RUTHFULLY YOURS

As the Iran-Israel war enters its second week, the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s largest and most influential Islamist Sunni organization, has come out in support of the Iranian regime.

In a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Salah Abdel Haq, named Israel, the US, and other western countries as a common enemy of the Islamic ummah (nation). The letter reflects an ideological affinity with the rhetoric of the Iranian regime and its terror proxies: Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. The letter shows that the Muslim Brotherhood has officially endorsed the Iranian regime’s slogans of “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” Abdel Haq wrote in the letter:

“On behalf of myself and the Muslim Brotherhood, I would like to reaffirm our full support for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of the brutal Israeli aggression…

“The Israeli aggression against Iran represents a new phase of aggression against Palestine, where the [Israeli] occupying government is motivated by retaliation due to the support provided by the Islamic Republic to the Palestinian resistance, in addition to other strategic motives represented by the occupying entity’s quest to impose its hegemony over the region by undermining its centers of power, exploiting the extensive support provided to it by the USA and other Western countries…”

The Muslim Brotherhood leader said it was time for Sunni and Shia Muslims to put aside their differences and unite against the enemies of the Islamic ummah.

“We are one nation, in the religious, spiritual, civilizational, and geopolitical senses alike…

“Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood has no doubt that our enemy is the same: the Zionist entity. Our primary weapon, which we must adhere to, is the unity of the Islamic Ummah, and working to unify efforts in a comprehensive strategic vision that directs the Ummah’s compass toward its true enemy…

“Today, the Muslim Brotherhood adheres to the call of [Muslim Brotherhood founder] Imam Hassan al-Banna; He defined our approach towards all Islamic bodies and organizations, saying: ‘We strive to bring viewpoints closer together and reconcile different ideas in a way that will make truth prevail under the shadow of cooperation and love. No jurisprudential opinion or sectarian disagreement will separate us. We believe that the day will come when names, titles, formal differences, and theoretical barriers will disappear, and in their place will be a practical unity that unites the ranks of the Muhammadan battalion, where Muslim brothers work for the religion…'”

By voicing support for the genocidal anti-Western regime of the mullahs in Tehran, the Muslim Brotherhood is showing its true colors: It views Israel and all Western countries as the real enemy of Muslims.

The Muslim Brotherhood also considers pro-Western Arab and Islamic regimes as traitors. The group’s founder, Hassan al-Banna, accepted the utility of political violence, and members of the Muslim Brotherhood conducted assassinations on Egyptian state figures during his lifetime, including Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud El Nokrashi in 1948. Sayid Qutb, one of the organization’s most prominent thinkers, promoted the “takfirism” doctrine, which, according to an internal report commissioned in 2014 by then UK Prime Minister David Cameron:

“… has consistently been understood as a doctrine permitting the stigmatisation of other Muslims as infidel or apostate, and of existing states as unIslamic, and the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society.”

This doctrine continues to inspire many jihadist movements, including the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas, which is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The takfirism doctrine’s endorsement of “extreme violence” is why several Islamic countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritania have banned the Muslim Brotherhood. While Arab and Muslim leaders understand the threats posed by the Muslim Brotherhood, many Western countries continue to live in denial or choose a policy of appeasement toward the organization and its followers.

The Muslim Brotherhood has dozens of branches, offshoots and affiliates in many countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Kuwait, Mauritania, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States.

Qatar has historically provided refuge and support to Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members, especially those fleeing crackdowns against it in countries such as Egypt and Syria. Qatar has publicly funded and supported Islamist groups, and its state-owned Al-Jazeera TV network continues to serve as a platform for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Qatar has for many years provided political and economic support to Hamas. In 2008, Qatar reportedly pledged $250 million to Hamas. In 2012, Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani became the first head of state to visit the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, pledging $400 million to Hamas.

“Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Muslim Brotherhood found in Iran a new model for the Islamic system it had long sought,” according to the Yemeni newspaper Al–Ayyam.

“Although the Iranian regime is Shiite, the Brotherhood admired the idea of ​​an Islamic state that had overthrown the Shah, a US ally. The Brotherhood viewed what had happened in Iran as a victory for political Islam, even if the doctrines differed.

“Iran, in turn, began seeking to employ the Brotherhood in its strategy for regional expansion, supporting some Brotherhood branches in the region as part of a policy of strengthening its influence in the Arab world. During this period, cooperation emerged between Iran and Islamist movements such as Hamas and Hezbollah, with Iran providing financial and military support to these movements, which embraced the Brotherhood’s ideology.

“Despite the apparent alliances between Iran and the Brotherhood, this cooperation was viewed by Arab states, particularly those hostile to Iran such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as a stab in the back. These countries view Iran as a threat to their stability, given its interference in the internal affairs of some Arab countries and its support for armed Shiite groups such as Hezbollah and the Houthis.

“For Arab countries that disagree with Iranian policy in the region, the Brotherhood’s alliance with Iran is seen as a strengthening of Iran’s influence, as these Islamist groups are used as tools to undermine existing political regimes in Sunni Arab countries….

“Arab states harmed by Iran’s regional politics view the Brotherhood’s alliance with Tehran as support for Iranian agendas aimed at expanding its regional influence at the expense of Arab security. At the same time, the Brotherhood views Iran as an ally capable of providing financial and military support…

“Despite sectarian and ideological differences, both sides seek to achieve their own interests, even if this comes at the expense of Arab unity or regional stability. Through this alliance, Iran seeks to expand its influence in the Sunni world, while the Brotherhood attempts to exploit Iranian support to remain in the political arena.

“This alliance places the Brotherhood in a difficult position, as its political opponents accuse it of contributing to the destabilization of the Arab world through its alliance with Iran. Although the Brotherhood attempts to portray this alliance as a tactical one aimed at confronting Western powers, the truth is that this alliance harms the interests of Arab countries resisting Iranian influence in the region.”

Hani Salem Masshour, a columnist in the UAE, wrote that the Muslim Brotherhood leader’s letter of support to Khamenei proves that the mask has fallen from the face of the Islamist organization.

“The group’s statement is not, in reality, a text of solidarity with Palestine, but rather a document of political and ideological submission to the Tehran axis. Iran which has burned Syria, drowned Iraq, produced Hezbollah in Lebanon, and unleashed the Houthi monster in Yemen, has become, in the group’s lore, the ‘citadel of the nation’ and its ‘resistance shield.’

“Khamenei, who has never uttered a word about the bombing of [Arab civilians], or burning of Arab cities, has become, for the Muslim Brotherhood, a legitimate leader of the ‘oppressed,’ an infallible leader by political necessity.

“What is dangerous about the letter is not only what it contains, but also the timing, context, and hidden messages. The letter was written at the height of the escalation between Israel and Iran, at the moment where Khamenei’s international legitimacy is eroding after he crossed all red lines with his direct bombing of civilian areas inside Israel.”

Masshour warned that some Muslims will interpret the Muslim Brotherhood’s support for the Iranian regime as a green light to launch terror attacks, not only against the West, but also against Arabs.

“This letter cannot be considered a ‘political opinion,.’ It is a document aligning with an anti-Arab axis, written in religious language and directed at minds ready for recruitment. Those among the organization’s youth who read it will not understand it as a call for dialogue, but rather as an operational order [to engage in terrorism].

“What is needed today is a genuine dismantling of the Muslim Brotherhood’s machinery in the Arab world: Its platforms, associations, online accounts, and cultural facades. The Muslim Brotherhood is still alive and kicking, just waiting for the right moment to reproduce itself through more violence and under more flamboyant slogans…

“Palestine will not be liberated by those who praise Khamenei, and [Arab] capitals will not be protected by those who view Hezbollah as an ally. It is time to call things by their proper names: those who write a statement of thanks to Tehran are writing a testimony of their betrayal of truth, history, and their nation.”

There is no difference between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian regime when it comes to waging jihad (holy war) against Israel, the West and its Arab and Muslim allies. It is time for the US government to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. There is no reason why Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, is designated by the US as a terrorist organization, while the Muslim Brotherhood itself has not been banned.

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.