what's the deal with the Muslim Brotherhood

[Lobotomy]

I have read a few articles on the Muslim Brotherhood, but I am skeptical of what I have read since I'm sure it has been influenced by western scare tactics etc.

I guess I don't have a very specific question so much as I'd just like an informed person to give a quick analysis on the historic and current role of the Muslim Brotherhood in middle eastern politics. what is their agenda?

[Bostana]

To conquer ever land in the name of allah!!!!!!

[campesino]

impose shariah law. they are not leftist.

[Cheung Mo]

Anyone who supports sharia law is an enemy of decent-thinking people. The crimes of the Mujahideen, General Zia, and Ayatollah Khomeini all killed exponentially more socialists on their own than the Pinochet and Somoza regimes di combined. Post-Hitler, the only dictator that who us worse was Suharto, who was a bit of a Islamist himself.

[marl]

Well, it's a moderate Islamist and liberal political opposition organization which spans the Middle East, Africa, and has factions in several other countries.

It was started to preach Islam and do charity for the illiterate Egyptians, but it became influential in the anti-colonial struggle within Egypt and became accused of being a terrorist organization within this period. During the first Arab-Israeli war, it set up brigades to fight Israel. Nowadays it has a reformist line (hell, even Osama bin Laden never liked it for this reason).

"We believe that the political reform is the true and natural gateway for all other kinds of reform. We have announced our acceptance of democracy that acknowledges political pluralism, the peaceful rotation of power and the fact that the nation is the source of all powers. As we see it, political reform includes the termination of the state of emergency, restoring public freedoms, including the right to establish political parties, whatever their tendencies may be, and the freedom of the press, freedom of criticism and thought, freedom of peaceful demonstrations, freedom of assembly, etc. It also includes the dismantling of all exceptional courts and the annulment of all exceptional laws, establishing the independence of the judiciary, enabling the judiciary to fully and truly supervise general elections so as to ensure that they authentically express people's will, removing all obstacles that restrict the functioning of civil society organizations, etc."-Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed Habib (spokes person for the Muslim Brotherhood)


So, it's a socially conservative, economically liberal political organization. Just like any other conservative party. Just a different religion. :rolleyes:

It's out duty to find out what material conditions turn people on to Islamism and help them find their way to the left.

[jookyle]

A pan-arabist group which seeks to use political office unite arab countries under a common political rule. They aim to use political reform to achieve pan-arabism rather than use islamic charged revolutions/coups. It should be pointed out that in Tunisia, they were elected and pushed forward a secular constitution as oppose to one based on Sharia law.

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

Read the works of Sayyid Qutb, that's about all you would need to know.

[Agathor]

There is a good article in Salon which explains that the Muslim Brotherhood is a North African version of the GOP. Their tactics are almost identical once you swap one Abrahamic religion for another. Whatever the Brotherhood was fifty years ago, it is now a collection of extreme right wing neoliberal businessmen who exploit the cultural and religious prejudices of poor rural Egyptians to support their business interests.

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/26/the_gop_brotherhood_of_egypt/

Normally the US would be happy to see the Brotherhood continue Mubarak's policies, but there is also Israel to consider.

[wsg1991]

A pan-arabist group which seeks to use political office unite arab countries under a common political rule. They aim to use political reform to achieve pan-arabism rather than use islamic charged revolutions/coups. It should be pointed out that in Tunisia, they were elected and pushed forward a secular constitution as oppose to one based on Sharia law.


they seek to unite Muslim countries ( Khilafa)

they have 2 attempts to assassinate Nasser in Egypt , a coup attempt in Tunisia 1989 , a coup in Sudan , and the seize of Gaza by weapons

they pushed for taking Shariia as the main source of the Constitution , but a mass protest by the main Syndicate here UGTT in 20 mars 2012 made them back off , but they are use some devious tactics

one of the it's main tactics is to create diversion ( Ilamists assaults on Hotel , persons ) so they can pass some unpopular , authoritarian law

for example this days they changed over 60 ambassador , the diversion was salafists serial assault in 2 days , including burning a police station

[Os Cangaceiros]

A center-right Muslim capitalist party. (By my understanding.)

[Sasha]

Its a big movement with very different factions (not only between the different national organisations but also internaly in each nation), some salafist support under the clerics and rank and file but as said above also a powerfull capitalist conservative wing. Interesting is the growing influence of "democratic" factions that are inspired by the Turkish governing AKP party.