Global IssuesMIDEAST: Brothers in Thought, Not in Arms
Egypt's official press has recently alleged an 'organisational relationship' between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement and Palestinian resistance group Hamas, currently facing the brunt of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip. MB spokesmen, however, say their relationship with Hamas is purely ideological.
'Hamas has adopted the principles of the MB,' Essam Al-Arian, leading member of the Egyptian MB, told IPS. 'But there is absolutely no 'organisational relationship' between the two movements.'
On the first day of Israel's campaign against the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas since the summer of 2007, Egyptian officials renewed claims that Hamas was taking its instructions from the leadership of the Egyptian MB.
'Politically and organisationally, Hamas belongs to the Egyptian MB,' Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, editor-in-chief of prominent official daily Al-Gomhouriya wrote on Dec. 27. 'It is not, therefore, concerned primarily with the interests of the Palestinian people or cause.'
Ibrahim pointed to a recent declaration by Hamas founding member Abdel-Fattah Dukhan, in which Dukhan publicly swore allegiance to the 'mission of the Muslim Brotherhood.'
'I swear to God I will be faithful to the mission of the MB and abide by its founding principles,' Dukhan said in Gaza City on Dec. 14, on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the movement's establishment. 'I have full trust in its leadership and will follow its instructions.'
According to Ibrahim, Dukhan's statement 'represents proof that Hamas takes its instructions from Mehdi Akef,' the supreme guide of the Egyptian MB, whom Ibrahim went on to describe as the 'head of the global MB organisation.'
The Egyptian MB was first established in the late 1920s, but was officially banned by the state some 30 years later after being accused of plotting to assassinate former president Gamal Abdel Nasser. In the 1970s, the group officially renounced violence, and its tactics have been confined to the political arena ever since.
Although the Brotherhood remains formally outlawed, its members can field candidates as nominal independents in municipal and parliamentary elections. In 2005, the group captured 88 seats in parliament -- roughly one-fifth of the national assembly -- making it Egypt's largest opposition movement.
Hamas, a much younger organisation, was established in December 1987 with the outbreak of the first Palestinian Intifadah. A self-described 'wing of the MB in Palestine,' according to its founding charter, Hamas has steadfastly refused to recognise Israel or conduct negotiations with the self-proclaimed Jewish state, which it considers an illegitimate occupying power.
In early 2006, the movement won 76 out of 132 parliamentary seats in democratically held Palestinian legislative elections. Nevertheless, due to the group's commitment to armed resistance against Israel, it has been dubbed a 'terrorist organisation' by both Israel and the U.S.
Spokesmen for the Egyptian MB strenuously deny official claims of an 'organisational' link to Hamas. 'The Egyptian MB's supreme guide is only a symbolic leader to other MB movements, but he does not issue orders or instructions,' said Al-Arian. 'Various branches of the MB around the world have their own leaderships, which act according to their respective circumstances.'
Different branches of the MB do, however, share certain principles, added Al-Arian. These principles, he said, include 'a commitment to peaceful means of political change and the renunciation of violence, a moderate approach to Islam, and a commitment to political methods for achieving the improvement of society.'
Al-Arian went on to stress, however, that the MB's commitment to peaceful means of change did not contradict the group's support for the Hamas-led armed resistance against Israel.
'Palestine is an occupied land and Hamas's fight against Israel is considered armed resistance against an occupier,' he said. 'Therefore, virtually all political stripes in Egypt and the wider Arab world -- including secular movements that have deep differences with the MB -- support Hamas's armed resistance to free Palestine.'
Diaa Rashwan, senior analyst at the semi-official Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, confirmed the independence of the group's various branches throughout the Middle East.
'Hamas is certainly part of the MB, as is stated in Article 2 of its charter,' Rashwan told IPS. 'However, the different branches of the MB -- in Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan and Sudan, for example -- have leaderships that act totally independently of the Egyptian MB leadership.
'For example, the MB in Jordan completely rejects the U.S. military presence in Iraq, while the MB in Iraq is currently participating in the political process under U.S. military occupation,' said Rashwan, an expert on Islamist movements.
Dukhan's recent oath to the MB, he added, was a general oath of allegiance to principles, like those taken by political parties of other orientations.
'It does not mean that the MB supreme guide in Egypt leads -- or gives orders to -- Hamas,' said Rashwan. 'Just because the Egyptian MB supports armed resistance by Hamas doesn't mean there's an official relationship between the two groups.'
According to Al-Arian, Ibrahim's claims are simply an attempt to distract an increasing alienated public from the government's failure to resolve the 60-year-old Israel-Palestine conflict.
'Until now, the so-called Arab 'moderate' states -- led by Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- have been unable to produce anything even remotely positive for the Palestinians,' he said. 'The Arab regimes lost their wars with Israel. Now, fearing for their hold on power, they don't want anyone else to fight the Zionist enemy.'
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service