How essential is reaching power for Islamist groups?
The Islamist groups have emerged
with various trends since the Islamist movement began in the early 20th
century after the foundation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Many Islamist groups
emerged as of the 1960s. Reaching power has been the common objective of all
these groups.
In a bid to reach power, the
Islamist movement has been engaged in repeated conflicts at various levels. The
Islamist movement sacrificed all it had and sometimes opposed the best interest
of the whole society if necessary to realize its objective.
The Islamist groups believe that
reaching power would establish religion, saying that is more like a magical
wand that will change the state of society and the whole nation.
In this study we analyze why
reaching power has such a great place in the mindset of the Islamist movement.
The history of the Muslim state has gone
through different conditions. The Muslims were advanced intellectually,
morally, materially and militarily,. However, they have gone through weak
circumstances from the civilizational perspective, despite the military and
geographical expansion.
The Islamic weakness continued for
several centuries until the Muslim world woke up at the beginning of the 19th
century with a strong Western civilization at its door. That was great shock
for Muslims, who compared their weak reality to the advanced and powerful
presence of the West.
The Muslim intellectual and
religious leaders, who had better knowledge of the Western civilization through
culture and traveling to some European countries, tried to analyze the
situation in the Islamic world. The translation movement has also helped with understanding
the reasons for the civilizational deterioration in the Islamic world. They
aimed at developing some visions to catch up with the West.
These attempts continued throughout
the 19th century and early 20 th century until the fall of the
Ottoman Caliphate, which was the result of its weakness. The collapse of the
Ottoman Caliphate has deepened the crisis of Islamic societies.
The collapse of the Ottoman
Caliphate [in 1924] played a key role four years later in the emergence of the
Muslim Brotherhood in 1928.
The Muslim Brotherhood – like other
Islamist groups -- says that rule is an essential issue in sharia (Islamic
law). The Brotherhood’s founder, Hassan al-Banna, said that rule is
well-established in Islamic doctrines.
However, the Brotherhood and other
Islamist groups don’t realize that rule should be based on a set of ethics and values.
That brief overview shows the
importance of reaching power and rule and its central role in mindset of the
Islamist movement. This mindset is based on three major factors.
1.
The wrong diagnosis of the social reality of
society. The Islamist movement deems the crisis in Muslim societies as a
political issue. However, this conception is not correct as the deficiency in
the Muslim societies is rather social, not political.
2.
Misunderstanding
of the modern state concept. The philosophy and nature of the modern state are
completely different from the state of the past, where the ruler had all the
power.
3.
Narrow understanding of sharia. The Islamist groups deem sharia as a set of
static laws, which are implemented by the ruler. However, sharia has a broader
meaning as explained by many scholars. Any reforms and development in society for
improving the standard of living and combatting poverty is part of sharia.
Sharia is not only applied by the rule as the society’s institutions – social,
economic and charities -- can implement it too.
Conclusion
The dream to assume power, for which
the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups have mobilized many young
people, should be revised when these groups have courage to do so in a bid to
avoid more crises, conflicts and divisions.
