lslamists, Left and Right condemn the status quo, and to con- lslom hgs posited potlr. polilicol often been os being the middle ln demn is to go into battle. terms this is token to rneon o medion role between lhe left ond the Whet lkhwan emerged onto the right Abdel Wohob El-Affiendi delves into this contenlion. political arena in the mid-thfuties they shared the enthusiasm'pf most Egypt- ians for the ascension of young King Faruq to the throne in 1936. For a[ IN one of those now-ubiquitous semi- struggle they were wagng was futile. Egyptians at the time Farouq's reign nars on "Islamic fundamentalism" Avenues were blocked after the two appeared to signal a new golden era. held recentli at the School of Oriental and their associates won the hostility But for lkhwan this was even more so and African Studies (SOAS), Frof- of most Muslim rulers and after the because the King had as one of his essor A.K. Lambton of SOAS put British banned their paper, al-Urwa closest advibers Shaikh Mustafa al- forward the opinion that Islamic fun- al-Wuth4a from India and before that Maraghi, former Shaikh of al-Azhar, damentalism, and Islam itself for that Egypt, forcing it to cease publication. and Ali Mnher, who was later to matter, has a bias towards con- Abdu suggested that they take ten become prime minister. Both were servatism, lslnm, oS an "Ideology of young promising students, indoctrinate respectable personalities with known the Book" is per se fundamentalist, them with their way of thinking, and sympathy for the goals of the Islamic and it frowns on heterodoxy, creative hope that the group will multiply geo- movement. The King later disappoin- interpretation and new norms gener- metrically over the years. 'Afghani ted everybody, but the fact that the ally, and directs the people towards accused Abduh of being a defeatist Ikhwan feted and applauded him was the eternal infallible texts. There is and broke with him. The latter pro- later cited by opponents as evidence aething new in fact about the claim ceeded with his ov"n approach of edu- of the group's reactionary character. that Islam lavours conservatism. This cation in Syria and later in Egypt till This is a simplificatioR, not only be- allegation has been at the core of the he died in 1905. cause the accusation were made from debate that moved the whole.Muslim Abduh compromised even with the comfortable perspective of world relentlessly towards secularism Lord Cromer, the effective ruler of Nasser's revolutionary era. It is true in the last half cenhtry or so. The Egypt, but even then he earned the that Hassan al-Banna had kept hoping western-influenced elites bred under hostility of the Khedive because he the King will be saved one day and colonialism and the attendaot creeping refused to accommodate the latter's was until his last days pleading in vain westernisation have argued that tradit- desigls on Awqaf funds. His disciple for an audience with His Majesty. But 'ional Islamic authorities block their Rashid Rida gave him the same it also remains true that the internal ppns for modernisation and develop- advice he heard him offer before to dynamics of the movement has made ment and succeeded to a large extent Afghani regarding the latter's re- it a revolutionary force in Faruq's in sweeping Islam aside. This has en- lations with Sultan Abdelhamid: why Egypt, perhaps the only genuinely re- sured that the current Islamist move- not compromise with the monarch on volutionary one there was. Banna ment was in fact a movement against, these trivial matters to gain his sup- himself was murdered in 1949 on dir- and not for, the status quo in the port for the far reaching reforms that ect orders from the King himself. lands of Islam. And here we have, if he planned in education and mosque The movement suffered internal we accepted Lambton's thesis, the management? Abduh could no more tensions on the issue of revolution paradox of conservatism fighting accept this way of behaviour than his early in its history, when activists fiercgly to upset the status quo. The master could: apparently there is a from a rival group, (the Young Egypt issue, however, cannot be resolved limil feygpd which a "fundamentalist" party which later became the Socialist that easily. could not go. However, the argument party) went out smashing liquour It is true that the modern Islamic about where to draw the line still stores "to enforce Sharia" and defied movement, from its genesis in the remains a rich source of confusion. Ikhwan to emulate them. Banna cauti- activism of Sayed Jamal ad-Din al- The two major Islamic inovements oned his followers about the futility of Afghani in the 1870's was in ess€noe which emerged this century (Iamont this approach, but the debate ended in anti-establishment. It opposed in- Islami n India and the Ikhwan al- a split by the radical group which cumbent Muslim rulers as well as the Muslimoon in Egypt) inherited this formed the Shabab Muhammad western.dominated international ambivalent legacy. They shared with (Muhammad's Youth). That was back order. But even in that phase its atti- AMuh the belief that the Muslims in 1937 but the radical group, far from tude was ambivalent. Afghani co- have to be educated before they can creating a revolution lapsed into obli- operated with several Muslim rulers be made to change their political en- vion. However, the radicalisation of and even wanted a deal with Britain. vironment, but also inherited the mainstream mov€ment itself took His disciple Abduh, through whom Afghani's funpatience with this en- place as the Palestinian issue prom- the movement was perpetuated, broke vironment. The matter was complica- pted it to form a secret military wing with the master earlier precisely over ted even further by the fact you could which was then tempted to use its the latter's revolutionary approach. not always separate. education from force against local Jewish and foreign Abduh told the master that the subversion. To educate you have to targets in Egypt as well as against the u lnquiry, April 1988 -ffi$ f#;.r T- -: El+s !.+]4i* H+t*il;l oqry under Tllmlsanl (lelt) the movement crated by Hassan AFBanna (left) has movcd declrlvely to tl€ rlght British and those accused of support,, were backed by comrpt cliques, as ing them. who quit the party after being The outcome of thii un- long as he payed lip-service to Fytrt planned this or informed that to be a Communisi confrontation was defeat for that Islamic goal and promised a hard- meant not to believe in God. The the movement and suppression. It was line stance on the British occupation. mov€ment was thus radical from also the catalyst that hastened the But the if this wils so in Egypi, things start. The group, which was founded 1952 revolution of which Ikhwan wete were different with the branch in in 1949, suffered a split in 1953-4 and active backers and ardent supporters. Syria. There lkhwan took a very mili- the radicals were ousted year. Up to the time of the revolition the that tant socialist stanc€ from the late Babikir Karrar, the actual Ikhwan appeared hardly conscious of founder, 194O's. They attisd lfosmselves with lcd the radicals out to form aLfana'a social issues, apart from decrying the populists and left-wing goup6 op al-Islamiyya (the Islamic group). In decline of morals and foreign control to co-operation 'posed with the West. 1965 the group formed the Islamic of the eoonomy. They based their One the of Syrian lkhwan leaders, Socialist party, which made [ttle isr- alliances with other forces in societv Muhammad al-Mubarak, even went so pact on Sudanese politics. In the Z0's on the sole criterion of their Islamil as far to say that his movement was memben of the group, including pronounc€ments. They supported the Kar- offering "Marxism in the Islamic cup." rar, left for Libya where unpopular regime of Ismael Sidqi in they are said In 1949 the lkhwan formed in" to have played an important 1945 because he promised some role in Islamic Socialist Front as their political formulating Qadhafi's brand Islamic reforms, while they fought the forum, of and continued to spearhead Islamic socialism. The main group of very popular Wafd party for no the fight against apparent western influence. Sudanese Ikhwan drifted gaOualy reason other than the This culminated in the publication reasons in away from its radical socialist pasi, for which rival football sup- 1959 of the book by Musrafa porters champion al-Siba,i, embracing what it thought to be the their respective leader of the Syrian lkhwbn, entitled teams. Thus they did truly Islamic middle ground. not seem part- Islamic Socialism, which continued to icularly concerned about In Jordan, the lkhwan who started the dynamics be an influential work in the Islamic of social identification as anti-royalist rebels soon made a or political movement for quite a time. choice. reapproachment with the Hashemite It did not matter whether the In Sudan the founder of the group family, to the extent that the move- regime or individual they supported which eventually dominated the move-- ment's leader was offered the pre- were popular, lacked legitimacy or ment was actually a former Com- miership in 1957. A similar ac@rnmo- lnquiry, April 1988 dation was reached between Ikhwan squabble. As it happened, it was indelible mark on the subconscious of groups and monarchies in the Gulf, Nasser who ingeniously lumped his the movement.