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In February 2004, the Rand Corporation issued a report titled “Civil Democratic Islam: Partners, resources and strategies,” which was among a number of significant reports that recommended the Islamists’ participation in government. The report recommended the initiation of a dialogue with moderate Islamists, and classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a moderate group.
However, the prospect of Islamists’ participation in government with U.S. cooperation was unlikely to happen in the era of Bush who, after launching two wars on two Islamic states, was a hated figure in Islamic countries. This agenda was much more likely to be achieved in the era of Barack Obama, who does not believe that an Islamist ideology poses a danger to the U.S. and does not view the prospect of an Islamist takeover as a threat.
As the Obama administration, the CIA and the Pentagon were in favor of the participation of moderate Islamists in government, a need arose for a non-Saudi, Arab agent, since Saudi Arabia was an agent of jihadist, Salafi[2], Wahhabi and Talibani Islam. The choice fell on Qatar, the small and wealthy state seeking to play a role in the region, and which also embraces the Muslim Brotherhood Baron Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Over the years, by means of huge funds, and through the Al-Jazeera channel, Qatar had played a part in increasing the discontent towards the old regimes, meanwhile promoting and paving the way for an Islamists takeover of the region. Qatar has funded several institutions and Think Tanks that address the subject of Islam and democracy or advocate for the participation of Islamists in government. For several years, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Radwan Masmoudi and other friends of the Muslim Brothers and Qatar have been active in the U.S. and Europe promoting the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamists in government through ballot boxes. In a single year, ten major conferences were held in the U.S. and Europe, sponsored by universities and renowned Western Think tanks, to discuss the participation of Islamists in government—which raises the question: where did the considerable funding required for these conferences come from?
After the collapse of the old regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Qatar turned its attention towards supplying its Islamist allies with massive funds to enable them to gain power through sham, dishonest elections. Saudi Arabia joined the foray by funding Wahhabi Salafi movements to preserve its influence in the new era.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. was willing to deal with Islamic governments in the region, and U.S. officials made subsequent visits to the region. The warm welcome given to Senator John Kerry in the Muslim Brotherhood Cairo office signified the new deal, and Salafi Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a candidate for the presidency, described Kerry’s visit as a herald of victory and good tidings. It was not surprising, then, that Qatar was the first country that Rashid Ghannouchi, leader of the Tunisian Party Al-Nahda, visited after winning the elections, and that the second was the United States.
In the past, the U.S. had supported Afghan jihad and reaped a bitter harvest in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001; but its support of a Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist takeover through ballot boxes in the Middle East would produce a harvest that is far more bitter for the U.S. and the entire world. These movements believe in the value of empowerment — that is, to make a show of embracing democracy when they are in a vulnerable state, and when empowered, to pursue their ultimate plan which is the establishment of a new Islamic Caliphate. This may very well spark a third World War launched from the Middle East against Israel, the U.S. and the West in general, possibly taking a religious form, i.e. Islam versus Christianity and Judaism. That scenario effectively means that the United States is contributing, unknowingly, to the revival of the Islamic Caliphate, and the ensuing religious wars.
Starting with Hassan al-Banna and ending with the current leader Mohamed Badie, the Muslim Brotherhood has never denied its quest to revive the Caliphate. On January 2, 2012, the Arab Newspaper As-sharq al-Awsat published statements made by Mohamed Badie confirming that the Egyptian president will not represent the highest authority in the country, implying that the highest authority would be religious. Following Badie’s meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader and P.A. Prime Minister, Haniyeh announced that Hamas has become a jihadist movement affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
The U.S./Muslim Brotherhood/Qatari agreement supposedly guarantees that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel would be maintained, the rights of women and minorities would be protected, Iran would be held at bay, and that the fate of the government would be decided at the ballot boxes. But who can really guarantee that these commitments will be honored? Did Hamas hold on to democracy after gaining power? Recent statements published in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masri al-Youm seem to actually confirm these doubts, as Dr. Ahmed Abu-Barakah, legal adviser to the Justice and Development Party (the political wing of the Brotherhood) said: “The United States and its aid can go to hell,” adding that, “One of our parliamentary goals is to terminate the U.S. aid, because it is a means used to manipulate our affairs.” Deputy Brotherhood leader Dr. Rashad al-Bayoumi said in remarks quoted most recently by the German Agency that the movement will pursue legal action against the peace treaty, adding, “I am not bound by [the treaty] at all, and we may submit it to the people or its elected parliament to give their say.” He stressed that members of the movement will never sit with Israelis, and will not deal with them (Al-Masri al-Youm, January 2, 2012).
The game of dealing with Islamists is a dangerous game that can backfire with terrible repercussions. There are precedents: In 1928, the British intelligence supported Hassan al-Banna to counteract the popularity of al-Wafd party, and in return, its camps were attacked by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1951 and 1952. Israel Security Agency, the Shin Bet, Played a part in creating Hamas as a means to counteract the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian leftist organizations. It was later rewarded with waves of terrorism that have yet to stop. Richard Labévière in his book “Dollar for Terrors” stated that the Shin Bet had provided support to Hamas to thwart PLO activities. He quoted former Israeli military governor of Gaza, General Saagaf, who said, “We offer financial assistance to some Islamic movements, as well as help in the construction of mosques and schools to establish a counter-force to the leftist and nationalist groups that support the PLO.”
Sadat was killed at the hands of the Islamists he supported, and prior to that, King Faisal, the prominent founder of Islamic fundamentalism, met the same fate. Pakistani President Zia ul-Haq was also killed, while Jaafar Nimeiri was exiled to Egypt where he died. The horrific events of September 11 in the U.S. were committed by those who received U.S. help in Afghanistan, while London lives under a continuous threat posed by the fundamentalists it shelters, and Europe is at risk of seeing its Muslim minority being either seduced or provoked by fundamentalists.
It should be pointed out, again, that to support an Islamist takeover of the Middle East will prove to be a wrong strategic choice on the long run, and even worse, it may be a launching point to a third World War which would be led by the same Islamists who seem to be the new allies of the U.S.
[1] Wahhabism is an Islamic religious movement. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim fundamentalist theologian (Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab) (1703–1792) fromNajd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations. Wahhabism is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
[2] A Salafi is a follower of a Sunni Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples. Salafism is commonly associated with literalist and puritanical approaches to Islamic theology. The term Salafi has become particularly associated with Muslims who espouse violent jihad against civilians as a legitimate expression of Islam.
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