The Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, 1941-2000 a Social Movement Within the Social Domain
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The Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, 1941-2000 A Social Movement within the Social Domain by Ali A. Alkandari A thesis submitted to the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies College of Social Sciences and International Studies University of Exeter in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies 17 January 2104 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: Abstract This is the first focused study of the Society of the Muslim Brotherhood, the most influential and organised social and political movement in Kuwait, from its beginnings in 1946up to2000. It focuses on the circumstances surrounding the emergence and development of the Muslim Brotherhood as part of a general Islamic revival in Kuwait. It argues that the Muslim Brotherhood was driven first and foremost by cultural considerations and that Kuwaiti secularists regarded it as a challenge to their growing influence in both the political domain (traditionally controlled by the ruling family) and the social domain (historically under the control of the religious establishment). The resulting conflict with secularists over the social domain posed a serious threat to the Muslim Brotherhood who considered themselves an extension of the traditional religious establishment. They also viewed the secularists’ attempts to reshape Kuwaiti identity as a threat to Kuwait’s Islamic identity. This prompted the Muslim Brotherhood to channel all their social, educational and political efforts towards reclaiming the social domain. This study focuses also on the mechanisms adopted by the Muslim Brotherhood, ones which combined Islamic values with modern mobilisation strategies producing a dynamic Islamist movement seeking to revive the golden age of Islam through modern means. The movement maintained a pyramid hierarchy and it refashioned modern economic theory to make it more compatible with Islamic teachings. It also established a Muslim Boy Scouts movement and an Islamic press, while it reformed other organisations to make them compatible with Islamic values. All this was done in an effort to implement Hasan al- Banna’s vision of fashioning a pious Muslim individual, a virtuous family and, finally, a true Muslim state. The Muslim Brotherhood’s comprehensive and sweeping agenda seeks the complete transformation of social conditions. The Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait was not very different from its mother organisation in Egypt. It played a pioneering role in revising Islamic banking, developing charity work and challenging secularism. The Kuwaiti political system supported the Muslim Brotherhood in its struggle against secularists, but the Muslim Brotherhood nonetheless stayed out of politics, focusing on rehabilitating the social domain, in the interests of maintaining on good terms with the ruling family. 1 Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………….………….... 1 Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………… 2 Transliteration…………………………………………………………………….. 6 Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………… 7 Chapter I: Introduction 1.1 Overview ……………………………………………………………………..….. 7 1.2 Literature Review…………………………………………………………....….. 9 1.3 Research Framework……………………………………………………..…..…. 14 1.4 Theoretical Framework and Outline of the Study……………………..………... 24 1.5 Primary Sources…………………………………………………………….....…. 26 Chapter II: The Beginnings of the Reformist Movement in Kuwait and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab World 1910-41 2.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………..……. 28 2.2 Reformist Ideas Enter Kuwait, 1910-38…………………………………..……... 30 2.3 Reformists and the Social Domain………………………………………..…...... 33 2.3.1 Reforming the Educational System ………………………….……..….. 33 2.3.2 The Cultural Reaction to the Missionaries Presence in Kuwait ……….. 36 2.3.2.1 Establishing the al-Jamʿiyyahal-Khairiyyah al-ʿArabiyyah [Arab Charity Society] in1913………………………..……. 37 2.3.2.2 Islamists and Social Reforms …………………………..……. 40 2.3.3 Islamist Reformists and their Opponents …………………………...…. 41 2.4 Reformists and the Political Domain …………………………………………...... 43 2.4.1 The Beginnings of Political Opposition and the Role of Islamists in 1921 ………………………………………………….. 44 2.4.2 The Political Role of Muhammadal-Shanqiti and Hafez Wahba ......… 45 2.4.3 The Ruling Family and the Reformists …………………….….....……. 47 2.4.4 Islamists and the Socio-Political Reform after shaikh Mubarak …......... 49 2.4.4.1 The National Bloc …………………………………………... 53 2.4.4.2 The First Legislative Council (1938) ……………………….. 55 2.4.4.3 The Second Legislative Council (1939) …………………….. 58 2.5 The 1940s……………………………………………………………………...... 59 2.6 The Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab World …………………...….. 60 2.7 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….... 66 2 Chapter III: Organizational Structure of the Movement in Kuwait 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 68 3.2 Muslim Brotherhood Ideology arrival in Kuwait mid 1940s …………….……. 68 3.3 The Beginnings of The Muslim Brotherhood, Jamʿiyyat al-ʿIrshad-Islami in 1952 ……………………………………………………………………………… 70 3.3.1 Organizational Activities…………….……………………………….. 69 3.3.2 Organizational Structure of the First Organization ….…..…..…......... 74 3.3.3 The Decline……………………………………….…..…………......... 76 3.3.4 The Dispersal of the Muslim Brotherhood mid 1950s .…………..….. 81 3.4 The Arrival of Abdulwahid Aman and the Attempts to Revive the Islamist Movement 1957 ………………………………………………………....… 82 3.5 The New Organisation 1968 ………………………………………………...….. 88 3.5.1 The Iraqi Experience and Influence …………………………………... 91 3.5.2 The Foundations of the Kuwaiti Brotherhood Movement ……….…… 98 3.5.3 The Establishment of the Movement on the Philosophy of the Iraqi School ………………………………………...……………. 99 3.5.4 The Mechanism of Mobilization……………………..……………….... 102 3.5.5 MuhammadAhmed al-Rashid and the Intellectual Formation of the Movement ………………………………………..……...…… 106 3.5.6 The Challenges Faced by the Muslim Brotherhood ……………......… 113 3.5.7 Shifting to a more Open Era in the 1980s…………………..…………. 117 3.6 The Muslim Brotherhood and the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait 1990-91 ….………. 118 3.7 The Post-Invasion Era …………………………………………………….…….. 123 3.8 Conclusion………………………………………………………………….….... 124 Chapter IV: Social Activism in the Social Domain 4.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 126 4.2 The Muslim Brotherhood and Social Movement Theory ………….…………… 128 4.3 The Muslim Brotherhood as a Continuation of Religions Establishment and Heirs to the Islamic Project …………………………………………………….. 128 4.4 The Intellectual and Educational Activities of al-Irshad …………………...… 131 4.4.1 Youth and Students Activities………………….………………..…... 134 4.4.2 Al-Irshad and Providing Social Services and Charitable Activities …………………………………………….….. 135 4.5 The Impact of Oil on Changing Kuwaiti Society from the 1950s….................... 136 4.6 The Social Reform Society (al-Islah) and the New Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood as a Cultural Reaction to the Loss of the Social Domain ……………………………………………………………....... 141 4.6.1 Al-Islah and Banning Alcohol …………………….………...……… 143 4.6.2 The New Muslim Brotherhood Organization and the Battle of Mixed-Gender Education ……………….………………………… 144 4.6.3 The Islamist-Secularist conflict over the Islamic economic 3 system and usury ………………………..…………………………... 155 4.7 The Rise in Popularity in the 1980s and the Competition between Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood over the Social Domain ……………………………… 164 4.8 The Spread of Islamic Charitable Work ………………………………………… 167 4.9 Competing with Salafis over the Social Domain ……………………………….. 169 4.10 The Iraqi Invasion and the Social Domain …………………………………… 177 4.11 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………...… 178 Chapter V: Islamists and Politics 5.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 180 5.2 Historical Background ………………………………………………………….. 182 5.3 Political Activities of al-Irshad ……………………………………………….. 184 5.3.1 The Relationship of al-Irshad with other Social and Political Constituents …...………………………………………..…. 186 5.4 Al-Islah in the Political Domain ………………………………………………. 188 5.5 The 1968 Organisation and politics ………………………………...…………... 189 5.5.1 Islamising Kuwait University and Teachers Association in 1980s….. 189 5.5.2 The Battle over the Constitution and Legislations ……………...…… 193 5.5.3 The Relationship with the Government ……………………………… 195 5.6 The Muslim Brotherhood during the Iraqi Invasion1990-91……...…………… 200 5.6.1 The Jeddah Conference October 1990……………………………........ 200 5.7 The Liberation of Kuwait in February 1991 and the Establishment of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM)…………………………………… 205 5.7.1 Post-Liberation Islamists’ Issues in Parliament …………………....... 197 5.8 Political Opposition within the Movement ……………………………………. 209 5.9 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 211 Chapter VI: Conclusion…………………………………………………….. 214 Appendices Appendix A ………………………………………………………...………….…..…219 Appendix B …………………………………………………………………………. 220 Appendix C ………………………………………………………………………….. 225 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………... 227 4 Notes on Transliteration The standard transliteration of the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (IJMES) has been adopted for transliterating Arabic words. Arabic words and titles