The ideological resilience of Ikhwan: why it won't disappear anytime soon

Following the arrest of Ennahda Movement leader Rached Ghannouchi and the closure of Ennahda representatives in Tunisia, some groups that were already waiting on alert in Türkiye wasted no time to take action.

The so-called “analyses” presenting the Muslims Brotherhood Organization, also known as Ikhwan, as almost “the root of all the evil in our region” briefly claim the following: “The efforts made to pose Ikhwan on the Middle East as an Atlantic project were unsuccessful. American plans to design the region in the name of moderate Islam failed. Following Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Sudan, Ikhwan supporters faced smackdown in Tunisia as well.” One does not need to be a genius to understand that this claim contains a subtext that makes direct reference to domestic policy – and, in fact, a threat combined with sarcasm.

I wrote previously as well that there is no other Muslim country whose secular/non-religious segment is as anti-Islam as ours. Hence, numerous criticisms in Türkiye towards the “conservative government” quickly shift towards hostility to Muslims. There are many ignorant authors who take anything from the Islamic world and interpret it as they wish in seek of proving their criticisms. The majority of “Ikhwan criticisms” in Türkiye are thus the product of other pains.

One other matter requiring attention is that when the anti-Ikhwan groups in the Arab world are explaining the issue, they never say anything containing terms such as “Atlantic,” “The Greater Middle East Initiative,” “Washington,” “moderate Islam,” et cetera. This is another indicator of how arbitrary and shallow the “analyses” in Türkiye are. In this context, the “political Islam” model we are frequently presented with consists of an explanation used to push away from the system and marginalize politicians who have Islamic sentiments.

Baseless and superficial interpretation efforts aside, when analyzing the Ikhwan Movement, which is one of the most important political organizations in the Islamic world, the following five points need to be specifically highlighted:

The Ikhwan overcame countless obstacles, experienced highs and lows since its founding in 1928. The organization’s history bears deeper crises and more periods of uncertainty in its history than its current state. However, it always recovered and compensated for the losses.

Ikhwan is a movement that is based on an ideological background – though its achievements on the ground are questionable – with a serious theoretical infrastructure, written texts and body of literature, and its own thinkers. Therefore, unless the ideology that constitutes Ikhwan is eliminated, and wiped out of memories, Ikhwan will remain.

The organizations that replace Ikhwan or come to power by ousting Ikhwan in various countries, have a lifespan both sociologically and politically. As the shortcomings of existing models become increasingly visible over time, Ikhwan’s position will become clearer once again as an antithesis. It is enough to study history multidimensionally to understand this.

Ikhwan has had a different experience and journey in every country in the Middle East and the Islamic world. For example, it was part of the political organization in Jordan and Kuwait. It was involved in Katar’s education system, while it transformed into a social aid and solidarity organization in Yemen. Focusing on a couple of countries where Ikhwan faced the toughest resistance to make a generalization may mislead us regarding the organization’s nature, and the role it played in recent history.

In every country where Ikhwan had influence, all other political groups also adopted Islamic manifestations and started using Islamic discourses over time. This period, which can be referred to as the “Islamization race” – even though it was with the intention to gain position against Ikhwan – is one of the deepest influences the Ikhwan movement produced in Arab societies – and in fact throughout the Islamic world – and is yet to be studied in every aspect.

I wish our dear readers a blessed Eid, and pray that all the blessings and bounties presented by Eid completely embrace the Islamic world. May Eid help bind our wounds, heal broken hearts, and inspire our revival.