularist parties, the PUK and KDP.[70]
Saudi Arabia
The Muslim Brotherhood's brand of Islam and Islamic politics differs from the strict Salafi creed, Wahhabiyya, officially held by the state of Saudi Arabia. Despite this, the Brotherhood has been tolerated by the Saudi government, and maintains a presence in the country.[citation needed] Aside from tolerating the Brotherhood organization[citation needed], and according to Washington Post report, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef has denounced the Brotherhood, saying it is guilty of "betrayal of pledges and ingratitude" and is "the source of all problems in the Islamic world."[20]
Kuwait
The Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait is represented in the Kuwaiti parliament by Hadas.[71][72]
Elsewhere in Africa
Algeria
The Muslim Brotherhood reached Algeria during the later years of the French colonial presence in the country (1830–1962). Sheikh Ahmad Sahnoun led the organization in Algeria between 1953 and 1954 during the French colonialism. Brotherhood members and sympathizers took part in the uprising against France in 1954–1962, but the movement was marginalized during the largely secular FLN one-party rule which was installed at independence in 1962. It remained unofficially active, sometimes protesting the government and calling for increased Islamization and Arabization of the country's politics.
When a multi-party system was introduced in Algeria in the early 1990s, the Muslim Brotherhood formed the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP, previously known as Hamas), led by Mahfoud Nahnah until his death in 2003 (he was succeeded by present party leader Boudjerra Soltani). The Muslim Brotherhood in Algeria did not join the Front islamique du salut (FIS), which emerged as the leading Islamist group, winning the 1991 elections and which was banned in 1992 following a military coup d'état, although some Brotherhood sympathizers did. The Brotherhood subsequently also refused to join the violent post-coup uprising by FIS sympathizers and the Armed Islamic Groups (GIA) against the Algerian state and military which followed, and urged a peaceful resolution to the conflict and a return to democracy. It has thus remained a legal political organization and enjoyed parliamentary and government representation. In 1995, Sheikh Nahnah ran for President of Algeria finishing second with 25.38% of the popular vote. During the 2000s, the party—led by Nahnah's successor Boudjerra Soltani – has been a member of a three-party coalition backing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Sudan
Until the election of Hamas in Gaza, Sudan was the one country were the Brotherhood was most successful in gaining power, its members making up a large part of the government officialdom following the 1989 coup d'état by General Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Always close to Egyptian politics, Sudan has had a Muslim Brotherhood presence since 1949. In 1945, a delegation from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt visited Sudan and held various meetings inside the country advocating and explaining their ideology. Sudan has a long and deep history with the Muslim Brotherhood compared to many other countries. By April 1949, the first branch of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood organization emerged. However, simultaneously, many Sudanese students studying in Egypt were introduced to the ideology of the Brotherhood. The Muslim student groups also began organizing in the universities during the 1940s, and the Brotherhood’s main support base has remained to be college educated. In order to unite them, in 1954, a conference was held, attended by various representatives from different groups that appeared to have the same ideology. The conference voted to establish a Unified Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood Organization based on the teachings of Imam Hassan Al-banna.
An offshoot of the Sudanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Charter Front grew during the 1960, with Islamic scholar Hasan al-Turabi becoming its Secretary general in 1964. The Islamic Charter Front (ICM) was renamed several times most recently being called the National Islamic Front (NIF). Turabi has been the prime architect of the NIF as a modern Islamist party. He worked within the Institutions of the government, which led to a prominent position of his organization in the country. NIF supported women's right to vote and ran women candidates. The Muslim Brotherhood/NIF's main objective in Sudan was to Islamize the society "from above" and to institutionalize the Islamic law throughout the country where they succeeded.
The Brotherhood penetrated into the ruling political organizations, the state army and security personal, the national and regional assemblies, the youth and women organizations of Sudan. They also launched their own mass organizations among the youth and women such as the shabab al-binna, and raidat al-nahda, and launched educational campaigns to Islamize the communities throughout the country. At the same time, they gained control of several newly founded Islamic missionary and relief organizations to spread their ideology. The Brotherhood members took control of the newly established Islamic Banks as directors, administrators, employees and legal advisors, which became a source of power for the Brotherhood.
The Sudanese government has come under considerable criticism for its human rights policies, links to terrorist groups, and war in southern Sudan and Darfur.
See also: Darfur conflict, Second Sudanese Civil War, and Human rights in Sudan
The conservatism of at least some elements of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood was highlighted in an August 3, 2007 Al-Jazeera television interview of Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Sadeq Abdallah bin Al-Majed. As translated by the Israeli-based MEMRI, Bin Al-Majed told his interviewer that "the West, and the Americans in particular ... are behind all the tragedies that are taking place in Darfur,"
Main article: Darfur Conflict
as they "realized that it Darfur is full of treasures"; that "Islam does not permit a non-Muslim to rule over Muslims;" and that he had issued a fatwa prohibiting the vaccination of children, on the grounds that the vaccinations were "a conspiracy of the Jews and Freemasons."[73]
Somalia
Somalia's wing of the Muslim Brotherhood is known by the name Harakat Al-Islah or "Reform Movement". Nonetheless, the Brotherhood, as mentioned earlier, has inspired many Islamist organizations in Somalia. Muslim Brotherhood ideology reached Somalia in the 1960s, but Al-Islah movement was formed in 1978 and slowly grew in the 1980s. Al-Islah has been described as "a generally nonviolent and modernizing Islamic movement that emphasizes the reformation and revival of Islam to meet the challenges of the modern world," whose "goal is the establishment of an Islamic state" and which "operates primarily in Mogadishu." [74]
The founders of the Islah Movement are: Sh. Mohamed Ahmed Nur, Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf Abdi, Sh. Ahmed Rashid Hanafi, and Sh. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah. The organization structured itself loosely and was not openly visible on the political scene of Somali society.
They chose to remain a secret movement fearing the repressive regime of Siad Barre. However, they emerged from secrecy when the regime collapsed in 1991 and started working openly thereafter. Most Somalis were surprised to see the new group they had never heard of, which was in the country since 1970s in secrecy.
According to the Islah by-law, every five years the organization has to elect its Consultative (Shura) Council which elects the Chairman and the two Vice-chairman. During the last 30 years, four chairmen were elected. These are Sheikh Mohamed Geryare (1978–1990), Dr. Mohamed Ali Ibrahim (1990–1999), Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed (1999–2008) and Dr. Ali Bashi Omar Roraye (2008–2013).
Dr. Ali bashi is a medical doctor, a former university professor and a member of the transitional parliament (2000–2008). During the 1990s, Al-Islah devoted much effort to humanitarian efforts and providing free basic social services.
The leaders of Al-Islah played a key role in the educational network and establishing Mogadishu University. Through their network, they educate more than 120,000 students in the city of Mogadishu. Many other secondary schools such as the University of East Africa in Bosasso, Puntland, are externally funded and administered through organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic organization Al-Islah.[74] In Somalia, they are known to be a peaceful organization that does not participate in any factional fighting and rejects the use of violence.
Today the group's membership includes urban professionals and students. According to a Crisis Group Report, Somalia’s Islamists, “Al-Islah organization is dominated by a highly educated urban elite whose professional, middle class status and extensive expatriate experiences are alien to most Somalis.”
Although Al-Islah have been criticized by some hardcore Islamists who considered them to be influenced by imperialist western values, Al-Islah speaks of democratic peaceful Somalia. They promote women's rights, human rights, and other ideas, which they argue that these concepts originate from Islamic concepts. Al-Islah is gaining momentum in the Somali societies for their humanitarian work and moderate view of Islam, which is compatible to modernisation and respect of human right.
Tunisia
Like their counterparts elsewhere in the Islamic world in general, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has influenced the Tunisia’s Islamists. One of the notable organization that was influenced and inspired by the Brotherhood is Al-Nahda (The Revival or Renaissance Party), which is Tunisia's 2nd major Islamist grouping after Hizb ut-Tahrir. An Islamist named Rashid Ghannouchi founded the organization in 1981. While studying in Damascus and Paris, Rashid Ghannouchi embraced the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which he disseminated on his return to Tunisia.
Libya
Libya was one of the first countries outside Egypt to have a Brotherhood group[citation needed]. In the late 1940s when the Egyptian members were being prosecuted, King Idris I of Libya offered the Brotherhood refuge and the freedom to spread their ideology. In 1955, the University of Libya was established in Benghazi, near the Egyptian border, and it drew many Egyptian teachers and lecturers including MB members.[citation needed] The Muslim Brotherhood was able to influence a large number of Libyan students during this period.[citation needed]
Dr. Ezzudine Ibrahim was one of the most influential founders of the Brotherhood in Libya. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood was a religious and intellectual tendency in Libya and had many followers amongst the intellectuals and students in the university campuses, and by the mid 1970s it developed a structured Brotherhood organization. The Brotherhood in Libya limited itself to peaceful social, political, economic, and cultural activities.[citation needed]
Soon after coming to power, Muammar al-Gaddafi regarded the Brotherhood a potential source of opposition. He arrested many Egyptian Brothers and expelled them back to Egypt.[citation needed] In 1973, the security services arrested and tortured members of the Libyan Brotherhood banning the organization and forcing it underground.[citation needed] The secrecy phase helped the Brotherhood to become more popular. The Brotherhood operated secretly in groups of interlinked cells, which was spread in the country. The brotherhood remained underground until the end of 1970s. At the beginning of 1980s, the Brotherhood renamed itself the “Libyan Islamic Group” (Al-Jama’a al-Islamiya al-Libyia) and tried to re-introduce themselves into the Libyan society. On March 2, 2006, the Libyan government released 132 members of the Muslim Brotherhood that were held as political prisoners.[citation needed]
Their core ideology, strategy, operations and membership are the same as Brotherhood groups in other countries: it seeks to replace the existing regime with one following Sharia law through what it claims are peaceful means. It has an active charitable and welfare wing and has attracted many members of the middle classes, mainly academics, students, engineers and business people.[citation needed] The group has been strengthened by the large number of Libyan students who became member or supporters of the Brotherhood while studying abroad in the United Kingdom and the United States, and have returned home to spread its ideology.[citation needed] .
In the West
United States
The Muslim Brotherhood has been active in the US since the 1960s. Its stated goals have included propagating Islam and creating havens for Muslims in the US, and integrating Muslims. A main strategy has been dawah or Islamic renewal and outreach. In the 1960s, groups such as U.S. military personnel, prison inmates and African-Americans were specifically targeted for dawah. According to a report done by the NEFA Foundation which cites evidence from the United States v. Holy Land Foundation trial, the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the USA is
Enablement of Islam in North America, meaning: establishing an effective and stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims’ causes domestically and globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslims’ efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic state wherever it is.[75]
The NEFA Foundation report further explains that in the same document where the goal is stated, considerable time is spent explaining the concept of settlement which is central to the Muslim Brotherhood-led efforts in North America. Settlement is defined as follows:
The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their 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 religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack.[76]
Organizations in the US started by activists involved with the Muslim Brotherhood include the Muslim Students Association in 1963,[20] North American Islamic Trust in 1971, the Islamic Society of North America in 1981, the American Muslim Council in 1990, the Muslim American Society in 1992, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought in the 1980s.[20] According to the Washington Post, Muslim activists say MSA's members represent "all schools of Islam and political leanings – many are moderates, while others express anti-U.S. views or support resistance against Israelis."[20]
The Holy Land Foundation trial has led to the release as evidence of [77] several documents on the Muslim Brotherhood. One of these documents, dated in 1991, explains that the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. is “settlement”, defined by the author as a form of jihad aimed at destroying Western civilization from within and allowing for the victory of Islam over other religions.[78] In another one of these documents, "Ikhwan in America", the author alleges that the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US include going to camps to do weapons training (referred to as Special work by the Muslim Brotherhood),[79] as well as engaging in counter-espionage against US government agencies such as the FBI and CIA (referred to as Securing the Group).[80] In November 2008 the Holy Land Foundation was found guilty of illegally funding Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is designated by the United States as a terrorist group.[81]
Criticisms
Motives
Numerous officials and reporters question the sincerity of the MB's pronouncements. These critics include, but are not limited to:
* U.S. White House counterterrorism chief Juan Zarate, who says "The Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians."[82][83]
* Raymond Ibrahim, editor of The Al Qaeda Reader, who notes that Muhammad himself described war as "deceit" and that Muslim Brotherhood disciples, past and present, merely duplicate the "everlasting words of Allah," as iterated in the Qur'an.[84][85]
* Miles Axe Copeland, Jr. -a prominent U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative who was one of the founding members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) under William Donovan- divulges the confessions of numerous members of the Muslim brotherhood that resulted from the harsh interrogations done against them by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, for their alleged involvement in the assassination attempt made against Nasser (an assassination attempt that many believe was staged by Nasser himself [86]), which revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood was merely a "guild" that fulfilled the goals of western interests: "Nor was that all. Sound beatings of the Moslem Brotherhood organizers who had been arrested revealed that the organization had been thoroughly penetrated, at the top, by the British, American, French and Soviet intelligence services, any one of which could either make active use of it or blow it up, whichever best suited its purposes. Important lesson: fanaticism is no insurance against corruption; indeed, the two are highly compatible." .[87]
* Douglas Farah, a veteran international reporter who describes current Muslim Brotherhood propaganda as a "charm offensive."[88]
* Former U.S. Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross, who told Asharq Alawsat newspaper that the Muslim Brotherhood is a global, not a local organization, governed by a Shura (Consultative) Council, which rejects cessation of violence in Israel, and supports violence to achieve its political objectives elsewhere too.[89]
* Magdy Khalil, executive editor of Egypt's Watani International, who reports consistent MB deceit concerning Egypt's 12.5% Coptic Christian population, so as to oppress and dhimmify them.[90]
* The Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz has stated that the Muslim Brotherhood organization was the cause of most problems in the Arab world. 'The Brotherhood has done great damage to Saudi Arabia,' he said. Prince Naif accused the foremost Islamist group in the Arab world of harming the interests of Muslims. 'All our problems come from the Muslim Brotherhood. We have given too much support to this group..." "The Muslim Brotherhood has destroyed the Arab world,' he said. 'Whenever they got into difficulty or found their freedom restricted in their own countries, Brotherhood activists found refuge in the Kingdom which protected their lives... But they later turned against the Kingdom…' The Muslim Brotherhood has links to groups across the Arab world, including Jordan's main parliamentary opposition, the 'Islamic Action Front,' and the 'Palestinian resistance movement, 'Hamas." The Interior Minister's outburst against the Brotherhood came amid mounting criticism in the United States of Saudi Arabia's longstanding support for Islamist groups around the world…"[91]
Links to violence
* The Brotherhood is widely believed to have had a "secret apparatus" responsible for attacks in Egypt, including the assassination of Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha, the Egyptian Prime Minister in 1948[92] and the president of Egypt in 1981[93]
* Rachel Aspden's article, The Rise of the Brotherhood states that The Muslim Brotherhood currently advocates suicide bombing attacks on civilians to fight Zionism, and its self-admitted Palestinian wing Hamas indiscriminately targets Jews as such, both civilians and the military, in Israel.[94] In its Charter, Hamas cites The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and prophesizes the ultimate complete annihilation of Jewry.[95]
* Newsweek journalists Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff reported connections between al-Qaeda and Brotherhood figures Mamoun Darkazanli and Youssef Nada.[96]
* A similar article in the Financial Times reported financial links between 74-year-old Swiss Muslim convert, and businessman Ahmed Huber, and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, notably Youssef Nada, Ali Ghaleb Himmat. According to the U.S. government, Al Taqwa "has long acted as financial advisers to al-Qaeda." Huber is noted in Europe for his links with alleged neo-Nazi and other far right elements.[97][98] He is reported to have "confirmed" having "had contact with associates of Osama bin Laden at an Islamic conference in Beirut," whom he called `very discreet, well-educated, very intelligent people.`[97]
* Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi was an influential lobbyist and founder and head of the Brotherhood-linked American Muslim Council before being convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for conspiracy to murder Saudi Prince Abdullah at the behest of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi.[99]
Status of non-Muslims
* In 1997 Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mustafa Mashhur told journalist Khalid Daoud[100] that he thought Egypt's Coptic Christians and Orthodox Jews should pay the long-abandoned jizya poll tax, levied on non-Muslims in exchange for protection from the state, rationalized by the fact that non-Muslims are exempt from military service while it is compulsory for Muslims. He went on to say, "we do not mind having Christians members in the People's Assembly...the top officials, especially in the army, should be Muslims since we are a Muslim country...This is necessary because when a Christian country attacks the Muslim country and the army has Christian elements, they can facilitate our defeat by the enemy."[101]
Response to criticism
The Brotherhood itself denounces the "catchy and effective terms and phrases" like "fundamentalist" and "political Islam" which it claims are used by "Western Media" to pigeonhole the group, and points to its "15 Principles" for an Egyptian National Charter, including "freedom of personal conviction... opinion... forming political parties... public gatherings... free and fair elections..."[102]
Similarly, some analysts maintain that whatever the source of modern Jihadi terrorism and the actions and words of some rogue members, the Brotherhood now has little in common with radical Islamists and modern jihadists who often condemn the Brotherhood as too moderate. They also deny the existence of any centralized and secretive global MB leadership.[103] Some claim that the origins of modern Muslim terrorism are found in Wahhabi ideology, not that of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The pattern of past extremist Islamist takovers for "Jihads" sake must be remembered. Iran has both moderate and ultra-theocratic elements for PR sake, but the Supreme Leader is a religious fanatic.
............................................................................
Understanding the above history of the "Brotherhood, deeper research will reveal that the organization had ties to Hitler, and that not all it's "Mullahs" are what they seem to be.
As all other religions are infiltrated by "secret societies who acknowkedge "Lucifer" as the god of forces" and serve him, Islam also has these adherants.
Not "if" but WHEN the power struggle begins after the Mediteranean Union is the New Order for the Muslim world, we will see all the prophesies in "Daniel" come to pass regarding all of the "nations fighting each other to destroy Israel.
Sarkozy has created the Mediterranean Union for Islam, as we see how Sarkozy has dominated the EU, and is C0-President of the Med Union, it is clear he will anoint it's leader-Prophet as a Mullah must be "Supreme Leader of any Islamic power.
Warring Kings of North and South
Daniel l1
“Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority,[a] and neither he nor his authority[b] shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. 7 But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. 8 And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes[c]and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.
9 “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land. 10 However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife.
11 “And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. 12 When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men[d] of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. 15 So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces[e] of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. 16 But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.[f]
17 “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones[g] with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him. 18 After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
20 “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. 21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force[h] of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.
The Northern King’s Blasphemies
29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus[i] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces[j] shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the God[k] of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
The Northern King’s Conquests
40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
The King of the South is Egypt and those who will ally themselves against the Syrian King of the North
and his allies. They will be internal sectarian battles for supremacy in the new Medeteranean Union.
Then will come the "Vile" one, comming in Peace...and rises to supremacy to lead all Islamist armies and those non-muslim allies against Israel and her Christian allies!
The ships of Chittim are Navy's from NATO forces...Chittim refers to the "Isles".
Footnotes:
a.Daniel 11:6 Literally arm
The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state".[4] Since its inception in 1928 the movement has officially opposed violent means to achieve its goals.[5][6] Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, calls it "conservative and non-violent,"[7] and "poorly understood - especially in the West."[8]. The Brotherhood condemned terrorism and the 9/11 attacks,[9][10] but whether or not it has ties to terrorism is a matter of dispute.[11] The Brotherhood's nonviolent stance has resulted in breakaway groups from the movement, including the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and Al Takfir Wal Hijra.[12] Osama bin Laden has similarly criticized the Brotherhood, and accused it of betraying jihad and the ideals of Sayyid Qutb, an influential Brother member and author of Milestones.[13][14] In Egypt, the Brotherhood has stated that, while it seeks the establishment of an Islamic state, it would not force women to cover up.[15]
The Muslim brotherhood started off as a social organization, preaching Islam, teaching the illiterate, setting up hospitals, and even launched commercial enterprises. As it continued to rise in influence, starting in 1936, it began to oppose British rule in Egypt.[16] Many Egyptian nationalists accuse the Brotherhood of violent killings during this period.[17] After the Arab defeat in 1948, the Egyptian government dissolved the organization and arrested its members; its founder, al-Banna, was assassinated.[16] After the Egyptian coup of 1952, which was supported by the Brotherhood, it was once again banned and repressed.[3] Though the Brotherhood spread to other countries, it was suppressed there too: in 1982, Syria violently crushed a Brotherhood revolt (Hama massacre).[18] Starting in the 1980s it entered Egypt's political arena, forming alliances with other parties, and fielding "independent"[19] candidates. When in 2005, the Brotherhood won 20% of the seats, Hosni Mubarak cracked down on the group. As of 2011, the Brotherhood took an active part in the Egyptian protests.[3]
The Brotherhood is financed by contributions from its members, who are required to allocate a portion of their income to the movement. Some of these contributions are from members who live in oil-rich countries.
In the group's belief, the Quran and Sunnah constitute a perfect way of life and social and political organization that God has set out for man. Islamic governments must be based on this system and eventually unified in a Caliphate. The Muslim Brotherhood's goal, as stated by Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna was to reclaim Islam’s manifest destiny, an empire, stretching from Spain to Indonesia.[21] It preaches that Islam enjoins man to strive for social justice, the eradication of poverty and corruption, and political freedom to the extent allowed by the laws of Islam. The Brotherhood strongly opposes Western colonialism, and helped overthrow the pro-western monarchies in Egypt and other Muslim nations during the early 20th century.
An important belief on the part of intellectuals who have assisted the organization is the reemergence of Islamic Civilization because Western Civilization is perceived to be in decline; in the words of a 2007 essay, "More than forty years ago the premise was made clear: The period of the Western system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those life-giving values, which enabled it to be the leader of mankind." As Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic intellectual and supporter of the Brotherhood wrote in his 1963 book, Milestones, (Ma'alim fi al-Tariq), "The leadership of mankind by Western man is now on the decline, not because Western culture has become poor materially or because its economic and military power has become weak. The period of the Western system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those life-giving values, which enabled it to be the leader of mankind. It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which is positive and constructive, and which is practicable. Islam is the only System which possesses these values and this way of life. [22]
On the issue of women and gender the Muslim Brotherhood interprets Islam conservatively. Its founder called for "a campaign against ostentation in dress and loose behavior," "segregation of male and female students," a separate curriculum for girls, and "the prohibition of dancing and other such pastimes..."[23]
The MB is a movement, not a political party, but members have created political parties in several countries, such as the Islamic Action Front in Jordan and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. These parties are staffed by Brotherhood members but kept independent from the MB to some degree, unlike Hizb ut-Tahrir which is highly centralized.[24]
Organization
The Transcripts[25] the following hierarchical Organisation structure can be derived:
* The General Organisational Conference is the highest body of the Ikhwans stemming from the Ikhwans bases, every Usra elects one or two deputies according to its number.
* The Shura Council has the duties of planning, charting general policies and programs that achieve the goal of the Group. Its resolutions are binding to the Group and only the General Organisational Conference can modify or annul them and the Shura Office has also the right to modify or annul resolutions of the Executive Office. It follows the implementation of the Group policies and programs. It directs the Executive Office and it forms dedicated branch committees to assist in that.[26]
* Executive Office (Guidance Office) with its leader the General Masul (General Guide) and its members, both appointed by the Shura Office, has to follow up and guide the activities of the General Organisation. It submits a periodical report to the Shura Council about its work and of the activity of the domestic bodies and the general organisations. It distributes its duties to its members according to the internal bylaws.
It has the following divisions (not complete): – Executive leadership – Organisational office – Secretariat general – Education office – Political office – Sisters office
In each country there is a Branch committee with a Masul (leader) appointed by the General Executive leadership with essentially the same Branch-divisions as the Executive office has. To the duties of every branch belong fundraising, infiltrating in and overtaking other Muslim organisations for the sake of uniting the Muslims to dedicate them to the general goals of the MB.
The general goals and strategic plans of the MB are only found in Arabic documents. One for Europe called "The Project" was found in 2001 in Switzerland, another for North America was found in 2005 called the "General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America."[27] An evaluation of this Memorandum was made for the US-Congress and for the Pentagon.[28] Their influence is fast growing, especially in Europe, but not easy to trace while the active members have to keep their membership secret.
One citation from the document "General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America"[29] makes the objectives of the MB clear: "The process of settlement is a 'Civilization-Jihadist Process' with all the word means. 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."
Main activity-plan
The main goals on mid-term as approved by the Executive office and the Shura Council are formulated in a 5-year action plan derived from transcripts. Note that the following goals are derived from a speech made in the 1980s by Zeid al-Norman - an American-based supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and may or may not reflect the global goals of the organization:[30]
Primary goals
* reinstatement of the caliphate and reunite the "dar el Islam" (Countries where Muslims are free to practice their religion)
* Strengthening the internal structure
* Administrative discipline
* Recruitment and settlement of the Dawa'a (lectures and speeches about Islam)
* Energizing the organisations work
* Energizing political work fronts (e.g. in civil political organisations)
Secondary goals
* Finance and Investment
* Foreign relations
* Reviving Woman's activity
* Political awareness to the members of the Group
* Securing the group (To find out if they are being monitored, and if, how they can get rid of them)
* Dawa'ah (the lecture/speech of religion)
* Media (influencing of and infiltration in the media)
* Taking advantage of human potentials (e.g. infiltration in education, civil organisations)
In Egypt
Main article: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
Hassan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Ismailia in March 1928 along with six workers of the Suez Canal Company. It began as a religious, political, and social movement with the credo, “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”[31][32] Al-Banna called for the return to an original Islam and followed Islamic reformers like Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida. According to him, contemporary Islam had lost its social dominance, because most Muslims had been corrupted by Western influences. Sharia law based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah were seen as laws passed down by Allah that should be applied to all parts of life, including the organization of the government and the handling of everyday problems.[33]
The Brotherhood also saw itself as a political and social movement . Al-Banna strived to be a populist. The Muslim Brotherhood claimed to want to protect the workers against the tyranny of foreign and monopolist companies. It founded social institutions such as hospitals, pharmacies, schools, etc. However, in addition to holding conservative views on issues such as women's rights,[23] it was from the start extremely hostile to independent working-class and popular organisations such as trade unions.[33] This is disputed however by William Cleveland, who points out that the Muslim Brotherhood became involved with the labour movement early on, and supported efforts to create trades unions and unemployment benefits.[34]
By 1936, it had 800 members, then this number increased greatly to up to 200,000 by 1938. By 1948, the Brotherhood had about half a million members. Robin Hallett says: "By the late 1940s the Brotherhood was reckoned to have as many as 2 million members, while its strong Pan-Islamic ideas had gained its supporters in other Arab lands".[35] The Muslim Brotherhood also tried to build up something like an Islamist International, thus founding groups in Lebanon (in 1936), Syria (1937), and Transjordan (1946). It also recruited among the foreign students in Cairo. Its headquarters in Cairo became a center and meeting place for representatives from the whole Muslim world.[33]
Underground links to the Nazis began during the 1930s and were close during the Second World War, involving agitation against the British, Jewish immigration to Palestine, espionage and sabotage, as well as support for terrorist activities orchestrated by Haj Amin el-Hussaini in British Mandate Palestine, as a wide range of declassified documents from the British, American and Nazi German governmental archives, as well as from personal accounts and memoirs from that period, confirm.[36] Reflecting this connection the Muslim Brotherhood also disseminated Hitler's Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion widely in Arab translations, helping to deepen and extend already existing hostile views about Jews and secular Western societies generally.[37]
In November 1948 police seized an automobile containing the documents and plans of what was thought to be the Brotherhood's "secret apparatus" (its military wing) with names of its members. The seizure was preceded by an assortment of bombings and assassination attempts by the apparatus. Subsequently 32 of its leaders were arrested and its offices raided.[17] The next month the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mahmud Fahmi Nokrashi, ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood.
In what is thought to be retaliation for these acts, a member of the Brotherhood, veterinary student Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, assassinated the Prime Minister on December 28, 1948. A month and half later Al-Banna himself was killed in Cairo by men believed to be government agents and/or supporters of the murdered premier.
The Brotherhood has been an illegal organization, tolerated to varying degrees, since 1954 when it was convicted of the attempt to assassinate Gamal Abdel Nasser, head of the Egyptian government. The group had denied involvement in the incident and accused the government of staging the incident to use it as a pretext to persecute the group and its members. On this basis from 1954 until Nasser's death in 1970, thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members were systematically tortured under Nasser's secular regime, highlighted in Zainab al Ghazali's Return of the Pharaoh. More recently, since the mid-2000s, some young Muslim Brotherhood members have publicly identified themselves as members of the banned organizations on their blogs, where they have been critical of both the existing system as well as aspects of the Muslim Brotherhood organization itself.[38]
The Brotherhood is still periodically subjected to mass arrests. It remains the largest opposition group in Egypt, advocating Islamic reform, democratic system and maintaining a vast network of support through Islamic charities working among poor Egyptians.[39] The political direction it has been taking lately has tended towards more moderate secular "Islamism" and so-called Islamic Democracy comparable to Christian Democrat movements in Europe, the Christian-right in the United States, and the Muslim oriented democratic parties of Turkey.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood's candidates, who had to run as independents due to their illegality as a political party, won 88 seats (20% of the total) to form the largest opposition bloc. The electoral process was marred by many irregularities, including the arrest of hundreds of Brotherhood members. One observer, Jameel Theyabi, writing in an op-ed for Dar Al-Hayat, noted that a December 2006 campus demonstration by Muslim Brotherhood university students that included the "wearing of uniforms, displaying the phrase, 'We Will be Steadfast', and the drills involving martial arts, betray the group's intent to plan for the creation of militia structures, and a return by the group to the era of 'secret cells'...." .[40]
Of course, the huge gains in the 2005 parliamentary elections allowed the Brotherhood to pose "a democratic political challenge to the regime, not a theological one" .[41] Initially, there has been widespread skepticism regarding the movement's commitment to use its influence to push Egypt forward towards a democratic state. For instance, briefly after the elections Sameh Fawzy remarked in the Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, "If the Muslim Brotherhood were in a position to enforce its ideological monopoly, the vast majority of the populace would face severe restrictions on its freedom of opinion and belief, not just on religious matters, but on social, political, economic and cultural affairs as well" [42] However, considering its actions in the Egyptian parliament since 2005, it appears that those skeptics misjudged the movement's scope. In an article for the Middle East Report Samer Shehata from Georgetown University and Joshua Stacher from the British University in Egypt claim that, in fact, it was the Muslim Brotherhood that revived a parliament that till then had "a reputation for being a rubber stamp for the regime" .[43] First of all, according to their observations, the movement did not simply "focus on banning books and legislating the length of skirts" .[44] Instead, the movement's involvement shows attempts to reform the political system. Unlike other MPs, those associated with the Brotherhood took their parliamentary duties very seriously as an "unmatched record of attendance" [43] already shows. Moreover, they also took their role as members of the opposition to the ruling NDP quite seriously. A significant example is the creation of a considerable opposition to the extension of the emergency law when MPs associated with the Brotherhood "formed a coalition with other opposition legislators and with sympathetic members of the NDP, to protest the extension" .[41] The overall involvement leads Shehata and Stacher to the conclusion that the Brotherhood has convincingly attempted to transform "the Egyptian parliament into a real legislative body, as well as an institution that represents citizens and a mechanism that keeps government accountable".[43]
Meanwhile, approved opposition parties won only 14 seats. This revived the debate within the Egyptian political elite about whether the Brotherhood should remain banned.
Since 2005 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt have also become a significant movement online. In 2006 Abdel Menem Mahmoud created the first publicly identified Brotherhood blog, Ana Ikhwan (http://ana-ikhwan.blogspot.com). In an article for Arab Media & Society (http://www.arabmediasociety.com), Courtney C. Radsch of American University explores how the Egyptian blogosphere expanded as many younger members followed suit, especially the activists who were sympathetic to Kefaya and members who wanted to be part of the discussion about the draft party platform.[38] These "cyberactivists" are often critical of the organization, such as its rejection of women and Copts as being permitted to hold the presidency, and more liberal than their offline counterparts.[38][45][46]
General leaders (G.L) or Mentors of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt المرشد العام لجماعة الإخوان المسلمون
* Founder & First G. leader: (1928–1949) Hassan al Banna
* 2nd G.L. : (1949–1972) Hassan al-Hudaybi
* 3rd G.L. : (1972–1986) Umar al-Tilmisani
* 4th G.L. : (1986–1996) Muhammad Hamid Abu al-Nasr
* 5th G.L. : (1996–2002) Mustafa Mashhur
* 6th G.L. : (2002–2004) Ma'mun al-Hudaybi
* 7th G.L. : (2004–2010) Mohammed Mahdi Akef
* 8th G.L. : (16 January 2010 – present) Mohammed Badie[citation needed]
In West Asia
Bahrain
In Bahrain, the Muslim Brotherhood is represented by the Al Eslah Society and its political wing, the Al-Menbar Islamic Society. Following parliamentary elections in 2002, Al Menbar became the joint largest party with eight seats in the forty seat Chamber of Deputies. Prominent members of Al Menbar include Dr Salah Abdulrahman, Dr Salah Al Jowder, and outspoken MP Mohammed Khalid. The party has generally backed government sponsored legislation on economic issues, but has sought a clamp down on pop concerts, sorcery and soothsayers. It has strongly opposed the government's accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds that this would give Muslim citizens the right to change religion, when in the party's view they should be "beheaded".[47]
Municipal councillor, Dr Salah Al Jowder, has campaigned against people being able to look into other people's houses, changing the local by-laws in Muharraq to ensure that all new buildings are fitted with one way glass to prevent residents being able to see out.[48] Although a competitor with the salafist Asalah party, it seems likely that Al Menbar will opt for a political alliance in 2006s election to avoid splitting the Sunni Islamist vote.
Syria
Main article: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria
Muslim Brotherhood in Syria was founded in the 1930s (according to lexicorient.com) or in 1945, a year before independence from France, (according to journalist Robin Wright (author)). In the first decade or so of independence it was part of the legal opposition, and in the 1961 parliamentary elections it won ten seats (5.8% of the house). But after the 1963 coup that brought the Baath Party to power it was banned.[49] It played a major role in the mainly Sunni-based resistance movement that opposed the secularist, pan-Arabist Baath Party, (since 1970, it has been dominated by the Alawite Assad family, adding a religious element to its conflict with the Brotherhood). This conflict developed into an armed struggle that continued until culminating in the Hama uprising of 1982, when the rebellion was bloodily crushed by the military.[50]
Since then, the Brotherhood has ceased to be an active political force inside Syria, but it retains a network of support in the country, of unknown strength, and has external headquarters in London and Cyprus. In recent years it has renounced violence and adopted a reformist platform, calling for the establishment of a pluralistic, democratic political system. The leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni, who lives as a political refugee in London.
Membership in the Syrian Brotherhood became a capital offence in Syria in the 1980 (under Emergency Law 49) and remains so, but the headquarters of the MB-linked Palestinian group, Hamas, is located in the Syria's capital Damascus, where it is given Syrian government support. This is seen by some as an example of the lack of international centralization or even coordination of the MB.[51]
According to leaked American cables, Syrian President Bashar al Assad allegedly called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence.", comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father Hafez al Assad. He then allegedly claimed Hamas would disappear if peace were brought to the Middle East.[52][53]
Palestinian territories
'Abd al-Rahman al-Banna, brother of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, went to Palestine and established the Muslim Brotherhood there in 1935. A local nationalist, Al-Hajj Amin al-Husseini (see article under Mohammad Amin al-Husayni), eventually appointed by the British as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in hopes of accommodating him, was the leader of the group in Palestine. Another important leader associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine was 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam, an inspiration to Islamists because he had been the first to lead an armed resistance in the name of Palestine against the British in 1935.[54] Under these leaders, many moderate local Arab leaders were assassinated, including King Abdullah I of Jordan, and, from 1921 on, numerous terrorist attacks were perpetrated against Jews, amongst which was the murder of 67 religious Jews, men, women and children, and wounding of many others, in the 1929 Hebron massacre. Al-Hajj Amin al-Husseini led a general uprising against the British from 1936 to 1939; as a Nazi ally he spent the Second World War in Nazi Germany and advocated for and aided their annihilation of the Jews.[55] In 1945, the group established a branch in Jerusalem, and by 1947 twenty-five more branches had sprung up, in towns such as Jaffa, Lod, Haifa, Nablus, and Tulkarm, which total membership between 12,000 to 20,000.
Brotherhood members fought alongside the Arab armies during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and, after Israel's creation, the ensuing Palestinian refugee crisis encouraged more Palestinian Muslims to join the group. After the war, in the West Bank, the group's activity was mainly social and religious, not political, so it had relatively good relations with Jordan, which was in control of the West Bank after 1950. In contrast, the group frequently clashed with the Egyptian regime that controlled the Gaza Strip until 1967.[56]
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood's goal was "the upbringing of an Islamic generation" through the restructuring of society and religious education, rather than Palestine's liberation from Israel, and so it lost popularity to national resistance movements and the presence of Hizb ut-Tahrir.[57] Eventually, however, the Brotherhood was strengthened by several factors:
1. The creation of al-Mujamma' al-Islami, the Islamic Center in 1973 by Shaykh Ahmad Yasin had a centralizing effect that encapsulated all religious organizations.
2. The Muslim Brotherhood Society in Jordan and Palestine was created from a merger of the branches in the West Bank and Gaza and Jordan.
3. Palestinian disillusion with the liberation front caused them to become more open to alternatives.
4. The Islamic Revolution in Iran offered inspiration to Palestinians. The Brotherhood was able to increase its efforts in Palestine and avoid being dismantled like national resistance groups because it did not focus on the occupation. While national resistance groups were being dismantled, the Brotherhood filled the void.[58]
After the 1967 Six Day War, as Israel's occupation started, Israel may have looked to cultivate political Islam as a counterweight to Fatah, the main secular Palestinian nationalist political organization.[59][60] Between 1967 and 1987, the year Hamas was founded, the number of mosques in Gaza tripled from 200 to 600, and the Muslim Brotherhood named the period between 1975 and 1987 a phase of 'social institution building.'[61] The Brotherhood was able to spread its ideology in six important ways. It established associations, used zakat (alms giving) for aid to poor Palestinians, promoted schools, provided students with loans, used waqf (religious endowments) to lease property and employ people, and established mosques. The establishment of mosques was the most effective, because it built hundreds of mosques in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 1967 and 1987 and could use them for political and recruitment purposes.[58] Likewise, antagonistic and sometimes violent opposition to Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organization and other secular nationalist groups increased dramatically in the streets and on university campuses.[59]
The Brotherhood's downfall was its failure to fight the Israeli occupation, but the Intifada changed the Brotherhood's position and Hamas was established.[58] The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, founded in 1987 in Gaza, is a wing of the Brotherhood,[62] formed out of Brotherhood-affiliated charities and social institutions that had gained a strong foothold among the local population. During the First Intifada (1987–93), Hamas militarized and transformed into one of the strongest Palestinian militant groups.
The Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007 was the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, that a Muslim Brotherhood group ruled a significant geographic territory.[63]
Israel
Main article: Islamic Movement in Israel
The Muslim Brotherhood in Israel -the Islamic Movement- is divided between the southern and northern branches. The southern branch is represented in the Knesset, Israel's parliament while the northern radical branch boycotts Israeli elections.[citation needed]
Jordan
The Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was formed in 1942, and is a strong factor in Jordanian politics. While most political parties and movements were banned for a long time in Jordan such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Brotherhood was exempted and allowed to operate by the Jordanian monarchy. The Jordanian Brotherhood has formed its own political party, the Islamic Action Front, which has the largest number of seats of any party in the Jordanian parliament.[64]
The Muslim Brotherhood is playing an active role in the unrest in several Arab countries in January 2011. For example, at a rally held outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman on Saturday, 29th January 2011 with some 100 participants, Hammam Saeed, head of the Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan and a close ally of the Hamas's Damascus-based leader, Khaled Meshaal, said: "Egypt's unrest will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States." However, he did not specifically name Jordanian King Abdullah II. [65]
Iran
Although Iran is a predominately Shia country and the Muslim Brotherhood is Sunni in doctrine, Olga Davidson and Mohammad Mahallati claim the Brotherhood has had influence among Shia in Iran.[66] Navab Safavi, who founded Fadaian Islam, (also Fedayeen of Islam, or Fadayan-e Islam), an Iranian Islamic organization active in Iran in the 1940s and 1950s, "was highly impressed by the Muslim Brotherhood."[citation needed] From 1945 to 1951 the Fadain assassinated several high level Iranian personalities and officials who they believed to be un-Islamic. They included anti-clerical writer Ahmad Kasravi, Premier Haj-Ali Razm-Ara, former Premier Abdul-Hussein Hazhir, and Education and Culture Minister Ahmad Zangeneh.[67]
At that time Navab Safavi was an associate and ally of Ayatollah Khomeini who went on to become a figure in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Safavi is thought to have influenced Khomeini with the ideas of the Brotherhood.[67] Khomeini and other religious figures in Iran worked to establish Islamic unity and downplay Shia-Sunni differences.[citation needed]
Iraq
The Iraqi Islamic Party was formed in 1960 as the Iraqi branch of the Brotherhood,[68] but was banned from 1961 during the nationalist rule of Abd al-Karim Qasim. As government repression hardened under the Baath Party from February 1963, the group was forced to continue underground. After the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, the Islamic Party along with Hizb ut-Tahrir have reemerged as one of the main advocates of the country's Sunni community. The Islamic Party has been sharply critical of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, but participates in the political process.[69] Its leader is Tariq Al-Hashimi.
Also, in the north of Iraq there are several Islamic movements inspired by or part of the Muslim Brotherhood network. The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) holds seats in the Kurdish parliament, as is the main political force outside the dominance of the two main secularist parties, the PUK and KDP.[70]
Saudi Arabia
The Muslim Brotherhood's brand of Islam and Islamic politics differs from the strict Salafi creed, Wahhabiyya, officially held by the state of Saudi Arabia. Despite this, the Brotherhood has been tolerated by the Saudi government, and maintains a presence in the country.[citation needed] Aside from tolerating the Brotherhood organization[citation needed], and according to Washington Post report, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef has denounced the Brotherhood, saying it is guilty of "betrayal of pledges and ingratitude" and is "the source of all problems in the Islamic world."[20]
Kuwait
The Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait is represented in the Kuwaiti parliament by Hadas.[71][72]
Elsewhere in Africa
Algeria
The Muslim Brotherhood reached Algeria during the later years of the French colonial presence in the country (1830–1962). Sheikh Ahmad Sahnoun led the organization in Algeria between 1953 and 1954 during the French colonialism. Brotherhood members and sympathizers took part in the uprising against France in 1954–1962, but the movement was marginalized during the largely secular FLN one-party rule which was installed at independence in 1962. It remained unofficially active, sometimes protesting the government and calling for increased Islamization and Arabization of the country's politics.
When a multi-party system was introduced in Algeria in the early 1990s, the Muslim Brotherhood formed the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP, previously known as Hamas), led by Mahfoud Nahnah until his death in 2003 (he was succeeded by present party leader Boudjerra Soltani). The Muslim Brotherhood in Algeria did not join the Front islamique du salut (FIS), which emerged as the leading Islamist group, winning the 1991 elections and which was banned in 1992 following a military coup d'état, although some Brotherhood sympathizers did. The Brotherhood subsequently also refused to join the violent post-coup uprising by FIS sympathizers and the Armed Islamic Groups (GIA) against the Algerian state and military which followed, and urged a peaceful resolution to the conflict and a return to democracy. It has thus remained a legal political organization and enjoyed parliamentary and government representation. In 1995, Sheikh Nahnah ran for President of Algeria finishing second with 25.38% of the popular vote. During the 2000s, the party—led by Nahnah's successor Boudjerra Soltani – has been a member of a three-party coalition backing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Sudan
Until the election of Hamas in Gaza, Sudan was the one country were the Brotherhood was most successful in gaining power, its members making up a large part of the government officialdom following the 1989 coup d'état by General Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Always close to Egyptian politics, Sudan has had a Muslim Brotherhood presence since 1949. In 1945, a delegation from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt visited Sudan and held various meetings inside the country advocating and explaining their ideology. Sudan has a long and deep history with the Muslim Brotherhood compared to many other countries. By April 1949, the first branch of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood organization emerged. However, simultaneously, many Sudanese students studying in Egypt were introduced to the ideology of the Brotherhood. The Muslim student groups also began organizing in the universities during the 1940s, and the Brotherhood’s main support base has remained to be college educated. In order to unite them, in 1954, a conference was held, attended by various representatives from different groups that appeared to have the same ideology. The conference voted to establish a Unified Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood Organization based on the teachings of Imam Hassan Al-banna.
An offshoot of the Sudanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Charter Front grew during the 1960, with Islamic scholar Hasan al-Turabi becoming its Secretary general in 1964. The Islamic Charter Front (ICM) was renamed several times most recently being called the National Islamic Front (NIF). Turabi has been the prime architect of the NIF as a modern Islamist party. He worked within the Institutions of the government, which led to a prominent position of his organization in the country. NIF supported women's right to vote and ran women candidates. The Muslim Brotherhood/NIF's main objective in Sudan was to Islamize the society "from above" and to institutionalize the Islamic law throughout the country where they succeeded.
The Brotherhood penetrated into the ruling political organizations, the state army and security personal, the national and regional assemblies, the youth and women organizations of Sudan. They also launched their own mass organizations among the youth and women such as the shabab al-binna, and raidat al-nahda, and launched educational campaigns to Islamize the communities throughout the country. At the same time, they gained control of several newly founded Islamic missionary and relief organizations to spread their ideology. The Brotherhood members took control of the newly established Islamic Banks as directors, administrators, employees and legal advisors, which became a source of power for the Brotherhood.
The Sudanese government has come under considerable criticism for its human rights policies, links to terrorist groups, and war in southern Sudan and Darfur.
See also: Darfur conflict, Second Sudanese Civil War, and Human rights in Sudan
The conservatism of at least some elements of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood was highlighted in an August 3, 2007 Al-Jazeera television interview of Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Sadeq Abdallah bin Al-Majed. As translated by the Israeli-based MEMRI, Bin Al-Majed told his interviewer that "the West, and the Americans in particular ... are behind all the tragedies that are taking place in Darfur,"
Main article: Darfur Conflict
as they "realized that it Darfur is full of treasures"; that "Islam does not permit a non-Muslim to rule over Muslims;" and that he had issued a fatwa prohibiting the vaccination of children, on the grounds that the vaccinations were "a conspiracy of the Jews and Freemasons."[73]
Somalia
Somalia's wing of the Muslim Brotherhood is known by the name Harakat Al-Islah or "Reform Movement". Nonetheless, the Brotherhood, as mentioned earlier, has inspired many Islamist organizations in Somalia. Muslim Brotherhood ideology reached Somalia in the 1960s, but Al-Islah movement was formed in 1978 and slowly grew in the 1980s. Al-Islah has been described as "a generally nonviolent and modernizing Islamic movement that emphasizes the reformation and revival of Islam to meet the challenges of the modern world," whose "goal is the establishment of an Islamic state" and which "operates primarily in Mogadishu." [74]
The founders of the Islah Movement are: Sh. Mohamed Ahmed Nur, Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf Abdi, Sh. Ahmed Rashid Hanafi, and Sh. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah. The organization structured itself loosely and was not openly visible on the political scene of Somali society.
They chose to remain a secret movement fearing the repressive regime of Siad Barre. However, they emerged from secrecy when the regime collapsed in 1991 and started working openly thereafter. Most Somalis were surprised to see the new group they had never heard of, which was in the country since 1970s in secrecy.
According to the Islah by-law, every five years the organization has to elect its Consultative (Shura) Council which elects the Chairman and the two Vice-chairman. During the last 30 years, four chairmen were elected. These are Sheikh Mohamed Geryare (1978–1990), Dr. Mohamed Ali Ibrahim (1990–1999), Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed (1999–2008) and Dr. Ali Bashi Omar Roraye (2008–2013).
Dr. Ali bashi is a medical doctor, a former university professor and a member of the transitional parliament (2000–2008). During the 1990s, Al-Islah devoted much effort to humanitarian efforts and providing free basic social services.
The leaders of Al-Islah played a key role in the educational network and establishing Mogadishu University. Through their network, they educate more than 120,000 students in the city of Mogadishu. Many other secondary schools such as the University of East Africa in Bosasso, Puntland, are externally funded and administered through organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic organization Al-Islah.[74] In Somalia, they are known to be a peaceful organization that does not participate in any factional fighting and rejects the use of violence.
Today the group's membership includes urban professionals and students. According to a Crisis Group Report, Somalia’s Islamists, “Al-Islah organization is dominated by a highly educated urban elite whose professional, middle class status and extensive expatriate experiences are alien to most Somalis.”
Although Al-Islah have been criticized by some hardcore Islamists who considered them to be influenced by imperialist western values, Al-Islah speaks of democratic peaceful Somalia. They promote women's rights, human rights, and other ideas, which they argue that these concepts originate from Islamic concepts. Al-Islah is gaining momentum in the Somali societies for their humanitarian work and moderate view of Islam, which is compatible to modernisation and respect of human right.
Tunisia
Like their counterparts elsewhere in the Islamic world in general, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has influenced the Tunisia’s Islamists. One of the notable organization that was influenced and inspired by the Brotherhood is Al-Nahda (The Revival or Renaissance Party), which is Tunisia's 2nd major Islamist grouping after Hizb ut-Tahrir. An Islamist named Rashid Ghannouchi founded the organization in 1981. While studying in Damascus and Paris, Rashid Ghannouchi embraced the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which he disseminated on his return to Tunisia.
Libya
Libya was one of the first countries outside Egypt to have a Brotherhood group[citation needed]. In the late 1940s when the Egyptian members were being prosecuted, King Idris I of Libya offered the Brotherhood refuge and the freedom to spread their ideology. In 1955, the University of Libya was established in Benghazi, near the Egyptian border, and it drew many Egyptian teachers and lecturers including MB members.[citation needed] The Muslim Brotherhood was able to influence a large number of Libyan students during this period.[citation needed]
Dr. Ezzudine Ibrahim was one of the most influential founders of the Brotherhood in Libya. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood was a religious and intellectual tendency in Libya and had many followers amongst the intellectuals and students in the university campuses, and by the mid 1970s it developed a structured Brotherhood organization. The Brotherhood in Libya limited itself to peaceful social, political, economic, and cultural activities.[citation needed]
Soon after coming to power, Muammar al-Gaddafi regarded the Brotherhood a potential source of opposition. He arrested many Egyptian Brothers and expelled them back to Egypt.[citation needed] In 1973, the security services arrested and tortured members of the Libyan Brotherhood banning the organization and forcing it underground.[citation needed] The secrecy phase helped the Brotherhood to become more popular. The Brotherhood operated secretly in groups of interlinked cells, which was spread in the country. The brotherhood remained underground until the end of 1970s. At the beginning of 1980s, the Brotherhood renamed itself the “Libyan Islamic Group” (Al-Jama’a al-Islamiya al-Libyia) and tried to re-introduce themselves into the Libyan society. On March 2, 2006, the Libyan government released 132 members of the Muslim Brotherhood that were held as political prisoners.[citation needed]
Their core ideology, strategy, operations and membership are the same as Brotherhood groups in other countries: it seeks to replace the existing regime with one following Sharia law through what it claims are peaceful means. It has an active charitable and welfare wing and has attracted many members of the middle classes, mainly academics, students, engineers and business people.[citation needed] The group has been strengthened by the large number of Libyan students who became member or supporters of the Brotherhood while studying abroad in the United Kingdom and the United States, and have returned home to spread its ideology.[citation needed] .
In the West
United States
The Muslim Brotherhood has been active in the US since the 1960s. Its stated goals have included propagating Islam and creating havens for Muslims in the US, and integrating Muslims. A main strategy has been dawah or Islamic renewal and outreach. In the 1960s, groups such as U.S. military personnel, prison inmates and African-Americans were specifically targeted for dawah. According to a report done by the NEFA Foundation which cites evidence from the United States v. Holy Land Foundation trial, the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the USA is
Enablement of Islam in North America, meaning: establishing an effective and stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims’ causes domestically and globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslims’ efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic state wherever it is.[75]
The NEFA Foundation report further explains that in the same document where the goal is stated, considerable time is spent explaining the concept of settlement which is central to the Muslim Brotherhood-led efforts in North America. Settlement is defined as follows:
The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their 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 religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack.[76]
Organizations in the US started by activists involved with the Muslim Brotherhood include the Muslim Students Association in 1963,[20] North American Islamic Trust in 1971, the Islamic Society of North America in 1981, the American Muslim Council in 1990, the Muslim American Society in 1992, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought in the 1980s.[20] According to the Washington Post, Muslim activists say MSA's members represent "all schools of Islam and political leanings – many are moderates, while others express anti-U.S. views or support resistance against Israelis."[20]
The Holy Land Foundation trial has led to the release as evidence of [77] several documents on the Muslim Brotherhood. One of these documents, dated in 1991, explains that the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. is “settlement”, defined by the author as a form of jihad aimed at destroying Western civilization from within and allowing for the victory of Islam over other religions.[78] In another one of these documents, "Ikhwan in America", the author alleges that the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US include going to camps to do weapons training (referred to as Special work by the Muslim Brotherhood),[79] as well as engaging in counter-espionage against US government agencies such as the FBI and CIA (referred to as Securing the Group).[80] In November 2008 the Holy Land Foundation was found guilty of illegally funding Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is designated by the United States as a terrorist group.[81]
Criticisms
Motives
Numerous officials and reporters question the sincerity of the MB's pronouncements. These critics include, but are not limited to:
* U.S. White House counterterrorism chief Juan Zarate, who says "The Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians."[82][83]
* Raymond Ibrahim, editor of The Al Qaeda Reader, who notes that Muhammad himself described war as "deceit" and that Muslim Brotherhood disciples, past and present, merely duplicate the "everlasting words of Allah," as iterated in the Qur'an.[84][85]
* Miles Axe Copeland, Jr. -a prominent U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative who was one of the founding members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) under William Donovan- divulges the confessions of numerous members of the Muslim brotherhood that resulted from the harsh interrogations done against them by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, for their alleged involvement in the assassination attempt made against Nasser (an assassination attempt that many believe was staged by Nasser himself [86]), which revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood was merely a "guild" that fulfilled the goals of western interests: "Nor was that all. Sound beatings of the Moslem Brotherhood organizers who had been arrested revealed that the organization had been thoroughly penetrated, at the top, by the British, American, French and Soviet intelligence services, any one of which could either make active use of it or blow it up, whichever best suited its purposes. Important lesson: fanaticism is no insurance against corruption; indeed, the two are highly compatible." .[87]
* Douglas Farah, a veteran international reporter who describes current Muslim Brotherhood propaganda as a "charm offensive."[88]
* Former U.S. Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross, who told Asharq Alawsat newspaper that the Muslim Brotherhood is a global, not a local organization, governed by a Shura (Consultative) Council, which rejects cessation of violence in Israel, and supports violence to achieve its political objectives elsewhere too.[89]
* Magdy Khalil, executive editor of Egypt's Watani International, who reports consistent MB deceit concerning Egypt's 12.5% Coptic Christian population, so as to oppress and dhimmify them.[90]
* The Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz has stated that the Muslim Brotherhood organization was the cause of most problems in the Arab world. 'The Brotherhood has done great damage to Saudi Arabia,' he said. Prince Naif accused the foremost Islamist group in the Arab world of harming the interests of Muslims. 'All our problems come from the Muslim Brotherhood. We have given too much support to this group..." "The Muslim Brotherhood has destroyed the Arab world,' he said. 'Whenever they got into difficulty or found their freedom restricted in their own countries, Brotherhood activists found refuge in the Kingdom which protected their lives... But they later turned against the Kingdom…' The Muslim Brotherhood has links to groups across the Arab world, including Jordan's main parliamentary opposition, the 'Islamic Action Front,' and the 'Palestinian resistance movement, 'Hamas." The Interior Minister's outburst against the Brotherhood came amid mounting criticism in the United States of Saudi Arabia's longstanding support for Islamist groups around the world…"[91]
Links to violence
* The Brotherhood is widely believed to have had a "secret apparatus" responsible for attacks in Egypt, including the assassination of Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha, the Egyptian Prime Minister in 1948[92] and the president of Egypt in 1981[93]
* Rachel Aspden's article, The Rise of the Brotherhood states that The Muslim Brotherhood currently advocates suicide bombing attacks on civilians to fight Zionism, and its self-admitted Palestinian wing Hamas indiscriminately targets Jews as such, both civilians and the military, in Israel.[94] In its Charter, Hamas cites The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and prophesizes the ultimate complete annihilation of Jewry.[95]
* Newsweek journalists Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff reported connections between al-Qaeda and Brotherhood figures Mamoun Darkazanli and Youssef Nada.[96]
* A similar article in the Financial Times reported financial links between 74-year-old Swiss Muslim convert, and businessman Ahmed Huber, and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, notably Youssef Nada, Ali Ghaleb Himmat. According to the U.S. government, Al Taqwa "has long acted as financial advisers to al-Qaeda." Huber is noted in Europe for his links with alleged neo-Nazi and other far right elements.[97][98] He is reported to have "confirmed" having "had contact with associates of Osama bin Laden at an Islamic conference in Beirut," whom he called `very discreet, well-educated, very intelligent people.`[97]
* Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi was an influential lobbyist and founder and head of the Brotherhood-linked American Muslim Council before being convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for conspiracy to murder Saudi Prince Abdullah at the behest of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi.[99]
Status of non-Muslims
* In 1997 Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mustafa Mashhur told journalist Khalid Daoud[100] that he thought Egypt's Coptic Christians and Orthodox Jews should pay the long-abandoned jizya poll tax, levied on non-Muslims in exchange for protection from the state, rationalized by the fact that non-Muslims are exempt from military service while it is compulsory for Muslims. He went on to say, "we do not mind having Christians members in the People's Assembly...the top officials, especially in the army, should be Muslims since we are a Muslim country...This is necessary because when a Christian country attacks the Muslim country and the army has Christian elements, they can facilitate our defeat by the enemy."[101]
Response to criticism
The Brotherhood itself denounces the "catchy and effective terms and phrases" like "fundamentalist" and "political Islam" which it claims are used by "Western Media" to pigeonhole the group, and points to its "15 Principles" for an Egyptian National Charter, including "freedom of personal conviction... opinion... forming political parties... public gatherings... free and fair elections..."[102]
Similarly, some analysts maintain that whatever the source of modern Jihadi terrorism and the actions and words of some rogue members, the Brotherhood now has little in common with radical Islamists and modern jihadists who often condemn the Brotherhood as too moderate. They also deny the existence of any centralized and secretive global MB leadership.[103] Some claim that the origins of modern Muslim terrorism are found in Wahhabi ideology, not that of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The pattern of past extremist Islamist takovers for "Jihads" sake must be remembered. Iran has both moderate and ultra-theocratic elements for PR sake, but the Supreme Leader is a religious fanatic.
............................................................................
Understanding the above history of the "Brotherhood, deeper research will reveal that the organization had ties to Hitler, and that not all it's "Mullahs" are what they seem to be.
As all other religions are infiltrated by "secret societies who acknowkedge "Lucifer" as the god of forces" and serve him, Islam also has these adherants.
Not "if" but WHEN the power struggle begins after the Mediteranean Union is the New Order for the Muslim world, we will see all the prophesies in "Daniel" come to pass regarding all of the "nations fighting each other to destroy Israel.
Sarkozy has created the Mediterranean Union for Islam, as we see how Sarkozy has dominated the EU, and is C0-President of the Med Union, it is clear he will anoint it's leader-Prophet as a Mullah must be "Supreme Leader of any Islamic power.
Warring Kings of North and South
Daniel l1
“Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority,[a] and neither he nor his authority[b] shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. 7 But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. 8 And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes[c]and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.
9 “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land. 10 However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife.
11 “And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. 12 When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men[d] of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. 15 So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces[e] of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. 16 But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.[f]
17 “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones[g] with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him. 18 After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
20 “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. 21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force[h] of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.
The Northern King’s Blasphemies
29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus[i] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces[j] shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the God[k] of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
The Northern King’s Conquests
40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
The King of the South is Egypt and those who will ally themselves against the Syrian King of the North
and his allies. They will be internal sectarian battles for supremacy in the new Medeteranean Union.
Then will come the "Vile" one, comming in Peace...and rises to supremacy to lead all Islamist armies and those non-muslim allies against Israel and her Christian allies!
The ships of Chittim are Navy's from NATO forces...Chittim refers to the "Isles".
Footnotes:
a.Daniel 11:6 Literally arm
Monday, December 26, 2011
Will The False Prophet Be Islam's Mahdi?
The False Prophet of Revelation 13... Beast from the Earth
Revelation 13:11-18
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. [Lucifer] And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, [antichrist] and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
This beast comes from the earth. The first thing that came to remembrance was the 12th Mahdi. Many Muslims are expecting him to come up out of a well in Iran. A well is a hole in the earth. Therefore, this beast would be coming up from the earth. What's significant with this character is that his return would bring the allegiance of the Muslim world with him since they believe him to be their messiah. With his supernatural powers, would Muslims dare defy him? If my conclusions are accurate, this man could explain that they misunderstood the prophecies of his coming and instead point to the European antichrist, the beast from the sea, for them to worship. In this way, two of the main religions of the earth would be worshipping this European leader.
The Catholics, directed by their Pope, the whore riding the beast on many waters.
The Muslims, directed by their Mahdi, the beast from the earth.
The Jews, hated by the whole world, aren't expected to do anything but die. That is the time of Jacob's trouble.
Identifying traits of the beast from the earth:
Two horns like a lamb, speaks like a dragon [Lucifer]
Has all the power of the first beast [antichrist]
Makes all in the earth worship the first Beast with the head wound.
Does great wonders like calling fire from heaven in the presence of the first Beast. (With these things he deceives the world into worshipping the beast, and making an image to him, who was wounded by the sword but lived)
Able to give life to the image of the Beast so that it speaks and kills anyone who doesn't worship at it.
Makes everyone get a mark of the Beast in order to buy or sell anything. (666 ~ Read Recommendation 666, the free e-book that gives the political history of the E.U. and the recommendation, numbered 666, that created the office of Secretary-General of the European Union with all the power over the military and political structure of Europe.)
If you read through the articles down below, you will see where I came up with the conclusions I have about the false prophet's identity.
The False Prophet: The 12th Mahdi [Imam]
I believe the false prophet to Christians is the Islamic messiah figure, the 12th Mahdi. He is supposed to lead Islam in victory against the infidels in the last days. This is to include the commonly identified Antichrist. Many Christian and Islamic beliefs identify the Antichrist as coming from Europe and the Bible says the false prophet worships the beast, I believe that when the 12th Mahdi does come up from the well, that he will "correctly interpret" the Koran and Islam will then begin to worship the Antichrist instead.
Convergence?
What's interesting is that the Christian eschatology the Antichrist goes out conquering and to conquer. I believe the following passage speaks of Antiochus IV destroying many by peace.
Daniel 8:19-26
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
1 John 2:15-20
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
The same spirit works in the modern antichrist as in Antiochus IV. If he took the kingdoms by flattery, I would expect the same spirit to infiltrate the same way. I believe this is by speaking to those who are puffed up with pride and cultivating that. I believe the future antichrist will take the offer Christ rebuked of power over all the earth.
Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Could it be that the Imam, when he comes out of the well, will redirect worship of himself to the antichrist from Europe? The die-hard Muslims may still go against the antichrist, but they will become like the Jews and Christians at that point, being killed for not conforming. Lucifer, the dragon, gives power to the beast such that nobody can stand against him. I think the majority of Islam would obey the Mahdi if he were to do that. There is also the possibility that the European antichrist will have some form of "religion" interpreted to be compatible with Islam.
In His work Imam al-Mahdi, the Just Leader of Humanity, Ayatollah Ibrahim al Amini, professor at the Religious Learning Center at Qom affirms Larijani’s comments, when he states, "The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians; if they accept it they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed." (Source WND Article)
With beheading being the method of execution described in scripture, it could be that Islam will be used as the enforcing army of the man of sin, aided by the signs and lying wonders of the 12th Mahdi to control Islam world-wide, re-enforcing their belief of a coming world domination by Islam.
This is what the Bible says the false prophet does, notice how the beast (antichrist) comes to power and receives his power:
Revelation 13:1-5
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
The dragon is Lucifer. Lucifer gives his power to the beast from the sea such that the entire world recognizes his authority and worships him and the dragon. This would include Islam and I believe the 12th Imam (Mahdi) is the man who will redirect Islamic worship to Allah (dragon) and the beast from the sea. If they don't worship the dragon, they are powerless against him and will be killed like anyone else who doesn't worship him.
What I find interesting is that according to Islam, the 12th Mahdi is in a well, awaiting his occultation to end. The Bible describes the false prophet as coming from the earth.
The World Toward Illumination: "In our discussion of the world in the last days of the earth we had said in our previous editions of this programme that no source has pointed to the exact date when the Savior will appear and only God knows about the exact timing of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS). The Prophet had said: He will certainly appear and if only a day were to be left to the end of the world God will make that day so long for Mahdi to appear and rise. There are various versions of the exact day of his reappearance. Some say it would be Friday and the date will be Ashura or the 10th of Moharram, the heart-rending martyrdom anniversary of his illustrious ancestor, Imam Husain (AS). Others say the date will be the 25th of the month of Zil-Qa’dah and may coincide with the Spring Equinox or Nowrooz as the Iranians call. A saying attributed to the Prophet’s 6th infallible heir, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (PBUH) says the Mahdi will appear on the Spring Equinox and God will make him defeat Dajjal the Impostor or the antichrist as the Christians say, who will be hanged near the dump of Kufa. The 6th Imam goes on to add: There will be no Nowrooz when we will not be waiting for him."
The Mahdi is expected to come out of a well in Iran. Lampholder wrote, "The Mahdi will emerge at the end of time when those who would call out the name of Allah would be killed." Perhaps they fight against the EU and the Mahdi comes and straightens them out.
"Iraq is an integral part of the Mahdi prophecy, and according to Islamic prophecy, when al-Mahdi appears, the people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance. As a Muslim, when they are summoned to fight "against a people given to vehement war" they must obey in order to receive a reward or otherwise be greatly punished [61.4]...Militant groups in Iraq/Afghanistan, and other parts of the world, will continue to gather and reorganize into a vast army intent on world domination...." [The Lampholder, Sept 10, 2003]
This summoning to war with those who reject Islam is already being called for, specifically targeting Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In addition to the above, I found this Islamic website describing prophetic events they are expecting surrounding the revealing of the 12th Mahdi:
"The Signs of the Reappearance (Qiyam) of the (Imam) who undertakes the Office (al-Qa'im), Peace be on him, the Period of Time of his Appearance, an Explanation of his Life and an Extract of what is revealed about his State.
Traditions have been reported mentioning the signs for the time of the appearance of the Imam who will arise (qa'im), peace be on him, and the events which will take place before his appearance, together with the indications and features of it. Among them are:
the wall of the mosque of Kufa will be destroyed;
"Kufa" is an infidel so this could be referring to the Jewish temple that will be rebuilt
the star will appear in the east giving light just like the moon gives light; then (the new moon) will bend until its two tips almost meet;
a colour will appear in the sky and spread to its horizons;
a fire will appear for a long time in the east remaining in the air for three or seven days;
Matthew 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
the Arabs will throw off the reins and take possession of their land, throwing out the foreign authority;
Luke 17:24-31
For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
Matthew 24:15-18
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Is this confirming that Christ's coming is at the time of the abomination of desolation with lightning from east to west that coincides with the coming of the 12th Mahdi, the false prophet? The "Palestinians" lay claim to Israel as their land and the time of Jacob's trouble is an unparalleled time of trouble for Israel. That is why Christ warned those in Judea to run to the mountains!
And could this too be tied to the soon following wrath of God?
locusts will appear at their usual times and at times not usual so that they attack agricultural land and crops and there will be little harvest for what the people planted;
Revelation 9?
a cry (will come) from the sky (in such a way) that all the people will hear it in their own languages;
This could be one of many things. Angels go and preach the everlasting Gospel through the world before God's wrath is poured out and before the mark of the beast is implemented. Everyone is duly warned.
Revelation 14:6-12
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
The next example is tied to the harpazo of the bride. And also seen in the next example below.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
a face and a chest will appear in the sky before the people in the centre of the sun; the dead will arise from their graves so that they will return to the world and they will recognize one another and visit one another;
at that time they will know of his appearance in Mecca and they will go to him to support him.
(These signs) are as the reports have mentioned. Among the total of these events are some which are bound (to happen) and other which are conditional. God knows best what will take place. We have only mentioned them on the basis of what is recounted in basic sources of tradition (usul) because of their inclusion in traditions which have been handed down. From God we seek help and Him do we ask for success."
Is this also how Christ's coming with these signs be sending a strong delusion as fulfilled prophecy in Islam?
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Revelation 13:11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
The Two Horns
In other prophesies such as that in Revelation 17 as well as Revelation 13, horns represented kings. With the beast from the sea, there are the 10 horns on the seventh head of the beast headed by the man of sin, the antichrist. These represent 10 kings who give their power to the antichrist as I believe we are seeing now in the 10 member-states of the WEU who have given power for "Mr. Europe" to speak for them in foreign policy. This same man is responsible for a 7-year agreement confirmed from the 1995 EUROMED Agreement which also has a mid-term review. To understand how this developed, read Herb L. Peters book Recommendation 666.
What is the identity of this beast from the earth? He has two horns, but what kings might they represent? I believe the false prophet is the 12th Mahdi, expected to come up out of a well in the earth. But what are the two horns? Given the above, I believe they may be two "kings," or leaders of Islam, who will attest to the 12th Mahdi being who he says he is. These horns would talk about peace that the 12th Mahdi is supposed to bring, but the Islamic form of peace where they will conquer the world for their leader.
Who is their ultimate leader? According to scripture, the false prophet has power to call fire from heaven and points all to worship the antichrist heading the revived Roman Empire, beheading any who refuse... sound familiar? There is currently an Islamic Divide I believe this may be why the two horns will be needed to bring the different sects of Islam to accept the 12th Mahdi and "correctly interpret the prophecies" to reveal who their adoration should go to, the man of sin.
Sufi
Wikipedia: Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam that encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Divine love and the cultivation of the elements of the Divine within the individual human being. Practitioners of this tradition are known as "Sufis" generally, though some senior members of the tradition reserve this term for those who have attained the goals of the tradition. Although some people refer to this tradition as Sufism, others refer to it as the Sufi Way. They draw this distinction because they feel that the term "Sufism" refers to a philosophy or a school of thought like capitalism or socialism, and they feel that the Sufi Way describes a practical path to follow. Sufism has been defined as a type of knowledge by the great Sufi masters. Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, a 15th century Sufi who wrote The Principles of Sufism, defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God." Ibn 'Ajiba, one of the best known Sufi masters, defined Sufism as "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inward from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits." The Tariqas, or Sufi orders, may be associated with Sunni Islam or Shia Islam. It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are now found around the world.
Sunni
Wikipedia: Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Sunnism or as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic: people of the example (of Muhammad) and the community) which implies that they are the majority, or Ahl as-Sunnah for short. The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah, which means the words and actions or example of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. They represent the branch of Islam that accepted the caliphate of Abu Bakr due to him being chosen by Shurah. Shurah over the caliphate is the first distinguishing factor of Sunni Islam.
The coming of the Mahdi is a disputed notion within Sunnis. The concept is reported in neither the Sahih al-Bukhari nor Sahih Muslim collection of ahadith. According to scholar Cyril Glasse, "Belief in the Mahdi has been rejected by noted Sunni authorities as being a Messianism .... various Hadith about the Mahdi appear to be inventions to support political causes", It is also reported to be denied by the Ahle Quran and Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama clerics.
On the other hand it is found in Sunan Abi Dawud, Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi and "some non-Shiite Muslims believe that the Mahdi will come in addition to the Second Coming of Jesus." Al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ja’far al-Katani said: "The conclusion is that the hadiths narrated concerning the Mahdi are mutawatir, as are the hadith concerning the Dajjal and the descent of Jesus the son of Mary, upon whom be peace." Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in his fatwa titled The Brief Discourse on the Portents of the Awaited Mahdi, said that denial of the Mahdi is disbelief. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his book The Rose Fragrance Concerning the Reports on al-Mahdi, wrote, "This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, this is the belief of the Sufis, this is the belief of our Shaykhs, and this is the belief of the true Shadhili Shaykhs, whose path both al-Suyuti and al-Haytami followed. Whoever differs with them is a liar and an innovator." Of those Sunnis that hold to the existence of the Mahdi, some believe the Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman. Umm Salamah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon Him) say: ‘The Mahdi is of my lineage and family…’ | Sunan Abu Dawud, 11/373; Sunan Ibn Maajah, 2/1368. Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon Him) said: "He is one of us…" | Reported by Abi Na’eem in Akhbaar al-Mahdi, see al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, 5/219, hadith 5796.
The Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order, under the leadership of Shaikh Hisham Kabbani of Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), is among the Sufis who strongly believe the coming of Imam Mahdi in this 21st Century is imminent. Shaikh Hisham has written a book "The Approach of Armageddon" that touches much on this subject according to Sunni doctrine and beliefs. In the light of traditions and interpretations, the personality of the Promised Mahdi would be as such: It is said "predictions and lore conscerning the Mahdi abound" Among them are that the promised Mahdi would be a Caliph of God and that to make a covenant with him is obligatory. He would belong to the House of Muhammad and would be in the line of Imam Hussein. His name would be Muhammad and his family name would be Abul Qasim, his father's name would be 'Abdu'llah, and he would appear in Medina. He would protect the Muslims from destruction and would restore the religion to its original position.
Shia
Wikipedia: Shī‘a Islam, also Shi‘ite Islam or Shi‘ism, is the largest minority denomination (10-20%) based on the Islamic faith after Sunni Islam. Shias adhere to the teachings of Islamic prophet Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family (who are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt) or his descendants known as Shi'a Imams, whom they consider to be infallible. Shia's assert the right of Ali ibn Abi Talib (Muhammad's cousin and husband of Fatimah) as successor to Muhammad, rejecting the legitimacy of the first three caliphs of Islamic history.
Among Shi‘ites "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea" Shia claim the Mahdi is their 12th Imam, that he is alive and in occultation for 1200 years and is eleven generations down from Muhammad. This is evidenced in a hadith from the Shia text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata. In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,
Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, God will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then. | Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74–75.
The Mahdi, according to Shi'ite tradition, will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned Jesus against the Dajjal, the Antichrist. However, like most religious concepts, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi. Also, as Mahdiism is closely related to the leadership of the Ummah, it has had the potential to be abused as some leaders of secularly focused politico-religious movements in the name of Islam who have claimed to be the Mahdi.
Iran
Iran President Paves the Way for Arabs' Imam Return Persian Journal Article Iran News (November 17, 2005) - His call for the destruction of Israel may have grabbed headlines abroad, but it is President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's devotion to a mystical religious figure that is arousing greater interest inside Iran. In a keynote speech on Wednesday to senior clerics, Ahmadinejad spoke of his strong belief in the second coming of Shi'ite Muslims' "hidden" 12th Imam. According to Shi'ite Muslim teaching, Abul-Qassem Mohammad, the 12th leader whom Shi'ites consider descended from the Prophet Mohammed, disappeared in 941 but will return at the end of time to lead an era of Islamic justice. "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi," Ahmadinejad said in the speech to Friday Prayers leaders from across the country. "Therefore, Iran should become a powerful, developed and model Islamic society." "Today, we should define our economic, cultural and political policies based on the policy of Imam Mahdi's return. We should avoid copying the West's policies and systems," he added, newspapers and local news agencies reported.
Ahmadinejad refers to the return of the 12th Imam, also known as the Mahdi, in almost all his major speeches since he took office in August. A September address to the U.N. General Assembly contained long passages on the Mahdi which confused Western diplomats and irked those from Sunni Muslim countries who believe in a different line of succession from Mohammed. This fascination has prompted wild stories to circulate. Presidential aides have denied a popular rumor that he ordered his cabinet to write a letter to the 12th Imam and throw it down a well near the holy city of Qom where thousands of pilgrims come each week to pray and drop messages to the Imam. But what really has tongues wagging is the possibility that Ahmadinejad's belief in the 12th Imam's return may be linked to the supposed growing influence of a secretive society devoted to the Mahdi which was banned in the early 1980s. Founded in 1953 and used by the Shah of Iran to try to eradicate followers of the Bahai faith, the Hojjatieh Society is governed by the conviction that the 12th Imam's return will be hastened by the creation of chaos on earth. Ahmadinejad, who is only the second non-cleric to become president since the revolution, has made clear his immense respect for Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, a deeply conservative cleric with close ties to the Hojjatieh-founded Haqqani theological school in Qom. Conspiracy theorists, never in short supply in Iran, allege that many members of Ahmadinejad's cabinet and other key appointees are Haqqani graduates and Hojjatieh followers. "It seems that they (Hojjatieh members) have recently become more active and are spread through the government," said a political analyst who declined to be named. "The president has repeatedly said his government will pave the way for the Imam's return." But others point out that many former government officials, perceived as moderates, graduated from Haqqani. Haqqani's continued links to Hojjatieh, though rumored, have not been proven and it remains one of the most prestigious theological schools in Qom. Ahmadinejad's emphasis on the importance of development and justice to encourage the Mahdi's return, also suggest an important divergence from Hojjatieh thinking. But he would be better advised to focus his speeches on practical rather than religious issues, said former Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi. "Of course, we must pray for the return of the Imam, but we must also tackle inflation and unemployment," the reformist cleric told Reuters.
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Shiite/Sunni rapprochement? - Abdullah, Ahmadinejad Hold Wide-Ranging Talks Arab News (December 21, 2007) - Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah held talks here yesterday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on major regional and international issues as well as ways of strengthening bilateral ties, the Saudi Press Agency said. Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian president to perform Haj as guest of a Saudi king, arrived in the Kingdom on Monday accompanied by top aides. Nearly three million pilgrims from different parts of the Islamic world including several thousands from Iran performed Haj this year. “In my discussion with King Abdullah we discussed different ways to consolidate the brotherly relations among Muslim nations,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the Iranian media covering his trip. He described Tehran’s relations with Riyadh as “friendly,” adding: “The message of my presence here is boosting ties among Islamic nations.” Iranian pilgrims in the Kingdom expressed their hope that Ahmadinejad’s participation in the pilgrimage would help repair ties between the Islamic republic and its Arab neighbors. “Ahmadinejad’s Haj, since it comes at the invitation of the Saudi king, shows that Muslim nations are supporting one another in times of need,” an Iranian teacher said. “Having ties with big Arab nations is a sign of unity among Muslims, and the West will understand that it cannot divide Shiites and Sunnis,” said Hossein, a trader from Mashhad in northeastern Iran. Earlier this month, Ahmadinejad attended a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Qatar, becoming the first Iranian president to attend a GCC summit. Addressing the summit, the president tried to allay fears of his Gulf neighbors and presented a 12-point program to promote relations between Tehran and the six-member GCC. In his speech at the summit, Ahmadinejad offered to sign a security pact with the GCC that groups Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. “I personally hope that President Ahmadinejad will be able to successfully implement his plans and improve Iran’s international situation (as a result of the pilgrimage),” said university student Ali Rahmati. Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005.
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The Fourth Seal
So could it be that religious leaders from the two main branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia, will both declare the man from the well as the 12th Mahdi, bringing all of Islam under his authority? The Suffi are a part of both branches and if the 12th Mahdi is important to them, mingled in with both Sunni and Shia, with the mixture of signs and lying wonders, I don't think it is too far-fetched to believe that Islam would finally unite under this Mahdi beholden to the antichrist.
Revelation 6:7,8
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Notice that power is given to death and hell over 1/4 of the earth and those kill with sword, hunger, death and beasts of the earth. I believe that the fourth seal being broken is the rise of the 12th Mahdi and the global uniting of Islam, which comprises about 1/4 of the earth's population, under their prophet who will direct their worship to the man of sin when He is revealed at the abomination of desolation. I also find it interesting that the color green hold much significance in Islam.
link: A most compelling proof that Muhammad taught his followers to advance the cause of Allah by the use of the sword, is provided by the example of his immediate successors, known as Califs. They followed his intense fanaticism in waging relentless wars of conquests against Christians, Jews, and pagans. In a relatively short time they carved an enormous empire for themselves. At the height of their power, the Muslims' territories stretched from northern Africa and southern Europe in the West to the borders of modern India and China in the East. Their battle cry was: "Before you is paradise, and behind you are death and hell."
If we examine the historic fruits of those who have come against Israel with a Satanic hatred such as NAZI Germany and Islam, we see why Islam might accept a Roman antichrist once he desecrates the Jewish temple and then commands his followers kill all Jews where they find them. This is part of Islamic prophecy as well when rocks and trees will cry out that there is a Jew behind them and to come and kill them. Remember also that the false prophet can call fire from heaven and has others such signs and lying wonders. What kind of zealous, supernatural army of devout followers might arise from these conditions?
Joel 2:1-10
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
What is increasingly interesting is the timeframe for all this to occur. According to Bible prophecy, the sixth seal with which the above passage ends, is "immediately after the tribulation of those days," Matthew 24:29, referring to the time of Jacob's trouble immediately following the abomination of desolation. Furthermore, Joel 2:31 states that the day of the Lord, the beginning of God's wrath, comes after the sixth seal is broken by Christ. So the fourth seal is the rise of Islam under the 12th Mahdi. The fifth seal speaks of martyrs being killed and waiting for their fellowservants to be killed followed by the sixth seal, which are the signs ending Joel 2:10!
Given the above, I believe that the false prophet will be the 12th Mahdi, backed by the major sects of Islam to unite Islam and redirect worship on the earth to the man of sin.
The Vatican
As part of my research into Islam, I learned the story of Islam's beginnings and how the Vatican was intimately involved in it. I believe this is the other main religion that will be redirected to worship the antichrist is the Catholic Church. Current trends have the Popes walking down the all-inclusive religious road where all paths lead to God and we all worship the same God with different names. This lie only works if one doesn't know anything about other religious beliefs. The truth of the matter is that by removing any distinction between religions, you destroy the foundations of those religions dictated by their holy books in favor of a personalized version with no foundation. The ultimate end of this is to have a society with no foundation recognizing an idea of God, but basing proof of God on signs and wonders rather than faith. Then when Satan comes with his signs and lying wonders like blood-crying statues and visions in the skies, or in the future calling fire from heaven, then the world will have a place to direct and found their worship on, the antichrist. Read more on this plan from Albert Pike's 1871 letter about the three world wars planned and carried out.
Revelation 17:1-7; 12-18
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns... And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
The only thing that can rule over the kings many nations in the earth is religious control that spans all politics. So this woman riding the political beast who has been controlling the seven heads through history is in the end a religious institution mingling other religion with Christianity and idols and influencing politics while showing extravagance in wealth and traditions of men. In the end, the Bible says the 10 kings of the political structure will maul the woman and burn her with fire according to God's will for her destruction. If this Babylon of mingled religion is labeled mystery Babylon the great, is her prophesied destruction in the Bible what we find in the next chapter?
Revelation 18:1-10
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
While Roman Catholicism has introduced many false doctrines into their religious structure, the Bible is still the foundation of the belief system even if it isn't obeyed to the letter. However, the exclusive claims of the Bible to the Truth go against everything the 10 kings and the antichrist will be forcing on the world. I believe it is this reason why those who don't worship the antichrist from the Catholic Church and remain true to faith in Christ will be hated by the 10 horns and attacked by them as well as a possible power struggle by the Vatican, which it loses, to keep the power it had over the centuries.
Once people accept the antichrist over Yeshua, they are no longer holding even Catholic beliefs and so they will become victims in the war on the saints while the evil structure centered on the seven hills in Rome will be destroyed for the wickedness through history shown in the conquering nature of the power-hungry leaders. There is also a secret society connection related to plans carried out to control the world as well. I believe this is why we are warned to come out of her (Catholicism) because what uses the Bible as a front is rotten at its core, lies covered by parts of Truth. We don't need priests, Popes or any man to tell us what the Bible says if we just read it, the Holy Spirit guides our understanding. We all need to seriously examine where our true allegiance lies, with God or with men. God's Word reveals the Truth, men often have their own selfish agendas. Personally I desire Truth and reality, everything else is vain imaginings.
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The Time-Period - A Prophetic Picture of Al-Qaeda (with a new name) and Islamic Terrorism Through 2014
2001 - WTC announcement/awakening to shake the world [the New Millennium began in 2001 and marked the beginning of the Islamic countdown; a planned disappearance coinciding with the Jewish Rosh haShanah];
2003 - Ramadan (Ramazan) - Imam Mahdi announcement proclaimed to the world [the splitting of the Moon/lunar eclipse(s) of Ramadan; Al Mahdi is invisible and in hiding/seclusion]. The double eclipse occurred Nov 9 and 23rd. Both eclipses occurred during Ramadan 2003 between Oct 27 thru Nov 27th.
2004 - 2005 Ramadan - Mahdi's emergence planned (the two eclipses of 2003 to 2005)
From 2003 to 2005 - the only befitting time-frame for this part of Islamic eschatology to begin unfolding. There will be no other time-frame that even comes close to this for several thousand years; many significant "signs in the sky" will point to this time-period as the most historically prophetic time in Islamic history.
2006 - 2007 Mahdi will emerge from hiding/seclusion as the new Khaleefah [1427] to rule for seven (7) years. He will be revealed first to the Inner Circle of 12 and then to the 313 Mujahidin of the Mahdi (or Taliyah Al-mahdi);
2013 - Mahdi's armies will fight Dajjal and his army in a great battle [Sura al-Qiyamah Ayaat 7-9];
2014 - Mahdi/Islamic followers seek to conquer the world for Islam - as a result, all people will recite and follow one Kalimah [word] and one religion [Islam]
The following video speaks to the Islamic perspective of the Mahdi. From the video, "In the wake of great disasters, war and suffering, mankind will seek the answer to just one question, 'Where does our salvation lie?' " This sounds kind of like what Albert Pike wrote in 1871 regarding the Illuminati plans to bring about the pure doctrine of Lucifer. For more on the Illuminati plans, watch The Secret of Solomon's Key Revealed. Also Exposing the Illuminati From Within.
"The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the "agentur" of the "Illuminati" between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion…We shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time."
After reading the Bible prophecies about the false prophet that leads people to worship the antichrist.
"At that very moment of dispair, god will charge his spiritual entity to call mankind out of the chaos and onto the true path. The Mahdi. The word means, 'he who leads people to the truth.' According to the prophet's sayings, the Mahdi will first wage a struggle in the Islamic world and return those Muslims who have broken away from the essence of Islam back to true belief and morality. He will have three basic tasks at this point
The overthrow of philosophical systems that deny god and support atheism.
Putting an end to practices that are not part of the religion, but that are portrayed as being so.
The revealing and implementation of true Islamic morality based on the Koran. Starting with his own nation and moving on to strengthen the entire Islamic world in political and social terms, establishing peace, well-being and security and resolving social problems."
The End Times and the Mahdi
The end times ... According to Islam, this concept represents a time, near to Doomsday, when Qur’anic morality will come to prevail over all the world. The Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, has described it in considerable detail in the hadeeths, that is, his sayings. After the Prophet, a number of great Islamic scholars have given further accounts of the subject. All of these reveal that the end times will contain a number of consecutive events. In the first stage of the end times, the world will become degenerate because of a number of philosophical systems that deny God. Mankind will move away from the purpose behind its creation, leading to a terrible spiritual emptiness and moral collapse. In the wake of great disasters, wars and suffering, mankind will seek the answer to just one question ‘Where does salvation lie?’ At that very moment of despair, God will charge a "spiritual entity" to call mankind out of the chaos and onto the true path; The Mahdi. The word means "he who leads people to the truth."
0:41:18
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Articles for study:
Islamic Prophecy: The Coming Mahdi Lampholder Publications (Feb 2, 2007)
Letter to The Lampholder -
"Dear Sir: "...You mentioned earthquakes occurring in Muslim world, alright you are certainly right, because according to the our Prophet this is the most difficult time, why because we have deviated from God's path. We have also deviated from Quran, so all Muslims are undergoing punishment until they realize that they are being killed throughout the world only and only because of the reason I mentioned above; but good time is about arrive. The US is going to try and stop the prophecy of Imam Mehdi; but when Imam Mehdi will come, he will come with divine power and not be dependent on Muslim extremists. Why these Muslim extremist have emerged, because of US oppression. The US is a great Devil whose end is not that far according to Islam, they are the one who have brought killing, injustice and so many things to the world on the advice of Israel , the nation which is highly unliked by God. In fact, the US is not bringing the end to the prophecy of Imam Mehdi, rather they are bringing his arrival ever closer." --Imran
Al-Mahdi will supposedly "descend" from the mountains of what country? al-Mahdi's capital will ultimately be in Damascus, Syria (ancient Assyria); but the central location for the al-Mahdi's appearance, spoken of by Muhammad, and the key areas for Islamic end-times prophecy are found both in Iraq (specifically Baghdad) and Afghanistan, ancient Khurasan; Iran will pave the way. ...and where are U.S. troops currently fighting battles in the Middle East, etc.? The United States, and coalition partners, are essentially fighting against the army of al-Mahdi (and al-qaeda), and the al-Mahdi of Islamic eschatology reveals this to be the time of his soon appearance on the world scene. The womb is in the belly, the middle, deep within, hidden, the beginning, the birthing process; The belly [womb] is the central location, symbolic, a place, the capitol, the center of the world; The belly of Israel is Jerusalem; The belly of the United States is Washington D.C.; The belly, or navel of the universe, within the Arab World is "BAGHDAD" (The Lampholder 2003)
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The Mahdi Prophecy and Islamic Time-Line to Judgment The original article for this information is found in the Lampholder Publications' Article Archive (synopsis below) (April 17, 2004) - "Interestingly, the Mahdi army in Iraq does fit into the time-line and Mahdi prophecy of the mujahadeen of Iraq. Jaish al Mahdi (Mahdi Army) will attempt to organize within Iraq to bring about civil war and superiority within region"
"prophecies culminating in the coming of the 'Mahdi'"
"the coming of the Mahdi" - a messianic figure Muslims expect to lead them in victory against the infidels in the last days"
"another attack is planned against the US"
"an assassination attempt? against an Egyptian and Jordanian official"
"a divine signal from the stars in heaven"
"a victory in Jerusalem and a war in Syria"
"the Internet as a tool of Ji'had"
"a time-line for the apocalyptic prophecy"
"...a warning to Muslims to distance themselves from possible targets"
"another European country to be hit...(but not limited to) Italy and/or the Vatican (see Lampholder global warnings)"
"the latest Ramadan saw...three aligned stars"
"...the Q'uran, predicts the messianic figure will arise in the last days"
"the terrorists crossing the border into Iraq with al-Qaida ties are doing so because of their belief in this Islamic prophecy"...but there is even more to this puzzle!
Please visit the Lampholder page for the remainder.
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A Sign of the Reappearance (al-qa'im) of the (Imam) (September 10, 2003) - Both the nearness of Mars and the November 2003 eclipses may have special significance in Islamic eschatology because it was prophesied that when a constant beam of light from the star (the planet Mars), shines brighter than the moon and appears in the East, it will be the time of the appearance of Imam Mahdi. From the "Wild Horse Prophecy" - "A signal sounded, the flag was raised, and the skillful horsemen emerged from a heated, desert sun..." Has The Banner Been Raised?
We will send down on them signs from the sky, and their necks will remain bent submissively to them. (XXVI 4)
...The chest and face of man will appear in the centre of the sun, who will be recognized by his standing and genealogy
A prophecy in ancient Islamic tradition (usul) indicates a black wind (huayra yana) will rise up at the beginning of "The Day" [of judgment] and then a great earthquake will shake the land so much that it will almost be swallowed up; "before the one who will arise (al-qa'im), there will be red death and white death; there will be locusts at their usual time and at their unusual time like the colours of blood. As for red death that is (from) the sword, while white death is (from) plague." (1)
In the Islamic Hadith, the hour for the end-of-the-world, and the prophets who awake at the Last Judgment [salawatullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain], cannot occur until the al-Mahdi comes forth, "the Guided one," the descendant of Fatima from the family of Muhammad. Mahdi is a man, not a prophet. In Islamic eschatology, Mahdi will lead the people for seven years just prior to the return of the [Islamic] Jesus [Isa]. Mahdi will lead Muslims in victory over an antichrist (the Dajjal), Europeans, Americans, Jews, and the white race in general. A great war known as al-Malhamah al-Kubrah (also known to the Christian as Armageddon) will occur upon the face of the Earth. According to Islamic prophecy, this war will be carried out because Al-Hajj.39 permits Muslims to fight [against disbelievers; qitl fee sibil-Allah; Infidels] who fight against Muslim believers' victory [the al-Mumrin]. NOTE: All Infidels are nonMuslims, and the hypocrites [and apostates] are Muslims who align with the Infidels. Apostate Muslims and the mushrik [polytheist] are considered counterfeit and not considered to be true, authentic Muslims. They, along with the Infidels, are to be eliminated.
The purpose of victory in this war is the conversion of the entire world to Islam in the cause of Allah [Jihad fee sibil-Allah]. Those who do not believe in Allah, the Last Day, or acknowledgement of the [Islamic] religion of truth must pay Jizya with willing submission [they must be subdued; 9.38]. All of those unwilling to convert will be killed because, according to the prophecy, God's object is to purge those that are true in faith and to deprive of blessing those that "resist" faith [3:142]. After this time-period of great purging and conversion, then peace will encompass the entire world comprised entirely of Muslim followers.
Mahdi's capital will ultimately be in Damascus, Syria (ancient Assyria); but the central location for the Mahdi's appearance, spoken of by Muhammad, and the key areas for Islamic end-times prophecy are found both in Iraq (specifically Baghdad) and Afghanistan, ancient Khurasan. In the Arab world, Baghdad is the belly, or naval of the universe, just as Jerusalem is the belly of Israel, and Washington D.C. is the belly of the United States. It is in Afghanistan where Muhammad prophesied the Mahdi will gather together a great army. Islamic militants see these areas of the world as prophetic territory for Arab armies to unite against the evils [infidels] of the world, and with one goal - a march toward Jerusalem.
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The return of the Mahdi; Islam will dominate the world, A mushroom cloud, right in the midst of Israel! (May 5, 2006) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was invited to speak at the United Nations in October 2005. At the conclusion of his discourse, he called upon Allah to quickly usher in the re-emergence of the "Twelfth" or "Hidden Imam," sometimes referred to as the "Mahdi." Ahmadinejad is a Shia Muslim. Many of them believe that the Twelfth Imam, or Mahdi, the last in a line of saints descended from Ali, the founder of their sect, vanished down a well near Jamkaran, Iran, in AD 941. According to their beliefs, he went into a state of "occultation," like the sun being hidden behind the clouds; and, after a stormy period of apocalyptic wars, the clouds will part, and the "sun" (the Mahdi) will be revealed. They believe that when he is released from his imprisonment, the entire world will submit to Islam. The world may smirk as they hear the president of Iran talking of the return of the Mahdi and think it is just a bunch of religious foolishness. But, he is dead serious. Not only does he believe it, but the tens of thousands of mullahs controlling ancient Persia believe it also. It is their mission from God. But just who is this "Mahdi," this Hidden Imam? Some thought it was the Ayatollah Khomeini. In fact, when he returned to Iran in February 1979 following the overthrow of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, the roads leading into Tehran were lined with nearly 2 million Shia Muslims screaming "al-Muntazar." The grand ayatollah was quick to deny that he was "al-Muntazar," one of the names given to the Hidden Imam. In other words, many thought Khomeini was the awakened Mahdi. Khomeini did, however, explain to his followers that he was the forerunner, the one who had come to open the way for the Hidden Imam to make his reappearance. more...
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The Four 4 Horsemen, al Mahdi, and the Magnetic Polar Reversal (March 14, 2006) - Written by Jack Kelley: Liberal scholars often identify the rider of the white horse as the Lord Jesus, pointing to his crown and the fact that he's a conqueror. I think some part of their conclusion comes from watching all those TV westerns as kids, where the good guys always rode white horses. I say that because this rider is most definitely not Jesus. He's the anti-Christ.
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The Mahdi: Islam’s Awaited Messiah (March 10, 2006) - If you don't know Bible prophecy that well, this will intrigue you. If you do know Bible prophecy a little bit, the parallels will amaze you. Written by Joel Richardson: Excerpt from chapter of online book called Will Islam Be Our Future? Or at Amazon.com: $11.69 Antichrist: Islam's Awaited Messiah
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THE AWAITED ONE Imam: THE TWELFTH HOLY IMAM - Born: On Friday, 15th of Shaban, 225 AH in Samarra, northern Iraq Date of Death: Unknown as he is still living and waiting God's Divine Order to make himself known to the world and fight injustice and instigate justice, law and order for all mankind! He is the last of the Holy Infallible Imams of the people on earth and with him the fine of succession to The Holy Prophet now ends. The Imam (as) will appear and will: Crush all kinds of Oppression from any quarter, Restore God's Law and Order and make Justice once again prevail supreme. The Holy Prophet and the all other Eleven Imams have said that the Imam AI-Mehdi will live until he has full control of the whole wide world, and make Justice prevail and will do away with all kind of tyranny. He will re-establish the Islamic Religion and make it prevail even though the Paganist and the unbelievers will all dislike and object to his cause violently. After his Occultation( hiding) the special deputation of the Imam(as) would come.to an end and the Ghaybat Al-Kubra (Major Occultation) would begin and would continue until the day God grants permission to the Imam to manifest himself.
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Waiting for the Imam's Return to Earth (October 3, 2006) - The followers of Moqtada al-Sadr believe that the US invaded Iraq to prevent the return to Earth of their sect’s messiah-like figure, the Mahdi, or 12th Imam. Hojatoleslam al-Sadr claims that his militia is preparing for the day when the Mahdi, the last direct descendent of the revered Shia figure Ali, reappears. Shia believe that the Mahdi, who disappeared in 868, will bring justice to Earth. At a prayer service in the central Iraqi city of Kufa on September 15, the cleric told a crowd of thousands that the Americans were collecting a dossier on the Mahdi to prevent his return. “Did you ever ask yourself about why all of this, the bloodshed and the prisons? Why are the brothers fighting each other for a political game planned by the Americans? This all happened because they (the Americans) are waiting for the Mahdi. This planning started ten years ago. They have a big file for Imam Mahdi and they just need his picture to complete it.” more... | Islam | America |
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IRANIAN PRESIDENT—LOOKING FOR MAHDI TO APPEAR SOON (January 25, 2006) - If you have followed our ministry since the early 1990s, you are aware of the teaching of the coming Islamic Mahdi. According to the Shiite branch of the Islamic religion the 12th Imam disappeared as a child in AD 941. Most Shiites believe he has been supernaturally preserved somewhere in the Middle East , either in Saudi Arabia or Iraq , and will re-emerge at the end of days. They contend that he will unite the Islamic world in the end of days, and three things will happen: He will lead an Islamic revival in which the Jews will be destroyed. Christians will forsake their belief in the Trinity. And Christians will acknowledge that Jesus is not the Son of God. For centuries this Islamic tradition was whispered, mostly among the faithful, in the area of the Middle East . Since the re-establishment of the modern nation of Israel , however, the belief and teaching about the importance of the Mahdi is stronger than at any other time in modern history. more...
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STRONG WORDS FROM IRAN (December 9, 2005) - "Jamkaran, the shrine to the 12th imam, the Mahdi. The faithful write their prayers. He is their most revered saint, their only hope. One day, they believe, he'll return to Earth through the well which lies under the postbox. In the meantime, they mail him their wishes. Now, it seems the Mahdi has become political. Iran's new president says he's a devotee of the 12th imam and of Jamkaran. One of the first things Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did on becoming president was to allocate $17 million to this shrine to the 12th imam, the Mahdi. All Shias believe that one day the Mahdi will return, but some Iranians are beginning to worry that their new president is reorienting the country's politics towards that day. For eight years, Iran was run by reformists who talked of democracy and disparaged such religiosity, but the new president talks the language of the people. Mr. Ahmadinejad shocked western governments when he said Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth. He used Basiij Day to send another hard-line message to Europe and America, the countries trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear technology. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD (Translated): You whose arsenals are full of nuclear weapons, you who have used nuclear weapons this century against defenseless people and nations, you who used depleted uranium in the Iraq war, you whose arsenals are full of chemical and biological weapons, who are you to come out and say that you're suspicious of Iran's nuclear program?" How fitting that Islam's messiah should ascend to the Earth from a well.......In the Middle Eastern Pagan religions the underworld of the dead is called absu which translates as abyss.
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Iran, 12th Imam, End-Times
THE AWAITED ONE Imam: THE TWELFTH HOLY IMAM - Born: On Friday, 15th of Shaban, 225 AH in Samarra, northern Iraq Date of Death: Unknown as he is still living and waiting God's Divine Order to make himself known to the world and fight injustice and instigate justice, law and order for all mankind! He is the last of the Holy Infallible Imams of the people on earth and with him the fine of succession to The Holy Prophet now ends. The Imam(as) will appear and will:
Crush all kinds of Oppression from any quarter
Restore God's Law and Order and make Justice once again prevail supreme.
The Holy Prophet and the all other Eleven Imams have said that the Imam AI-Mehdi will live until he has full control of the whole wide world, and make Justice prevail and will do away with all kind of tyranny.
He will re-establish the Islamic Religion and make it prevail even though the Paganist and the unbelievers will all dislike and object to his cause violently.
After his Occultation( hiding) the special deputation of the Imam(as) would come to an end and the Ghaybat Al-Kubra (Major Occultation) would begin and would continue until the day God grants permission to the Imam to manifest himself.
The Society of the Muslim Brothers (often simply الإخوان Al-Ikhwān, The Brotherhood or MB) is an Islamist transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. The group is the world's oldest and largest Islamic political group,[1] and the "world's most influential Islamist movement."[2] The Brotherhood has as its slogan Islam is the solution.[3] It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and Sufi schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna.
The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state". Since its inception in 1928 the movement has officially opposed violent means to achieve its goals. Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, calls it "conservative and non-violent," and "poorly understood - especially in the West." The Brotherhood condemned terrorism and the 9/11 attacks, but whether or not it has ties to terrorism is a matter of dispute.The Brotherhood's nonviolent stance has resulted in breakaway groups from the movement, including the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and Al Takfir Wal Hijra.Osama bin Laden has similarly criticized the Brotherhood, and accused it of betraying jihad and the ideals of Sayyid Qutb, an influential Brother member and author of Milestones. In Egypt, the Brotherhood has stated that, while it seeks the establishment of an Islamic state, it would not force women to cover up.
The Muslim brotherhood started off as a social organization, preaching Islam, teaching the illiterate, setting up hospitals, and even launched commercial enterprises. As it continued to rise in influence, starting in 1936, it began to oppose British rule in Egypt.[16] Many Egyptian nationalists accuse the Brotherhood of violent killings during this period.[17] After the Arab defeat in 1948, the Egyptian government dissolved the organization and arrested its members; its founder, al-Banna, was assassinated.[16] After the Egyptian coup of 1952, which was supported by the Brotherhood, it was once again banned and repressed.[3] Though the Brotherhood spread to other countries, it was suppressed there too: in 1982, Syria violently crushed a Brotherhood revolt (Hama massacre).[18] Starting in the 1980s it entered Egypt's political arena, forming alliances with other parties, and fielding "independent"[19] candidates. When in 2005, the Brotherhood won 20% of the seats, Hosni Mubarak cracked down on the group. As of 2011, the Brotherhood took an active part in the Egyptian protests.[3]
The Brotherhood is financed by contributions from its members, who are required to allocate a portion of their income to the movement. Some of these contributions are from members who live in oil-rich countries.
In the group's belief, the Quran and Sunnah constitute a perfect way of life and social and political organization that God has set out for man. Islamic governments must be based on this system and eventually unified in a Caliphate. The Muslim Brotherhood's goal, as stated by Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna was to reclaim Islam’s manifest destiny, an empire, stretching from Spain to Indonesia.[21] It preaches that Islam enjoins man to strive for social justice, the eradication of poverty and corruption, and political freedom to the extent allowed by the laws of Islam. The Brotherhood strongly opposes Western colonialism, and helped overthrow the pro-western monarchies in Egypt and other Muslim nations during the early 20th century.
An important belief on the part of intellectuals who have assisted the organization is the reemergence of Islamic Civilization because Western Civilization is perceived to be in decline; in the words of a 2007 essay, "More than forty years ago the premise was made clear: The period of the Western system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those life-giving values, which enabled it to be the leader of mankind." As Sayyid Qutb, an Islamic intellectual and supporter of the Brotherhood wrote in his 1963 book, Milestones, (Ma'alim fi al-Tariq), "The leadership of mankind by Western man is now on the decline, not because Western culture has become poor materially or because its economic and military power has become weak. The period of the Western system has come to an end primarily because it is deprived of those life-giving values, which enabled it to be the leader of mankind. It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which is positive and constructive, and which is practicable. Islam is the only System which possesses these values and this way of life. [22]
On the issue of women and gender the Muslim Brotherhood interprets Islam conservatively. Its founder called for "a campaign against ostentation in dress and loose behavior," "segregation of male and female students," a separate curriculum for girls, and "the prohibition of dancing and other such pastimes..."[23]
The MB is a movement, not a political party, but members have created political parties in several countries, such as the Islamic Action Front in Jordan and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. These parties are staffed by Brotherhood members but kept independent from the MB to some degree, unlike Hizb ut-Tahrir which is highly centralized.[24]
Organization
The Transcripts[25] the following hierarchical Organisation structure can be derived:
* The General Organisational Conference is the highest body of the Ikhwans stemming from the Ikhwans bases, every Usra elects one or two deputies according to its number.
* The Shura Council has the duties of planning, charting general policies and programs that achieve the goal of the Group. Its resolutions are binding to the Group and only the General Organisational Conference can modify or annul them and the Shura Office has also the right to modify or annul resolutions of the Executive Office. It follows the implementation of the Group policies and programs. It directs the Executive Office and it forms dedicated branch committees to assist in that.[26]
* Executive Office (Guidance Office) with its leader the General Masul (General Guide) and its members, both appointed by the Shura Office, has to follow up and guide the activities of the General Organisation. It submits a periodical report to the Shura Council about its work and of the activity of the domestic bodies and the general organisations. It distributes its duties to its members according to the internal bylaws.
It has the following divisions (not complete): – Executive leadership – Organisational office – Secretariat general – Education office – Political office – Sisters office
In each country there is a Branch committee with a Masul (leader) appointed by the General Executive leadership with essentially the same Branch-divisions as the Executive office has. To the duties of every branch belong fundraising, infiltrating in and overtaking other Muslim organisations for the sake of uniting the Muslims to dedicate them to the general goals of the MB.
The general goals and strategic plans of the MB are only found in Arabic documents. One for Europe called "The Project" was found in 2001 in Switzerland, another for North America was found in 2005 called the "General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America."[27] An evaluation of this Memorandum was made for the US-Congress and for the Pentagon.[28] Their influence is fast growing, especially in Europe, but not easy to trace while the active members have to keep their membership secret.
One citation from the document "General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America"[29] makes the objectives of the MB clear: "The process of settlement is a 'Civilization-Jihadist Process' with all the word means. 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."
Main activity-plan
The main goals on mid-term as approved by the Executive office and the Shura Council are formulated in a 5-year action plan derived from transcripts. Note that the following goals are derived from a speech made in the 1980s by Zeid al-Norman - an American-based supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and may or may not reflect the global goals of the organization:[30]
Primary goals
* reinstatement of the caliphate and reunite the "dar el Islam" (Countries where Muslims are free to practice their religion)
* Strengthening the internal structure
* Administrative discipline
* Recruitment and settlement of the Dawa'a (lectures and speeches about Islam)
* Energizing the organisations work
* Energizing political work fronts (e.g. in civil political organisations)
Secondary goals
* Finance and Investment
* Foreign relations
* Reviving Woman's activity
* Political awareness to the members of the Group
* Securing the group (To find out if they are being monitored, and if, how they can get rid of them)
* Dawa'ah (the lecture/speech of religion)
* Media (influencing of and infiltration in the media)
* Taking advantage of human potentials (e.g. infiltration in education, civil organisations)
In Egypt
Main article: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
Hassan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Ismailia in March 1928 along with six workers of the Suez Canal Company. It began as a religious, political, and social movement with the credo, “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”[31][32] Al-Banna called for the return to an original Islam and followed Islamic reformers like Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida. According to him, contemporary Islam had lost its social dominance, because most Muslims had been corrupted by Western influences. Sharia law based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah were seen as laws passed down by Allah that should be applied to all parts of life, including the organization of the government and the handling of everyday problems.[33]
The Brotherhood also saw itself as a political and social movement . Al-Banna strived to be a populist. The Muslim Brotherhood claimed to want to protect the workers against the tyranny of foreign and monopolist companies. It founded social institutions such as hospitals, pharmacies, schools, etc. However, in addition to holding conservative views on issues such as women's rights,[23] it was from the start extremely hostile to independent working-class and popular organisations such as trade unions.[33] This is disputed however by William Cleveland, who points out that the Muslim Brotherhood became involved with the labour movement early on, and supported efforts to create trades unions and unemployment benefits.[34]
By 1936, it had 800 members, then this number increased greatly to up to 200,000 by 1938. By 1948, the Brotherhood had about half a million members. Robin Hallett says: "By the late 1940s the Brotherhood was reckoned to have as many as 2 million members, while its strong Pan-Islamic ideas had gained its supporters in other Arab lands".[35] The Muslim Brotherhood also tried to build up something like an Islamist International, thus founding groups in Lebanon (in 1936), Syria (1937), and Transjordan (1946). It also recruited among the foreign students in Cairo. Its headquarters in Cairo became a center and meeting place for representatives from the whole Muslim world.[33]
Underground links to the Nazis began during the 1930s and were close during the Second World War, involving agitation against the British, Jewish immigration to Palestine, espionage and sabotage, as well as support for terrorist activities orchestrated by Haj Amin el-Hussaini in British Mandate Palestine, as a wide range of declassified documents from the British, American and Nazi German governmental archives, as well as from personal accounts and memoirs from that period, confirm.[36] Reflecting this connection the Muslim Brotherhood also disseminated Hitler's Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion widely in Arab translations, helping to deepen and extend already existing hostile views about Jews and secular Western societies generally.[37]
In November 1948 police seized an automobile containing the documents and plans of what was thought to be the Brotherhood's "secret apparatus" (its military wing) with names of its members. The seizure was preceded by an assortment of bombings and assassination attempts by the apparatus. Subsequently 32 of its leaders were arrested and its offices raided.[17] The next month the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mahmud Fahmi Nokrashi, ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood.
In what is thought to be retaliation for these acts, a member of the Brotherhood, veterinary student Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, assassinated the Prime Minister on December 28, 1948. A month and half later Al-Banna himself was killed in Cairo by men believed to be government agents and/or supporters of the murdered premier.
The Brotherhood has been an illegal organization, tolerated to varying degrees, since 1954 when it was convicted of the attempt to assassinate Gamal Abdel Nasser, head of the Egyptian government. The group had denied involvement in the incident and accused the government of staging the incident to use it as a pretext to persecute the group and its members. On this basis from 1954 until Nasser's death in 1970, thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members were systematically tortured under Nasser's secular regime, highlighted in Zainab al Ghazali's Return of the Pharaoh. More recently, since the mid-2000s, some young Muslim Brotherhood members have publicly identified themselves as members of the banned organizations on their blogs, where they have been critical of both the existing system as well as aspects of the Muslim Brotherhood organization itself.[38]
The Brotherhood is still periodically subjected to mass arrests. It remains the largest opposition group in Egypt, advocating Islamic reform, democratic system and maintaining a vast network of support through Islamic charities working among poor Egyptians.[39] The political direction it has been taking lately has tended towards more moderate secular "Islamism" and so-called Islamic Democracy comparable to Christian Democrat movements in Europe, the Christian-right in the United States, and the Muslim oriented democratic parties of Turkey.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood's candidates, who had to run as independents due to their illegality as a political party, won 88 seats (20% of the total) to form the largest opposition bloc. The electoral process was marred by many irregularities, including the arrest of hundreds of Brotherhood members. One observer, Jameel Theyabi, writing in an op-ed for Dar Al-Hayat, noted that a December 2006 campus demonstration by Muslim Brotherhood university students that included the "wearing of uniforms, displaying the phrase, 'We Will be Steadfast', and the drills involving martial arts, betray the group's intent to plan for the creation of militia structures, and a return by the group to the era of 'secret cells'...." .[40]
Of course, the huge gains in the 2005 parliamentary elections allowed the Brotherhood to pose "a democratic political challenge to the regime, not a theological one" .[41] Initially, there has been widespread skepticism regarding the movement's commitment to use its influence to push Egypt forward towards a democratic state. For instance, briefly after the elections Sameh Fawzy remarked in the Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, "If the Muslim Brotherhood were in a position to enforce its ideological monopoly, the vast majority of the populace would face severe restrictions on its freedom of opinion and belief, not just on religious matters, but on social, political, economic and cultural affairs as well" [42] However, considering its actions in the Egyptian parliament since 2005, it appears that those skeptics misjudged the movement's scope. In an article for the Middle East Report Samer Shehata from Georgetown University and Joshua Stacher from the British University in Egypt claim that, in fact, it was the Muslim Brotherhood that revived a parliament that till then had "a reputation for being a rubber stamp for the regime" .[43] First of all, according to their observations, the movement did not simply "focus on banning books and legislating the length of skirts" .[44] Instead, the movement's involvement shows attempts to reform the political system. Unlike other MPs, those associated with the Brotherhood took their parliamentary duties very seriously as an "unmatched record of attendance" [43] already shows. Moreover, they also took their role as members of the opposition to the ruling NDP quite seriously. A significant example is the creation of a considerable opposition to the extension of the emergency law when MPs associated with the Brotherhood "formed a coalition with other opposition legislators and with sympathetic members of the NDP, to protest the extension" .[41] The overall involvement leads Shehata and Stacher to the conclusion that the Brotherhood has convincingly attempted to transform "the Egyptian parliament into a real legislative body, as well as an institution that represents citizens and a mechanism that keeps government accountable".[43]
Meanwhile, approved opposition parties won only 14 seats. This revived the debate within the Egyptian political elite about whether the Brotherhood should remain banned.
Since 2005 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt have also become a significant movement online. In 2006 Abdel Menem Mahmoud created the first publicly identified Brotherhood blog, Ana Ikhwan (http://ana-ikhwan.blogspot.com). In an article for Arab Media & Society (http://www.arabmediasociety.com), Courtney C. Radsch of American University explores how the Egyptian blogosphere expanded as many younger members followed suit, especially the activists who were sympathetic to Kefaya and members who wanted to be part of the discussion about the draft party platform.[38] These "cyberactivists" are often critical of the organization, such as its rejection of women and Copts as being permitted to hold the presidency, and more liberal than their offline counterparts.[38][45][46]
General leaders (G.L) or Mentors of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt المرشد العام لجماعة الإخوان المسلمون
* Founder & First G. leader: (1928–1949) Hassan al Banna
* 2nd G.L. : (1949–1972) Hassan al-Hudaybi
* 3rd G.L. : (1972–1986) Umar al-Tilmisani
* 4th G.L. : (1986–1996) Muhammad Hamid Abu al-Nasr
* 5th G.L. : (1996–2002) Mustafa Mashhur
* 6th G.L. : (2002–2004) Ma'mun al-Hudaybi
* 7th G.L. : (2004–2010) Mohammed Mahdi Akef
* 8th G.L. : (16 January 2010 – present) Mohammed Badie[citation needed]
In West Asia
Bahrain
In Bahrain, the Muslim Brotherhood is represented by the Al Eslah Society and its political wing, the Al-Menbar Islamic Society. Following parliamentary elections in 2002, Al Menbar became the joint largest party with eight seats in the forty seat Chamber of Deputies. Prominent members of Al Menbar include Dr Salah Abdulrahman, Dr Salah Al Jowder, and outspoken MP Mohammed Khalid. The party has generally backed government sponsored legislation on economic issues, but has sought a clamp down on pop concerts, sorcery and soothsayers. It has strongly opposed the government's accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds that this would give Muslim citizens the right to change religion, when in the party's view they should be "beheaded".[47]
Municipal councillor, Dr Salah Al Jowder, has campaigned against people being able to look into other people's houses, changing the local by-laws in Muharraq to ensure that all new buildings are fitted with one way glass to prevent residents being able to see out.[48] Although a competitor with the salafist Asalah party, it seems likely that Al Menbar will opt for a political alliance in 2006s election to avoid splitting the Sunni Islamist vote.
Syria
Main article: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria
Muslim Brotherhood in Syria was founded in the 1930s (according to lexicorient.com) or in 1945, a year before independence from France, (according to journalist Robin Wright (author)). In the first decade or so of independence it was part of the legal opposition, and in the 1961 parliamentary elections it won ten seats (5.8% of the house). But after the 1963 coup that brought the Baath Party to power it was banned.[49] It played a major role in the mainly Sunni-based resistance movement that opposed the secularist, pan-Arabist Baath Party, (since 1970, it has been dominated by the Alawite Assad family, adding a religious element to its conflict with the Brotherhood). This conflict developed into an armed struggle that continued until culminating in the Hama uprising of 1982, when the rebellion was bloodily crushed by the military.[50]
Since then, the Brotherhood has ceased to be an active political force inside Syria, but it retains a network of support in the country, of unknown strength, and has external headquarters in London and Cyprus. In recent years it has renounced violence and adopted a reformist platform, calling for the establishment of a pluralistic, democratic political system. The leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni, who lives as a political refugee in London.
Membership in the Syrian Brotherhood became a capital offence in Syria in the 1980 (under Emergency Law 49) and remains so, but the headquarters of the MB-linked Palestinian group, Hamas, is located in the Syria's capital Damascus, where it is given Syrian government support. This is seen by some as an example of the lack of international centralization or even coordination of the MB.[51]
According to leaked American cables, Syrian President Bashar al Assad allegedly called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence.", comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father Hafez al Assad. He then allegedly claimed Hamas would disappear if peace were brought to the Middle East.[52][53]
Palestinian territories
'Abd al-Rahman al-Banna, brother of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, went to Palestine and established the Muslim Brotherhood there in 1935. A local nationalist, Al-Hajj Amin al-Husseini (see article under Mohammad Amin al-Husayni), eventually appointed by the British as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in hopes of accommodating him, was the leader of the group in Palestine. Another important leader associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine was 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam, an inspiration to Islamists because he had been the first to lead an armed resistance in the name of Palestine against the British in 1935.[54] Under these leaders, many moderate local Arab leaders were assassinated, including King Abdullah I of Jordan, and, from 1921 on, numerous terrorist attacks were perpetrated against Jews, amongst which was the murder of 67 religious Jews, men, women and children, and wounding of many others, in the 1929 Hebron massacre. Al-Hajj Amin al-Husseini led a general uprising against the British from 1936 to 1939; as a Nazi ally he spent the Second World War in Nazi Germany and advocated for and aided their annihilation of the Jews.[55] In 1945, the group established a branch in Jerusalem, and by 1947 twenty-five more branches had sprung up, in towns such as Jaffa, Lod, Haifa, Nablus, and Tulkarm, which total membership between 12,000 to 20,000.
Brotherhood members fought alongside the Arab armies during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and, after Israel's creation, the ensuing Palestinian refugee crisis encouraged more Palestinian Muslims to join the group. After the war, in the West Bank, the group's activity was mainly social and religious, not political, so it had relatively good relations with Jordan, which was in control of the West Bank after 1950. In contrast, the group frequently clashed with the Egyptian regime that controlled the Gaza Strip until 1967.[56]
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood's goal was "the upbringing of an Islamic generation" through the restructuring of society and religious education, rather than Palestine's liberation from Israel, and so it lost popularity to national resistance movements and the presence of Hizb ut-Tahrir.[57] Eventually, however, the Brotherhood was strengthened by several factors:
1. The creation of al-Mujamma' al-Islami, the Islamic Center in 1973 by Shaykh Ahmad Yasin had a centralizing effect that encapsulated all religious organizations.
2. The Muslim Brotherhood Society in Jordan and Palestine was created from a merger of the branches in the West Bank and Gaza and Jordan.
3. Palestinian disillusion with the liberation front caused them to become more open to alternatives.
4. The Islamic Revolution in Iran offered inspiration to Palestinians. The Brotherhood was able to increase its efforts in Palestine and avoid being dismantled like national resistance groups because it did not focus on the occupation. While national resistance groups were being dismantled, the Brotherhood filled the void.[58]
After the 1967 Six Day War, as Israel's occupation started, Israel may have looked to cultivate political Islam as a counterweight to Fatah, the main secular Palestinian nationalist political organization.[59][60] Between 1967 and 1987, the year Hamas was founded, the number of mosques in Gaza tripled from 200 to 600, and the Muslim Brotherhood named the period between 1975 and 1987 a phase of 'social institution building.'[61] The Brotherhood was able to spread its ideology in six important ways. It established associations, used zakat (alms giving) for aid to poor Palestinians, promoted schools, provided students with loans, used waqf (religious endowments) to lease property and employ people, and established mosques. The establishment of mosques was the most effective, because it built hundreds of mosques in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 1967 and 1987 and could use them for political and recruitment purposes.[58] Likewise, antagonistic and sometimes violent opposition to Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organization and other secular nationalist groups increased dramatically in the streets and on university campuses.[59]
The Brotherhood's downfall was its failure to fight the Israeli occupation, but the Intifada changed the Brotherhood's position and Hamas was established.[58] The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, founded in 1987 in Gaza, is a wing of the Brotherhood,[62] formed out of Brotherhood-affiliated charities and social institutions that had gained a strong foothold among the local population. During the First Intifada (1987–93), Hamas militarized and transformed into one of the strongest Palestinian militant groups.
The Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007 was the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, that a Muslim Brotherhood group ruled a significant geographic territory.[63]
Israel
Main article: Islamic Movement in Israel
The Muslim Brotherhood in Israel -the Islamic Movement- is divided between the southern and northern branches. The southern branch is represented in the Knesset, Israel's parliament while the northern radical branch boycotts Israeli elections.[citation needed]
Jordan
The Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was formed in 1942, and is a strong factor in Jordanian politics. While most political parties and movements were banned for a long time in Jordan such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Brotherhood was exempted and allowed to operate by the Jordanian monarchy. The Jordanian Brotherhood has formed its own political party, the Islamic Action Front, which has the largest number of seats of any party in the Jordanian parliament.[64]
The Muslim Brotherhood is playing an active role in the unrest in several Arab countries in January 2011. For example, at a rally held outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman on Saturday, 29th January 2011 with some 100 participants, Hammam Saeed, head of the Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan and a close ally of the Hamas's Damascus-based leader, Khaled Meshaal, said: "Egypt's unrest will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States." However, he did not specifically name Jordanian King Abdullah II. [65]
Iran
Although Iran is a predominately Shia country and the Muslim Brotherhood is Sunni in doctrine, Olga Davidson and Mohammad Mahallati claim the Brotherhood has had influence among Shia in Iran.[66] Navab Safavi, who founded Fadaian Islam, (also Fedayeen of Islam, or Fadayan-e Islam), an Iranian Islamic organization active in Iran in the 1940s and 1950s, "was highly impressed by the Muslim Brotherhood."[citation needed] From 1945 to 1951 the Fadain assassinated several high level Iranian personalities and officials who they believed to be un-Islamic. They included anti-clerical writer Ahmad Kasravi, Premier Haj-Ali Razm-Ara, former Premier Abdul-Hussein Hazhir, and Education and Culture Minister Ahmad Zangeneh.[67]
At that time Navab Safavi was an associate and ally of Ayatollah Khomeini who went on to become a figure in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Safavi is thought to have influenced Khomeini with the ideas of the Brotherhood.[67] Khomeini and other religious figures in Iran worked to establish Islamic unity and downplay Shia-Sunni differences.[citation needed]
Iraq
The Iraqi Islamic Party was formed in 1960 as the Iraqi branch of the Brotherhood,[68] but was banned from 1961 during the nationalist rule of Abd al-Karim Qasim. As government repression hardened under the Baath Party from February 1963, the group was forced to continue underground. After the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, the Islamic Party along with Hizb ut-Tahrir have reemerged as one of the main advocates of the country's Sunni community. The Islamic Party has been sharply critical of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, but participates in the political process.[69] Its leader is Tariq Al-Hashimi.
Also, in the north of Iraq there are several Islamic movements inspired by or part of the Muslim Brotherhood network. The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) holds seats in the Kurdish parliament, as is the main political force outside the dominance of the two main secularist parties, the PUK and KDP.[70]
Saudi Arabia
The Muslim Brotherhood's brand of Islam and Islamic politics differs from the strict Salafi creed, Wahhabiyya, officially held by the state of Saudi Arabia. Despite this, the Brotherhood has been tolerated by the Saudi government, and maintains a presence in the country.[citation needed] Aside from tolerating the Brotherhood organization[citation needed], and according to Washington Post report, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef has denounced the Brotherhood, saying it is guilty of "betrayal of pledges and ingratitude" and is "the source of all problems in the Islamic world."[20]
Kuwait
The Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait is represented in the Kuwaiti parliament by Hadas.[71][72]
Elsewhere in Africa
Algeria
The Muslim Brotherhood reached Algeria during the later years of the French colonial presence in the country (1830–1962). Sheikh Ahmad Sahnoun led the organization in Algeria between 1953 and 1954 during the French colonialism. Brotherhood members and sympathizers took part in the uprising against France in 1954–1962, but the movement was marginalized during the largely secular FLN one-party rule which was installed at independence in 1962. It remained unofficially active, sometimes protesting the government and calling for increased Islamization and Arabization of the country's politics.
When a multi-party system was introduced in Algeria in the early 1990s, the Muslim Brotherhood formed the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP, previously known as Hamas), led by Mahfoud Nahnah until his death in 2003 (he was succeeded by present party leader Boudjerra Soltani). The Muslim Brotherhood in Algeria did not join the Front islamique du salut (FIS), which emerged as the leading Islamist group, winning the 1991 elections and which was banned in 1992 following a military coup d'état, although some Brotherhood sympathizers did. The Brotherhood subsequently also refused to join the violent post-coup uprising by FIS sympathizers and the Armed Islamic Groups (GIA) against the Algerian state and military which followed, and urged a peaceful resolution to the conflict and a return to democracy. It has thus remained a legal political organization and enjoyed parliamentary and government representation. In 1995, Sheikh Nahnah ran for President of Algeria finishing second with 25.38% of the popular vote. During the 2000s, the party—led by Nahnah's successor Boudjerra Soltani – has been a member of a three-party coalition backing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Sudan
Until the election of Hamas in Gaza, Sudan was the one country were the Brotherhood was most successful in gaining power, its members making up a large part of the government officialdom following the 1989 coup d'état by General Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Always close to Egyptian politics, Sudan has had a Muslim Brotherhood presence since 1949. In 1945, a delegation from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt visited Sudan and held various meetings inside the country advocating and explaining their ideology. Sudan has a long and deep history with the Muslim Brotherhood compared to many other countries. By April 1949, the first branch of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood organization emerged. However, simultaneously, many Sudanese students studying in Egypt were introduced to the ideology of the Brotherhood. The Muslim student groups also began organizing in the universities during the 1940s, and the Brotherhood’s main support base has remained to be college educated. In order to unite them, in 1954, a conference was held, attended by various representatives from different groups that appeared to have the same ideology. The conference voted to establish a Unified Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood Organization based on the teachings of Imam Hassan Al-banna.
An offshoot of the Sudanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Charter Front grew during the 1960, with Islamic scholar Hasan al-Turabi becoming its Secretary general in 1964. The Islamic Charter Front (ICM) was renamed several times most recently being called the National Islamic Front (NIF). Turabi has been the prime architect of the NIF as a modern Islamist party. He worked within the Institutions of the government, which led to a prominent position of his organization in the country. NIF supported women's right to vote and ran women candidates. The Muslim Brotherhood/NIF's main objective in Sudan was to Islamize the society "from above" and to institutionalize the Islamic law throughout the country where they succeeded.
The Brotherhood penetrated into the ruling political organizations, the state army and security personal, the national and regional assemblies, the youth and women organizations of Sudan. They also launched their own mass organizations among the youth and women such as the shabab al-binna, and raidat al-nahda, and launched educational campaigns to Islamize the communities throughout the country. At the same time, they gained control of several newly founded Islamic missionary and relief organizations to spread their ideology. The Brotherhood members took control of the newly established Islamic Banks as directors, administrators, employees and legal advisors, which became a source of power for the Brotherhood.
The Sudanese government has come under considerable criticism for its human rights policies, links to terrorist groups, and war in southern Sudan and Darfur.
See also: Darfur conflict, Second Sudanese Civil War, and Human rights in Sudan
The conservatism of at least some elements of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood was highlighted in an August 3, 2007 Al-Jazeera television interview of Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Sadeq Abdallah bin Al-Majed. As translated by the Israeli-based MEMRI, Bin Al-Majed told his interviewer that "the West, and the Americans in particular ... are behind all the tragedies that are taking place in Darfur,"
Main article: Darfur Conflict
as they "realized that it Darfur is full of treasures"; that "Islam does not permit a non-Muslim to rule over Muslims;" and that he had issued a fatwa prohibiting the vaccination of children, on the grounds that the vaccinations were "a conspiracy of the Jews and Freemasons."[73]
Somalia
Somalia's wing of the Muslim Brotherhood is known by the name Harakat Al-Islah or "Reform Movement". Nonetheless, the Brotherhood, as mentioned earlier, has inspired many Islamist organizations in Somalia. Muslim Brotherhood ideology reached Somalia in the 1960s, but Al-Islah movement was formed in 1978 and slowly grew in the 1980s. Al-Islah has been described as "a generally nonviolent and modernizing Islamic movement that emphasizes the reformation and revival of Islam to meet the challenges of the modern world," whose "goal is the establishment of an Islamic state" and which "operates primarily in Mogadishu." [74]
The founders of the Islah Movement are: Sh. Mohamed Ahmed Nur, Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf Abdi, Sh. Ahmed Rashid Hanafi, and Sh. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah. The organization structured itself loosely and was not openly visible on the political scene of Somali society.
They chose to remain a secret movement fearing the repressive regime of Siad Barre. However, they emerged from secrecy when the regime collapsed in 1991 and started working openly thereafter. Most Somalis were surprised to see the new group they had never heard of, which was in the country since 1970s in secrecy.
According to the Islah by-law, every five years the organization has to elect its Consultative (Shura) Council which elects the Chairman and the two Vice-chairman. During the last 30 years, four chairmen were elected. These are Sheikh Mohamed Geryare (1978–1990), Dr. Mohamed Ali Ibrahim (1990–1999), Dr. Ali Sheikh Ahmed (1999–2008) and Dr. Ali Bashi Omar Roraye (2008–2013).
Dr. Ali bashi is a medical doctor, a former university professor and a member of the transitional parliament (2000–2008). During the 1990s, Al-Islah devoted much effort to humanitarian efforts and providing free basic social services.
The leaders of Al-Islah played a key role in the educational network and establishing Mogadishu University. Through their network, they educate more than 120,000 students in the city of Mogadishu. Many other secondary schools such as the University of East Africa in Bosasso, Puntland, are externally funded and administered through organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic organization Al-Islah.[74] In Somalia, they are known to be a peaceful organization that does not participate in any factional fighting and rejects the use of violence.
Today the group's membership includes urban professionals and students. According to a Crisis Group Report, Somalia’s Islamists, “Al-Islah organization is dominated by a highly educated urban elite whose professional, middle class status and extensive expatriate experiences are alien to most Somalis.”
Although Al-Islah have been criticized by some hardcore Islamists who considered them to be influenced by imperialist western values, Al-Islah speaks of democratic peaceful Somalia. They promote women's rights, human rights, and other ideas, which they argue that these concepts originate from Islamic concepts. Al-Islah is gaining momentum in the Somali societies for their humanitarian work and moderate view of Islam, which is compatible to modernisation and respect of human right.
Tunisia
Like their counterparts elsewhere in the Islamic world in general, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has influenced the Tunisia’s Islamists. One of the notable organization that was influenced and inspired by the Brotherhood is Al-Nahda (The Revival or Renaissance Party), which is Tunisia's 2nd major Islamist grouping after Hizb ut-Tahrir. An Islamist named Rashid Ghannouchi founded the organization in 1981. While studying in Damascus and Paris, Rashid Ghannouchi embraced the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which he disseminated on his return to Tunisia.
Libya
Libya was one of the first countries outside Egypt to have a Brotherhood group[citation needed]. In the late 1940s when the Egyptian members were being prosecuted, King Idris I of Libya offered the Brotherhood refuge and the freedom to spread their ideology. In 1955, the University of Libya was established in Benghazi, near the Egyptian border, and it drew many Egyptian teachers and lecturers including MB members.[citation needed] The Muslim Brotherhood was able to influence a large number of Libyan students during this period.[citation needed]
Dr. Ezzudine Ibrahim was one of the most influential founders of the Brotherhood in Libya. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Brotherhood was a religious and intellectual tendency in Libya and had many followers amongst the intellectuals and students in the university campuses, and by the mid 1970s it developed a structured Brotherhood organization. The Brotherhood in Libya limited itself to peaceful social, political, economic, and cultural activities.[citation needed]
Soon after coming to power, Muammar al-Gaddafi regarded the Brotherhood a potential source of opposition. He arrested many Egyptian Brothers and expelled them back to Egypt.[citation needed] In 1973, the security services arrested and tortured members of the Libyan Brotherhood banning the organization and forcing it underground.[citation needed] The secrecy phase helped the Brotherhood to become more popular. The Brotherhood operated secretly in groups of interlinked cells, which was spread in the country. The brotherhood remained underground until the end of 1970s. At the beginning of 1980s, the Brotherhood renamed itself the “Libyan Islamic Group” (Al-Jama’a al-Islamiya al-Libyia) and tried to re-introduce themselves into the Libyan society. On March 2, 2006, the Libyan government released 132 members of the Muslim Brotherhood that were held as political prisoners.[citation needed]
Their core ideology, strategy, operations and membership are the same as Brotherhood groups in other countries: it seeks to replace the existing regime with one following Sharia law through what it claims are peaceful means. It has an active charitable and welfare wing and has attracted many members of the middle classes, mainly academics, students, engineers and business people.[citation needed] The group has been strengthened by the large number of Libyan students who became member or supporters of the Brotherhood while studying abroad in the United Kingdom and the United States, and have returned home to spread its ideology.[citation needed] .
In the West
United States
The Muslim Brotherhood has been active in the US since the 1960s. Its stated goals have included propagating Islam and creating havens for Muslims in the US, and integrating Muslims. A main strategy has been dawah or Islamic renewal and outreach. In the 1960s, groups such as U.S. military personnel, prison inmates and African-Americans were specifically targeted for dawah. According to a report done by the NEFA Foundation which cites evidence from the United States v. Holy Land Foundation trial, the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the USA is
Enablement of Islam in North America, meaning: establishing an effective and stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims’ causes domestically and globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslims’ efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic state wherever it is.[75]
The NEFA Foundation report further explains that in the same document where the goal is stated, considerable time is spent explaining the concept of settlement which is central to the Muslim Brotherhood-led efforts in North America. Settlement is defined as follows:
The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their 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 religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack.[76]
Organizations in the US started by activists involved with the Muslim Brotherhood include the Muslim Students Association in 1963,[20] North American Islamic Trust in 1971, the Islamic Society of North America in 1981, the American Muslim Council in 1990, the Muslim American Society in 1992, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought in the 1980s.[20] According to the Washington Post, Muslim activists say MSA's members represent "all schools of Islam and political leanings – many are moderates, while others express anti-U.S. views or support resistance against Israelis."[20]
The Holy Land Foundation trial has led to the release as evidence of [77] several documents on the Muslim Brotherhood. One of these documents, dated in 1991, explains that the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. is “settlement”, defined by the author as a form of jihad aimed at destroying Western civilization from within and allowing for the victory of Islam over other religions.[78] In another one of these documents, "Ikhwan in America", the author alleges that the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US include going to camps to do weapons training (referred to as Special work by the Muslim Brotherhood),[79] as well as engaging in counter-espionage against US government agencies such as the FBI and CIA (referred to as Securing the Group).[80] In November 2008 the Holy Land Foundation was found guilty of illegally funding Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is designated by the United States as a terrorist group.[81]
Criticisms
Motives
Numerous officials and reporters question the sincerity of the MB's pronouncements. These critics include, but are not limited to:
* U.S. White House counterterrorism chief Juan Zarate, who says "The Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians."[82][83]
* Raymond Ibrahim, editor of The Al Qaeda Reader, who notes that Muhammad himself described war as "deceit" and that Muslim Brotherhood disciples, past and present, merely duplicate the "everlasting words of Allah," as iterated in the Qur'an.[84][85]
* Miles Axe Copeland, Jr. -a prominent U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative who was one of the founding members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) under William Donovan- divulges the confessions of numerous members of the Muslim brotherhood that resulted from the harsh interrogations done against them by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, for their alleged involvement in the assassination attempt made against Nasser (an assassination attempt that many believe was staged by Nasser himself [86]), which revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood was merely a "guild" that fulfilled the goals of western interests: "Nor was that all. Sound beatings of the Moslem Brotherhood organizers who had been arrested revealed that the organization had been thoroughly penetrated, at the top, by the British, American, French and Soviet intelligence services, any one of which could either make active use of it or blow it up, whichever best suited its purposes. Important lesson: fanaticism is no insurance against corruption; indeed, the two are highly compatible." .[87]
* Douglas Farah, a veteran international reporter who describes current Muslim Brotherhood propaganda as a "charm offensive."[88]
* Former U.S. Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross, who told Asharq Alawsat newspaper that the Muslim Brotherhood is a global, not a local organization, governed by a Shura (Consultative) Council, which rejects cessation of violence in Israel, and supports violence to achieve its political objectives elsewhere too.[89]
* Magdy Khalil, executive editor of Egypt's Watani International, who reports consistent MB deceit concerning Egypt's 12.5% Coptic Christian population, so as to oppress and dhimmify them.[90]
* The Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz has stated that the Muslim Brotherhood organization was the cause of most problems in the Arab world. 'The Brotherhood has done great damage to Saudi Arabia,' he said. Prince Naif accused the foremost Islamist group in the Arab world of harming the interests of Muslims. 'All our problems come from the Muslim Brotherhood. We have given too much support to this group..." "The Muslim Brotherhood has destroyed the Arab world,' he said. 'Whenever they got into difficulty or found their freedom restricted in their own countries, Brotherhood activists found refuge in the Kingdom which protected their lives... But they later turned against the Kingdom…' The Muslim Brotherhood has links to groups across the Arab world, including Jordan's main parliamentary opposition, the 'Islamic Action Front,' and the 'Palestinian resistance movement, 'Hamas." The Interior Minister's outburst against the Brotherhood came amid mounting criticism in the United States of Saudi Arabia's longstanding support for Islamist groups around the world…"[91]
Links to violence
* The Brotherhood is widely believed to have had a "secret apparatus" responsible for attacks in Egypt, including the assassination of Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha, the Egyptian Prime Minister in 1948[92] and the president of Egypt in 1981[93]
* Rachel Aspden's article, The Rise of the Brotherhood states that The Muslim Brotherhood currently advocates suicide bombing attacks on civilians to fight Zionism, and its self-admitted Palestinian wing Hamas indiscriminately targets Jews as such, both civilians and the military, in Israel.[94] In its Charter, Hamas cites The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and prophesizes the ultimate complete annihilation of Jewry.[95]
* Newsweek journalists Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff reported connections between al-Qaeda and Brotherhood figures Mamoun Darkazanli and Youssef Nada.[96]
* A similar article in the Financial Times reported financial links between 74-year-old Swiss Muslim convert, and businessman Ahmed Huber, and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, notably Youssef Nada, Ali Ghaleb Himmat. According to the U.S. government, Al Taqwa "has long acted as financial advisers to al-Qaeda." Huber is noted in Europe for his links with alleged neo-Nazi and other far right elements.[97][98] He is reported to have "confirmed" having "had contact with associates of Osama bin Laden at an Islamic conference in Beirut," whom he called `very discreet, well-educated, very intelligent people.`[97]
* Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi was an influential lobbyist and founder and head of the Brotherhood-linked American Muslim Council before being convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for conspiracy to murder Saudi Prince Abdullah at the behest of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi.[99]
Status of non-Muslims
* In 1997 Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mustafa Mashhur told journalist Khalid Daoud[100] that he thought Egypt's Coptic Christians and Orthodox Jews should pay the long-abandoned jizya poll tax, levied on non-Muslims in exchange for protection from the state, rationalized by the fact that non-Muslims are exempt from military service while it is compulsory for Muslims. He went on to say, "we do not mind having Christians members in the People's Assembly...the top officials, especially in the army, should be Muslims since we are a Muslim country...This is necessary because when a Christian country attacks the Muslim country and the army has Christian elements, they can facilitate our defeat by the enemy."[101]
Response to criticism
The Brotherhood itself denounces the "catchy and effective terms and phrases" like "fundamentalist" and "political Islam" which it claims are used by "Western Media" to pigeonhole the group, and points to its "15 Principles" for an Egyptian National Charter, including "freedom of personal conviction... opinion... forming political parties... public gatherings... free and fair elections..."[102]
Similarly, some analysts maintain that whatever the source of modern Jihadi terrorism and the actions and words of some rogue members, the Brotherhood now has little in common with radical Islamists and modern jihadists who often condemn the Brotherhood as too moderate. They also deny the existence of any centralized and secretive global MB leadership.[103] Some claim that the origins of modern Muslim terrorism are found in Wahhabi ideology, not that of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The pattern of past extremist Islamist takovers for "Jihads" sake must be remembered. Iran has both moderate and ultra-theocratic elements for PR sake, but the Supreme Leader is a religious fanatic.
............................................................................
Understanding the above history of the "Brotherhood, deeper research will reveal that the organization had ties to Hitler, and that not all it's "Mullahs" are what they seem to be.
As all other religions are infiltrated by "secret societies who acknowkedge "Lucifer" as the god of forces" and serve him, Islam also has these adherants.
Not "if" but WHEN the power struggle begins after the Mediteranean Union is the New Order for the Muslim world, we will see all the prophesies in "Daniel" come to pass regarding all of the "nations fighting each other to destroy Israel.
Sarkozy has created the Mediterranean Union for Islam, as we see how Sarkozy has dominated the EU, and is C0-President of the Med Union, it is clear he will anoint it's leader-Prophet as a Mullah must be "Supreme Leader of any Islamic power.
Warring Kings of North and South
Daniel l1
“Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority,[a] and neither he nor his authority[b] shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. 7 But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. 8 And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes[c]and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.
9 “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land. 10 However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife.
11 “And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. 12 When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men[d] of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. 15 So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces[e] of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. 16 But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.[f]
17 “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones[g] with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him. 18 After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
20 “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. 21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force[h] of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.
The Northern King’s Blasphemies
29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus[i] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces[j] shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the God[k] of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
The Northern King’s Conquests
40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
The King of the South is Egypt and those who will ally themselves against the Syrian King of the North
and his allies. They will be internal sectarian battles for supremacy in the new Medeteranean Union.
Then will come the "Vile" one, comming in Peace...and rises to supremacy to lead all Islamist armies and those non-muslim allies against Israel and her Christian allies!
The ships of Chittim are Navy's from NATO forces...Chittim refers to the "Isles".
Footnotes:
a.Daniel 11:6 Literally arm
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