A Moroccan Lesson For The Brotherhood: Precisely What The Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood
28 February 2013
By Osman Mirghani
"Our party does not belong to the Muslim Brotherhood.
We are part of their school (of thought) however we
don't have an organizational relationship with them.
We have our own special development, ideology, and
institutes."
With this sentence, Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah
Benkirane, who is also Secretary-General of the
country's Islamist Justice and Development Party, drew
a dividing line between his political party and the
Muslim Brotherhood movement. He took pains to
emphasize ideological, developmental, and political
distinctions, particularly during this time when huge
comparisons are being made between the regional
Islamist movements, some of which came to power
against the backdrop of the Arab Spring wave. With
this statement, Benkirane emphasizes the differences
embraced by his party since its first establishment,
when it was known by a different name. This approach
was influenced by Morocco's historic situation and the
nature of Islam in the country, as well as the
political conditions that allowed party founder Dr.
Abdul Kareem Al-Khatib to participate in numerous
governments since the country's independence. Dr. Al-Khatib
participated in Moroccan governments under King
Mohammed V, and then later during the reign of King
Hassan II. He also headed Morocco's first parliament
following the 1963 elections.
The Moroccan Freedom and Justice party has excelled at
one other thing since its establishment, namely
emphasizing—in all of its endeavors—that it is
operating within the framework of the constitutional
monarchy and the Moroccan democratic concept. This is
something that was made clear in a message to certain
national Islamist movements, especially those that
have moved towards a conspiracy and coup-based
approach in order to reach power. Benkirane confirmed
his party's continuance of its approach in statements
he made at a recent meeting with a number of Arab
media representatives, which was published by Asharq
Al-Awsat last Wednesday. During this meeting,
Benkirane clarified that "the Moroccans have a
historical awareness that the monarchy represents
stability and guarantees unity."
Benkirane made some important statements during this
meeting that deserve contemplation, especially at a
time when the majority of political Islamist
movements, or shall we say movements that want to
monopolize Islam and use it to achieve political
objectives, are expressing impatience towards the
democratic atmosphere and inclining towards an
authoritarian approach. One of the most important
things said by the Moroccan Prime Minister—who was
tasked with forming a cabinet following his party
winning a parliamentary majority in 2011—was: "Our
fundamental belief is that the people did not vote for
us as a party with an Islamic reference in order to
impose our understanding of Islam on them, rather they
voted for us to resolve their problems." He went on to
say, "Our concern is not to Islamize society, for the
society is Muslim. Rather there are social and
economic imbalances that we are trying to address,
particularly as the Moroccans voted us in to resolve
these." Here he is clarifying an understanding that
appears to be absent from many of the movements that
raise Islamic slogans and are working to reach
political power, namely that when people vote for a
party—even if it raises Islamic slogans—they are doing
so primarily for this party to address their
political, social, and economic problems or concerns,
and to guarantee their rights and preserve security.
They are not voting in order for this party to
encroach on their privacy and rights, and impose their
own Islamic approach, understanding, and viewpoint on
them which many Muslims may disagree with. These
parties or movements—collectively or
individually—don't enjoy a monopoly on Islam even if
they would like to portray the situation in this
manner.
The Secretary-General of the Freedom and Justice
Party, perhaps in light of the broad controversy being
played out in many Arab and Islamic countries, went
even further in explaining his party's viewpoint,
particularly in terms of his own governmental
experience. He said, "We did not come to tell the men
to grow beards or to impose hijab on the women, for
humanity does not go backwards. We do not believe in
the logic of interfering in people's lives. We do not
view this as being Islamic." In addition to this he
clarified what others before him had revealed and
publicly acknowledged, including the Hamas leadership
in Gaza, namely that when one finally reaches power
after lusting after it, they find it a difficult
reality in comparison to life in the opposition. In
the opposition, it is sufficient to offer theories and
criticism and view everything being put forward by the
other side as a mistake, acting as if they have all
the solutions to the people's problems in their hands.
Benkirane described the "persistent" problem of
governance, while Hamas chief Khaled Mishal described
governance as being "more complicated" than he had
expected, particularly as one must come up with
practical solutions to real problems rather than empty
theories and addressing people's concerns by selling
them hollow slogans and speeches.
This is something that was discovered by the Muslim
Brotherhood who reached power on the back of
extravagant promises, resonant slogans, and
"renaissance" programs. However they found themselves
facing the major problems of the largest Arab country,
including population challenges and the huge
expectation for quick solutions following the
revolution. The problem is that rather than
demonstrating some humility in the face of these
responsibilities, the Brotherhood revealed their
explicit trend towards monopolizing power in order to
impose their approach and viewpoint on others and
extend their influence on all aspects of life and
power. This includes infiltrating the judiciary and
trying to subjugate it before preparing for the
forthcoming battle to muzzle the media. One might say
that the Brotherhood have no choice but to pursue this
approach in light of the ongoing campaigns against
them, and the protests that have not stopped since the
revolution, however the reality is that it is their
own actions that have contributed to inflaming the
state of anger against them. The Brotherhood have lost
a lot of the sympathy and support that they had
garnered and which had granted them sufficient votes
to come to power in the first place.
In reality, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood are acting
as if they do not believe in the peaceful and
democratic transfer of power. It is as if they view
the situation as an opportunity to subject power to
their hegemony. They had sought to reach power for
long years, planning coups and conspiracies under the
previous regime. This is precisely what the Sudanese
Muslim Brotherhood did, and they represented the worse
example of Islamist rule after implementing a coup and
killing democracy in their country to form a
totalitarian regime. The Egyptian Brotherhood can, if
God grants them wisdom and foresight, learn from the
model of the Moroccan Muslim Brotherhood. They should
heed Benkirane's words that if their party succeeds in
government then they will say that God blessed it,
while if it doesn't succeed then at least it is not
the only party on the scene. What a beautiful message,
even if it viewed by some as being self-evident.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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