ISIS & Restructuring the Middle East: Al-Qaeda and ISIS: Two Dissident Offshoots of Brotherhood

ISIS & Restructuring the Middle East

By

Mohamed Arabi

Teaching Assistant at Al-Azhar University - Cairo

MSFF Fellow at the American University – Washington DC

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Booklet Series Project Issued and Published by

The Arab Center for Research & Studies (ACRS)

Email: [email protected]

Preface:

The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the oldest movements of political Islam that used violence against its opponents and established a special offshoot to assassinate or terrorize those adopting a different ideology, giving many terrorist and extremist groups the chance to emerge, such as Takfir wal-Hijra (blasphemy and exodus)1, as well as the Islamic Liberation Organization2, and Al-Qaeda3.

Terrorism is a Muslim Brotherhood ideology:

When the Muslim Brotherhood launched its magazine Al-Nazeer in 1937, Sheikh Ahmad Abd al-Rahman al-Banna al-Sa'ati4, Father of Brotherhood Founder Hassan Al-Banna, was keen to write the editorial, saying:

"Be ready, soldiers, and keep your weapons ready too. Be vigilant and let no one amongst you look back, but pass on whither you are ordered. Guide this plagued nation into the right path gently, and be aware that many of those residing along the Nile River suffer heart diseases. In case of disobedience, shackle those cancer-like opponents and force them to follow your instructions, or get rid of them."

This editorial has drawn up the methodology adopted by the Muslim Brotherhood as part of its endeavors to gain power. In doing so, the group started to use violence against its opponents and terrorize them in order to top the scene in Egypt. The editorial also illustrates how the Brotherhood sees itself as the only group, which makes no mistakes and is capable of reforming the nation. The group, as mentioned in the article, behaves as if it is the safeguard of the nation and declares war against opponents, describing them as cancer that should be eliminated.

The editorial also shows how Muslim Brotherhood leaders have used religion to prove the validity of their viewpoints and demonstrate their superiority over others, and this was actually scary as it was the first step on a long path of violence and terrorism, adopted by the group. The Brotherhood leaders also claim that their beliefs are the only reflection of the right Islam, so they do not permit others to argue or go into dispute with them.

Muslim Brotherhood is a Terror-Maker Group:

The Muslim Brotherhood is known for its long criminal history since its foundation at the hands of Hassan Al-Banna and until now. It always stands behind violence and terrorist acts, and if not, it ignores them and even does not condemn them, unless this condemnation would serve its interest. In fact, most of terrorist and armed groups in Egypt are descending from Brotherhood, including Al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah⁵ (Islamic Group), Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine⁶, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Takfir wal-Hijra, and others.

In order to have a closer look on the role played by Brotherhood and its military wings in causing havoc in our societies today, it is necessary to shed light on one of the most prominent leaders of the Brotherhood, namely Sayyid Qutb7, whose thoughts have touched hearts of a wide range of the group’s youths inside and outside Egypt and led to the emergence of several Jihadi figures, such as Al-Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif8, aka Dr. Fadl, and Abu Musab al-Suri9, aka Mustafa Setmariam Nasar.

Misled by Qutb's thoughts, 100 members of the Islamic Liberation Organization had stormed the armory of the Military Technical Academy in Cairo in April 1974, seizing weapons and vehicles. Led by Salih Sirriya, they hoped to kill late Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat and other top Egyptian officials, who were attending an official event in the Arab Socialist Building. But Egypt's security forces were able to intercept conspirators before forcing them to enter the academy, killing 11 and wounding 27 others.

In his book "The Global Islamic Resistance Call, Al-Suri said: A cluster of senior intellectuals and preachers found out in the early 1960s that the nation suffers badly from many issues, atop of which are blasphemy, aggression, injustice, occupation, theft and others. The enemy spares no effort to keep such issues persistent though terrorizing opponents and throwing them into jails. So, it was normal to unleash jihad to establish the rule of Allah in the country and defend our religion. At this moment, the Jihadi thought emerged under prominent late leader Sayyid Qutb."

Taking about the corruption of human-made laws, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif quoted Qutb, in his book Fi Zilal al-Quran10 (In the Shade of the Qur'an) part 6 – pages 895:896- as saying: "Allah revealed all religions to be a wayof life. Religions are meant to lead, organize, guide and maintain the human life. None of heavenly religions, in spite of their importance, were sent to be a mere doctrine or just rituals performed in a temple or Mihrab11. Instead, they were revealed to be like a law that is applied to all people and governors, a law that punishes violators for their encroachments. In fact, the human life will be nonsense, unless such doctrine, rituals and laws are taken from only one source that dominates peoples’ beliefs, secrets as well as their behaviors, and holds them accountable for their acts in life."

Qutb added: "When humans are controlled by different powers and take their orders from different sources; when our relationship with Allah are confined to just some beliefs and rituals, while regulations and laws govern our relations with others; when the power of accountability in the afterlife is in the hands of Allah, while the power of accountability in the life is in the hands of others, the human life is then corrupted as the Holy Qur'an said in many verses: If there were therein gods beside Allah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered, And if the Truth had followed their desires, verily the heavens and the earth and whosoever is therein had been corrupted, "And now have We set thee (O Muhammad) on a clear road of (Our) commandment; so follow it, and follow not the whims of those who know not."

Commenting on the quote, Al-Sharif said: "All this is meant to explain the corruption of human-made laws. Allah says "Is it a judgment of the time of (pagan) ignorance that they are seeking? Who is better than Allah for judgment to a people who have certainty (in their belief).al-Ma'idah 50".

Al-Zawahiri¹² and Sayyid Qutb:

In his book Knights under the Prophet's Banner, Al-Zawahiri says: "The last words of Sayyid Qutb when he refused to apply for an amnesty from late President Gamal Abdel Nasser13 saying (the forefinger that testifies in every prayer that Allah is one rejects to write a supplication) have become a constitution and a methodology on honoring principles, that are learned by fundamentalists from all over the globe."

Al-Zawahiri stressed that Qutb was the first person to stress the importance of monotheism in Islam and declared that the battle between Islam and its enemies is either a doctrinal battle over the issue of monotheism or a battle over the ruler: Is it the approach and law of Allah; or human-made laws and material principles; or mediators between the Creator and his creations?

Qutb's thoughts helped the Islamist movement to get acquainted with its enemies and acknowledge that the internal enemies are no less dangerous than the external ones. Rather, the internal enemies are a tool in the hands of and a shelter for the external enemies in their war on Islam, Al-Zawahiri said.

Speaking of the plan of Qutb and his colleagues to face the regime of Abdel Nasser, Al-Zawahiri said: The Islamist movement had waged a war on the (Nasser) regime as an enemy of Islam, in contrast with its previous principles that the enemy of Islam is only the external one. Although followers of Sayyid Qutb were brutally oppressed and persecuted by the Nasser’s regime, it was impossible to limit their growing influence on young Muslims. The call of Qutb for the dedication of monotheism to Allah and the full submission to the principle of divine governance and to the sovereignty of Allah’s rules was and still is the spark of Islamic revolutions against the enemies of Islam at home and abroad. Such revolutions still have endless bloody chapters till now.

Al-Zarqawi¹⁴ and Sayyid Qutb:

We wouldn't be exaggerating to say that the influence of Sayyid Qutb is greater than the influence of any other Islamist intellectual, especially on successive generations of Salafi Jihadism. Such is proved by hundreds of documents that fill my library and are written by dozens of intellectuals and radicals of these groups, especially those who belong to the different generations of Al-Qaeda and its offshoot ISIS. Briefly, we will highlight the influence of Sayyid Qutb on one of the fiercest terrorists of the current generation, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who was killed by US forces in June 2006.

In his book Commandments to the Mujahidin, Al-Zarqawi said: How great were the comments of Sayyid Qutb on the Holy Quran verse, saying How many a little company hath overcome a mighty host by Allah's leave! Allah is with the steadfast. This is the rule of those who know that they would meet Allah someday. The rule is that the believers should constitute a little group as they are the ones who are able to overcome the hardships until they are chosen to be among the elites. Although they are little, they are always the winner as they pledge allegiance to the only source of power, namely Allah the Predominant, the Omnipotent over His slaves, the Crusher of the haughty people and the Destroyer of oppressors and arrogant people. Done!!

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In the first chapter of this book, we will shed light on al-Qaeda since its foundation at the hands of Abdullah Azzam, who assumed top positions within the Brotherhood Muslim, and how it was intellectually and dynamically developed during Usama bin Laden¹⁵’s era, when Al-Qaeda was active in the Taliban’s areas of influence in Afghanistan. This chapter will tackle reasons for Al-Qaeda apocalypse following the September 11 attacks, especially after the death of Usama bin Laden and his replacement by Ayman al-Zawahiri.

****

The four-part second chapter will take on the emergence of Al-Qaeda-offshoot ISIS at the hands of Abu Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi under the name Al Qaeda in Iraq before being turned into the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. It will also shed light on the declaration of the Caliphate State by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi¹⁶ and the fight between ISIS and Al-Nusra Front¹⁷ to gain control over the Syrian territory. The chapter will discuss in detail the conflict between Al-Qaeda and ISIS over the areas of influence in the Maghreb and West Africa.

****

The third chapter reviews the Egyptian government’s war on Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist groups in Sinai as well as coordination between terrorist groups and the Brotherhood group in Egypt, Syria and Libya.

***

The fourth chapter tackles the Western-American plans to divide the Middle East, including Bernard Lewis plan¹⁸, as well as the Creative Chaos theory and the Greater Middle East project¹⁹, especially after the Arab Spring revolutions. The role of Islamist currents, including moderate and radical one, as well as the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in implementing the American vision will be discussed in this chapter as well.

In the same context, the chapter will highlight the role assigned to Qatar as an agent to implement the American plan, in coordination with the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist groups in the region.

*****

Mohamed Arabi

Cairo - March 1, 2020

Chapter I

Al-Qaeda’s Origin and Beginnings: A Brainchild Sprung from the Brotherhood

In May 1986, Dr. Abdullah Azzam set up Al-Qaeda’s first training camp in Afghanistan, dubbing it ‘the Lion's Lair’. Joining the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood at the early age of fifteen, Azzam was one of the group’s most notable young cadres. His personality was significantly influenced by Hassan al-Banna, the group’s founder. Specifically, Azzam considered the epistles of Al- Banna a blueprint that sets out the foundations for the Islamic movement at all times and places.

During his tenure teaching at the University of Jordan, Azzam was a very active Brotherhood affiliate, delivering numerous enthusiastic speeches. Taking his activism a step further, Azzam relentlessly recruited young people around him for the Brotherhood offshoot in Jordan until he left the Hashemite Kingdom for Saudi Arabia. There, he worked at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah in 1981 thanks to the overwhelming power and influence the Brotherhood had in Kingdom at the time.

There, he met Kamal al-Sananiri, one of the most important men in the Muslim Brotherhood's Special Apparatus, whose duty was concerned with administering jihad in Afghanistan. Al-Sananiri asked Azzam to travel to Afghanistan in order to to bring about a strong presence for the Muslim Brotherhood there,