Al-Ahram Weekly | Muslim Brotherhood | Soldiers of the shari'a

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has no legal sanction as a political party, and yet it is a major contender in this month's elections. Amira Howeidy reviews its history and repeated confrontations with successive governments, interviews Mustafa Mashhour, one of its leaders, and invites political experts to assess its performance

Soldiers of the shari'a

After President Gamal Abdel-Nasser's rise to power, Mashhour was detained for 10 years, regaining his freedom in 1964. But he was re-arrested in the same year and kept behind bars, without a trial, for six more years and was only released after Nasser's death in 1970.

He devoted himself to preaching the Islamist ideology from 1977, rising to become the group's deputy supreme guide in the early 1980s. He has written 17 books, including The Qualifications of a Preacher, which was banned by Al-Azhar. Mashhour contributes a regular column to Al-Shaab, mouthpiece of the Islamist-oriented Labour Party.

In the pages of Al-Shaab, you have called for a dialogue between the Brotherhood and the government. Did the government respond, and what do you hope to achieve from such a dialogue?

We believe our image has been distorted. The government is taking harsh measures against us as a result of inaccurate security reports full of accusations. We called for a dialogue so that the government and the president could come to understand the true nature of the Brotherhood.

But, unfortunately, all channels of communication with government officials are closed. We are part of this society and we should be allowed to communicate with the government.

The Brotherhood is not a new or secret organisation. We have existed for 70 years, our Islamic identity is clear and our method of action is peaceful and non-violent. We are also accused of using violence when we fought the British occupation and Zionism in the 1940s.

We abide by the law and operate through legal institutions such as syndicates, student unions and local councils. We do this openly because Islam is the religion of the state and we are the advocates of Islam. We believe that shari'a is the solution for all the people's problems and we call for its application. We are ready to become the followers of anyone who applies shari'a.

The Brotherhood has been accused of infiltrating civil institutions. Is this true and if so, how do you justify it?

We are committed to our principles. Anyone with principles will display there wares to the people; then it is up to the people to accept or reject them. This is our constitutional right and I don't think that our Islamic line contradicts the state's.

What they call infiltration is not done with the objective of overthrowing the government, ever. We do no seek power like the political parties. We just want someone to rule by shari'a and we are ready to be his soldiers.

We are not against the government or the constitution. Yet we are accused of acting to overthrow the government. Where is the proof? And if we really wanted to seize power, why were we left alone for all those years?

But some analysts believe that the Brotherhood's decision to nominate more than 160 candidates in the coming elections was taken to challenge the government.

The decision to run for election is taken by the candidates themselves. We do not force anyone to do anything against their will. It so happened that the number of Brotherhood candidates who came forward exceeded 160.

Naturally, we have no guarantee that even half this number will win. It all depends on candidates' popularity with their constituents, on the other hand, and government non-interference, on the other.

I believe that the arrest of Brotherhood members was an act of interference on the part of the government, which was seeking to prevent them from running for election. It is obvious governmental interference to prevent them from exercising their constitutional right.

What we need to know is why the government interprets our participation as a challenge. If you review the names of the detainees, you will find that they occupy prestigious posts in universities and syndicates and are honourable people. They were arrested simply because they wanted to run for election.

First of all, we are Muslims, and Islam is the greatest gift bestowed by God on His worshippers. Islam has demands much larger in scope than praying or behaving morally. Islam is a comprehensive political, economic and social way of life which has to be followed.

It is the responsibility of the state to implement this system and also to protect Muslims from their enemies. We are working for the establishment of an Islamic state.

The Brotherhood was established by Imam Hassan El-Banna following the collapse of the Ottoman caliphate. El-Banna said at the time that without an Islamic state, Muslims would face eradication.

In establishing the Brotherhood, El-Banna sought to liberate the Islamic world from foreign occupation as a step towards founding the Islamic state. This is our aim. And let me point out that the successive government clampdowns will not succeed in suppressing us, no, they only serve to enhance our strength and commitment to our beliefs.

If your aim is the establishment of an Islamic state, don't you think that the government has every reason to worry?

No, because we are not talking about seizing power in a coup d'état. Our method is peaceful; it is preaching and moulding public opinion to respond to our ideology. If we can succeed in establishing an Islamic state through elections, no one will be able to say that we overthrew the government, because we are using constitutional methods.

We are not violent or bloody revolutionaries; we merely say that Islam is the solution. Some people believe that our objective is to form a divinely-mandated theocratic government. In fact, all we seek is an Islamic state based on shari'a.

All that we seem to get from the Brotherhood now is a handful of political pamphlets and statements. Are you relying on the 'younger generation' to spread your ideology?

No, we do not rely solely on the syndicate generation. Our aim will take time to be realised; these things take time. So we must pass our message on to each new generation and they should do the same for the next generation until our aim is achieved.

The Jews began making plans for their state nearly a century ago and yet they are still no secure. God willing, they will never be secure.

It may take us a century to establish an Islamic state. Our principles should be bequeathed to future generations and there should be no deviation from these principles.

We are surprised that they were put on trial before military courts, and we believe this was done to prevent them from entering parliament.

A military trial does not give the defence lawyers a fair chance, and the sentences of a military court can not be appealed. The lawyers had no choice but to walk out.

We are not comfortable with the situation. Will the lawyers be given a better chance in the second trial? We will find out soon.

Although the Brotherhood have announced recently their adherence to democracy, your support for the Sudanese regime and your monopoly over the professional syndicates, as two prominent examples, have shed doubts over your democratic intentions.

Islam is a religion of peace, multilateralism and tolerance. It is the basis of everything we do and believe. Therefore, Shura (consultation) is a duty. Our only reservation about democracy is that it gives sovereignty to the people in everything. We are not against this, but this sovereignty must be within the framework defined by shari'a.

The British parliament, in the late 1960s, for example, legalised homosexuality. For us, this would not conform to shari'a. Democracy is acceptable so long as it is in the best interest of the people.

In the issue of Sudan, your statement is not entirely accurate as we do not agree with all the measures undertaken by Sudan, or, for that matter, Iran. Who said that all their actions are in compliance with Shari'a? The enemies of Islam simply enjoy promoting their wrong doings in order to prevent the establishment of a true Islamic State.

Within the syndicates, the Brotherhood has proven that it can improve all the syndicates it controls. It has gained power through free elections and has made tremendous progress in improving the services provided by the syndicates. In such a light, how can anyone say we monopolise them? Go and ask the syndicate members, they will tell you.

		Al-Ahram Weekly Issue No. 247 16 - 22 November 1995
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875