The global movement that promotes political Islam is hard, but not impossible, to follow
By B.C. and S.B.
THE global Muslim Brotherhood is an elusive phenomenon, whether you are looking at its Middle Eastern heartland or its ideological offshoots operating under many different names and institutional hats across the Western world. On that much at least, everybody should agree.
But just how elusive? As our sister blog Pomegranate has noted, David Cameron said earlier this month that he was launching an investigation into the Brotherhood—its aims, activities and structures. Since then it has been reported—but strongly denied by Brotherhood representatives—that the organisation is moving its European operating base from London to Graz in Austria. It's not a secret that many of the movement's leaders moved to London after last year's coup in Egypt which overthrew a Brotherhood-backed government and subjected the group to ruthless persecution.
The prime minister's promise to "investigate" sounded almost weirdly modest about existing levels of knowledge. Presumably the government already understands quite a lot about the activities, overt and otherwise, of the Brothers. But the announcement seemed like a prudent response to pressure from Saudi Arabia, and in particular the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for a crackdown on the Brotherhood. Both Gulf States have long been wary of the group; Saudi Arabia for its potential to offer a different model of Islamic rule than that of the current ruling Al-Saud family. Both countries have poured thousands of dollars into Egypt to prop up the post-Brotherhood interim authorities.
Still, excessive modesty may be better than excessive certainty. The Brotherhood has long triggered hard arguments among Islam-watchers and Middle East buffs. Some are convinced that it's a ruthlessly and secretly co-ordinated international conspiracy, bent on Islamising the world and restoring the caliphate, and differing from out-and-out terrorist networks only over tactics. Some have insisted, improbably, that it's a loose and diverse association of political groups, more like the Socialist International (a talking shop for centre-left parties) than the Comintern.
Both views are caricatures; that becomes obvious when you start looking at the Islamic scene in the Western world and realize how many tints of grey (or green) there are. But in virtually all Western countries, there are organisations which espouse the ideology and tactics of the Brothers; they are regarded by others, including fellow Muslims, as fronts for the Brotherhood but they generally deny being so themselves. Such groups have two hallmarks: on one hand, they regard Islamic governance as being superior, ultimately, to secular governance. On the other hand, they believe in using all the tools that liberal, secular society offers—local and national elections, tactical alliances, legal procedures—to advance their aims; and they generally believe in observing the law and the constitution of the countries where they live, even if those rules are not ideal from a Muslim viewpoint. No wonder it's confusing.
There are certain openly-functioning institutions which promote Brotherhood ideas, such as the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), a panel of clerics who opine on the issues facing Muslims living in the West, from personal hygiene and sexual behaviour to matters of family finance. It even has a Facebook page. Its head is Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Qatar-based preacher who is sometimes called the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood; he enjoyed Western approval for a while because of his condemnation of 9/11 but he has become persona non grata because he condones suicide attacks in Israel and has antediluvian views on homosexuals. His denunciation of the UAE is probably an important reason why Britain feels obliged to squeeze the Brotherhood.
Yet not all the clerics who serve on the ECFR are Brotherhood members. Prominent Western Muslims who are not Brothers are often very wary of the movement, but they tend to express this sentiment in private more than in public. Indeed some Muslim activists in the West seem frightened of the Brotherhood.
Mr Cameron undoubtedly knows all this, and a great deal more, already. But his professed desire for further information is commendable, if he means it. Too many people think they already know all they need to know about this shadowy fraternity, which remains globally influential. A younger generation of members may be less willing to tolerate the peaceful means of change insisted upon by the leadership. That makes it capable of evolving in unpredictable ways, despite the devastating defeat it suffered in Egypt last year.
