The Muslim Brotherhood in the United Arab Emirates: Miscalculations

By Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi

Throughout history, religious groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, have risen in popularity during times of crises in countries all over the world – much like conservative political parties.



In this context, pure Islam, based on worship, respect, principles of religion and countering idolatry, must be differentiated from the religion promoted by groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. The group attempts to exploit religion to serve its own interests and to seize power. The Brotherhood’s goals may be fixed, but their interests are subject to change.



The issue for religious groups like the Muslim Brotherhood is their belief that any criticism of them is also a criticism of religion, despite the fact their ideas are merely human interpretations, which can be true or false. As a result, the exploitation of religion has become one of the defining characteristics of our modern era.



There are many narratives surrounding the inception of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE, however the correct account dates back to 1962, when Abdul Badie Saqr, a Qatari citizen of Egyptian origin, came to the UAE. The Qatari Brotherhood had also established a presence in Dubai in 1961, playing a major role in the establishment of the UAE’s Muslim Brotherhood group. When Abdul Badie Saqr arrived in the UAE, he was accompanied by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Abdul Mueizz Al-Sattar, Ahmad Al-Assal and Kamal Naji.



The Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE followed in the footsteps of its parent group in Egypt, and its branch in Kuwait. While the Kuwaiti model was followed in the Arab Gulf region, the Egyptian model was the superior example, in both political and religious contexts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ZAWYAT ALMAARFEH
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9789948210337

Book preview

The Muslim Brotherhood

in the United Arab Emirates: Miscalculations

Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi

First Edition 2022

Paperback Edition:      978-9948-21-036-8

Hardback Edition:      978-9948-21-035-1

Audio Edition:      978-9948-21-034-4

Electronic Edition:      978-9948-21-033-7

All correspondence should be addressed to:

United Arab Emirates

P.O. Box: 114898

E-mail: [e-mail]

Dedication

To My Dear Children

Contents

Preface      9

Chapter 1: Foundation and History

of the Muslim Brotherhood      45

Chapter 2: Origin and History

of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE      163

Chapter 3: The Awakening      191

Chapter 4: Manipulation of Education      205

Conclusion       229

Appendix 1: Global Regulations

of the Muslim Brotherhood      245

Appendix 2: Action Plan for the

International Movement in the Arab Gulf states      275

Appendix 3: Petition to Reform

Federal National Council      289

Appendix 4: Full Remarks by the

Former US President Barack Obama at Cairo University      297

Bibliography      323

Preface

Preface

T

he experience of the Muslim Brotherhood group in the United Arab Emirates has not yet been sufficiently investigated; it has been examined only in media articles, discussion forums and smaller-scale studies. In the UAE, the group’s Reform and Social Guidance Association (Al-Islah), manipulated the political and social environment over three decades to expand and strengthen its presence. Once it was strong enough, the group’s strategy was to wait for a crisis and then reveal its true agenda, however, this never transpired and their objectives were never met.

Religious groups, in a similar way to conservative political parties, become increasingly popular during times of national crisis. They attempt to use religion to serve their own objectives, in order to rise to power, claiming any criticism of them is a criticism of religion. Yet, their ideology is based only on human interpretations, which can be right and wrong. Common sense shows the difference between Islam as a religion, and Islam turned into an ideology by political and religious groups. In this context, pure Islam, based on worship, respectful behavior, principles of religion and opposing idolatry, must be differentiated from the religion promoted by these groups, most prominent of which is the Muslim Brotherhood.

One of the principle reasons for the sharp decline of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE is its considerable miscalculations and failure to understand the events of the Arab Spring. The Brotherhood saw the uprisings as their opportunity to take power, yet they had no clear vision of what to do afterwards. The group also misunderstood the 2011 UAE Petition,¹ which they saw as another route to power.

There are many narratives surrounding the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE, however, the accurate account dates back to 1962, when Abdul Badie Saqr,² a Qatari citizen of Egyptian origins, came to the UAE. Prior to that, the arrival of the Muslim Brotherhood group from Qatar to Dubai in 1961 played a major role in the initial establishment of the UAE Muslim Brotherhood. When Saqr arrived in the UAE, he was accompanied by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi,³ Abdul Mueizz Al-Sattar, Ahmad Al-Assal, Kamal Naji, among others, to deliver religious lessons, organize open meetings (halaqat) and lecture in mosques. Their activities were not limited to these areas, and the group also played a significant role in establishing the Ministry of Education and developing its curricula.

The Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE followed in the footsteps of its parent group in Egypt, and its branch in Kuwait. While the Kuwaiti model was followed in the Arab Gulf region, for the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE, the Egyptian example was the most important, to be emulated and applied in politics and preaching.

Compared to other branches in the Arab Gulf states, the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE and the Kuwaiti branch was particularly important. Abdullah bin Ali Al-Mahmoud⁴ played a major role in developing close ties during several visits to Kuwait, the first of which was in the early 1970s. Facilitated by Abdul Wadod Shalabi, a leader in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood who had been Al-Mahmoud’s deputy when he was in charge of Endowments (Al-Awqaf) in Sharjah, during the visits, Al-Mahmoud met with various Brotherhood leaders in Kuwait, such as Abdullah Al-Mutawa. Eventually, Al-Mahmoud and Al-Mutawa bought churches in the United Kingdom and transformed them into mosques, earning them a reputation among the group’s members in the UAE and Kuwait.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been trying to achieve political power, from its inception in 1928 until 2012, when it took the helm in Egypt and Tunisia. Wherever the group has a presence, it attempts to dominate sections of society, in a bid to wield broad influence over all of society and assume power. Its tactics include efforts to control students, teachers, labor and business associations, among many others. These efforts aim to achieve what they call the Brotherhoodization (Ikhwanization) of society.⁵ In this context, the Brotherhood ideology seeks to apply their own brand of Islam in Muslim societies (the vast majority of Arab societies), which do not accept the concept of an intermediary between themselves and God. After the group’s massive failure in Egypt, many believe the Muslim Brotherhood will not rise again in the next 100 years, unless it becomes integrated within another religious group.

In developing methods for infiltrating society, the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE relied on its branches in Egypt and Kuwait. A brief overview of its methods in the UAE makes it clear that the group adopted several approaches already used by the parent group and its branches in other countries. These include:

Claiming its mission was to welcome people to Islam as a religion, not to the group’s ideology.

Organizing lectures, open meetings (halaqat) and seminars.

Delivering Quran memorization lessons.

Tightening control over mosques; from building and renovation to appointing its Imams (an Imam leads Muslim worshippers in prayer) and muazzins (muazzin is the official who proclaims the call to prayer).

Publishing Al-Islah magazine in the UAE, based on the model of Al-Dawah in Egypt, Al-Mujtama in Kuwait and Al-Fajr magazine in Tunisia.

Seeking control over various sectors, particularly social and student activities.

Extensive control over education.

Infiltrating judicial departments.

Wielding broad influence over the media.

Providing financial support for poor families.

Building and controlling hospitals.

Organizing fundraising campaigns to support the Jihad movement in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and to help Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. While this was at times organized in secret, it was also conducted publicly, as governments did not oppose these types of activities.

Organizing physical training courses.

Organizing Haj and Umrah, as well as overseas tours to recruit new members and promote the group.

Control of various charitable activities throughout society.

Possessing the ability to ingratiate itself with governments, albeit temporarily. This takes place during what the group calls the Patience Phase, which is needed to reach the Empowerment Phase when the rulers and people see the other face of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Distributing material to promote the Muslim Brotherhood ideology and its positions on society’s issues.

The Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab Gulf⁶ has now entered a state of long-term conflict with the region’s governments. Initially, Gulf states provided the group with protection, influence and privileges, to confront Arab nationalism under Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser. This was similar to the approach taken by President Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat in confronting Nasserism by supporting political Islam in Egypt. However, the Muslim Brotherhood revealed its true face to the Gulf states when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 and it backed the invasion.

The Muslim Brotherhood began its activities in the Arab Gulf region after many of its members fled Egypt, Syria and Jordan, amid the group’s infamous confrontation with Nasser in Egypt. Among the most prominent Brotherhood leaders fleeing the crackdown in Egypt was Yusuf Al-Qaradawi. They justified their arrival in the Gulf with the words of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud to the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder Hasan Al-Banna in 1936: We are brothers, and we are all Muslims.⁷ The same transpired in Syria, after violent crackdowns on the group in Homos and Hama in 1981. Many who came to the Gulf countries were more educated than local citizens at the time, allowing them to control education, law and the media.

A number of Emirati students, who had graduated from institutions in Egypt and Kuwait, established the Reform and Social Guidance Association (Al-Islah) in 1974, with the support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Kuwait. Further details on this point, and the association’s ideology and agenda, can be found in a book by Mohammed Al-Mansouri,⁸ which confirms that the group’s methods are the same, regardless of the country.

In its opposition to the political establishment in the UAE, Al-Islah primarily focused on three key areas:

The Bai’a (oath of allegiance) and promoting loyalty to foreign entities. The Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE pledged allegiance to the Brotherhood’s General Guide in Egypt.

Confronting the UAE government through the 2011 Petition;⁹ which this book will examine in detail.

Announcing its interest in participating in government, amid uprisings in some Arab countries.

The UAE’s leadership attempted to dissuade the Muslim Brotherhood from their extremist views; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai (may God protect him), met with them. His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces (may God protect him), also had several meetings with the group. In those meetings, both Sheikhs attempted to convince the Brotherhood to abandon its approach of defiance and conflict, but their efforts were in vain.

The Muslim Brotherhood granted itself the right to establish branches in Arab and Gulf countries, including its branch in the UAE, which will be discussed further in Chapter 2. The group also attached itself to other religious organizations in Arab countries. As a result, loyalty and Bai’a was pledged to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guide in Egypt, by non-Egyptian citizens. The group used principles of unified Islamic action to justified its expansion, claiming it had not violated states’ sovereignty.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s approach in Egypt was replicated by its units and branches in other Arab and Muslim countries with nationalist and secular regimes. In those countries, its members’ activities were regularly investigated and reviewed; deemed a threat to domestic security and stability. Consequently, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Arab and Muslim countries, had three options: first, accept the concept of citizenship and its entitlements, abandoning the group’s goals, political interests and extremist religious thought; second, continue confrontation with the state; or third, flee to other countries, particularly, the Arab Gulf states. Some of the group’s members began to turn away from tensions with regimes, but many still persisted with confrontation and were imprisoned, while a large number fled to the Arab Gulf states.

One of the central ideas in this book is the unequivocal distinction between Islam, as a pure and heavenly religion encouraging tolerance, justice, love, the spread of virtue and peaceful cultivation of lands on the one hand; and, religious groups that attempt to employ religion to serve the interests of individuals and organizations on the other. The Muslim Brotherhood’s main goal is to exploit Islam and seize authority, controlling society and its economy, which quite clearly represents a serious threat to religion that must be addressed.

The UAE Muslim Brotherhood within the Framework of the ‘Parent Group’

It would be difficult to understand the ideology and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE without first considering the broader Muslim Brotherhood group’s trajectory and ideology. Members of Al-Islah, the parent group’s members in the UAE, are an integral part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s International Organization, pledging allegiance to it.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1924, combined with the emergence of a secular state in Turkey and colonization of countries in the region, caused resentment among conservative Muslims. This led to the gradual appearance of religious groups, professing their aim was to safeguard educational, cultural, intellectual and religious identity. From within this context, the Muslim Brotherhood group emerged.

The teachings and books of Hasan Al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Abul Al-A’la Al-Maududi, among others, became the foundation of the group’s thought. While the ideas adopted by its leaders and followers were derived from these sources, Qutb’s philosophy became dominant over time, even at the expense of Al-Banna’s thought.

These developments were also reflected in the Muslim Brotherhood group in the UAE, which split into two currents. The first was the extremist Qutbism current, led by Hassan Al-Diqqi, which believed Qutb’s ideology must be adhered to as the true system. The second current adopted the ideas of Hasan Al-Banna, and was led by Mohammed Al-Roken. However, the differences between the two sides were not over extremism and moderation, but were disagreements over tactics. One current sought to gradually control society and adapt to it, while the other aimed to take power and viewed society as either jahili (ignorant) or kafir (infidel).

Hasan Al-Banna defines the Muslim Brotherhood in his epistles as a Salafi call, Sunni order, Sufi reality, political organization, sports group, cultural and scientific association, company and social ideology.¹⁰ This broad definition reveals the Muslim Brotherhood’s strategy, aiming for the Brotherhoodization of all society in line with its views.

In the literature of its founder Hassan Al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood calls for a return to the early roots of Islam, and for rebuilding the unified Islamic umma and state, on the pretext of defending Muslim lands against Western colonization. Initially, the group was not an armed movement, but by 1938, it had developed a military arm. It began training its members, forming a special wing, the so-called ‘secret apparatus’, to carry out military operations.

During the 1950s, the group conducted military training on Failaka Island in Kuwait, where its members were trained by the late Abdulrahman Al-Ateeqi, former Minister of Finance and Oil, and advisor to the Emir of Kuwait, the late Sabah Al-Ahmad. Later, during the 1970s, the Brotherhood trained its members on Kuwait’s Boubyan Island, teaching specialist skills, such as the use of night vision equipment.

The Muslim Brotherhood experienced a rapid ascent during this time. Al-Banna’s argument was that Islam, as a fully integrated, comprehensive system of belief, offered an alternative to the Westernization and materialism threatening Muslim societies. According to Al-Banna, the only way to forestall social and moral deterioration was to return to Islam’s roots, specifically the period of the Rightly-Guided Caliphate, in the early decades of Islam.

Al-Banna’s ideas were largely influenced by nineteenth century Muslim intellectuals who spoke out against deteriorating conditions for the Muslim umma at the time. These Arab and Islamic Renaissance Movement thinkers were mostly concentrated in Egypt, where a stark paradox existed between widespread religious sentiment and religiosity on one hand, and the open-minded aspects of the British occupation on the other. Among those who influenced Al-Banna most were Muhib al-Din Al-Khatib and Abul Al-A’la Al-Maududi, who lived in India and wrote about the Islamic state and Caliphate. Those thinkers, in turn, were influenced by the reformist Muhammad Abdu who was prominent at the end of the nineteenth century and start of the twentieth century. However, they all, Al-Banna included, shunned Abdu’s call for openness to the West and the benefits it may have brought. Instead, they focused on fighting the West, adopting the ideas of Imam Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah, whose ideas were the product of specific historical circumstances, taken out of context and applied to modern public life.

Sayyid Qutb is seen as one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s most important leaders, and one of the most prominent theorists in modern Islam to have promoted violence in his teachings, particularly in his book Ma’alim fi Al-Tariq (Signposts on the Road). Qutb promoted violence as the only way to change society and the wider world. In his book, he used concepts of hakimiyya (meaning divine sovereignty and jahiliyya (ignorance of Islam),¹¹ in order to justify using the concept of takfir (excommunication) to describe Muslim and non-Muslim societies as in clear violation of the true teachings of Islam. How can a Muslim, who bears witness that there is no god, but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger, be excommunicated? Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: When a person calls his brother (in Islam) a disbeliever, one of them will certainly deserve the title. If the addressee is as has been asserted, the disbelief of the man is confirmed, but if it is untrue, then it will revert to him.¹²

Qutb was a schoolteacher from Upper Egypt, who never imagined he would become such a prominent figure. From August 1948 to August 1950, he was sent on a scholarship to the United States by Egypt’s Ministry of Education to study the country’s educational system. On his return to Egypt, from 1954 onwards, he was imprisoned for long periods for his militant ideas. During this time, he played the role of a victim who was tortured for defending the truth. These claims contributed to the increased spread of his ideas. Qutb made use of his ten years in prison, writing books on his ideas and vision of the Islamic foundations of state and society. Among his most important works were Fi Zilal Al-Quran (In the Shades of the Quran) and Ma’alim fi Al-Tariq (Signposts on the Road), which was smuggled out of jail by his sisters. In 1964, Qutb was released from prison, only to be re-arrested in August 1965, along with thousands of members of political religious groups accused of plotting armed action and assassinations of government officials. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1966.¹³

The second half of the 1960s was a critical period in the Muslim Brotherhood’s shift toward violence, fuelled by the appearance of Qutb’s writings, especially Ma’alim fi Al-Tariq (Signposts on the Road). Qutb believed in Abul Al-A’la Al-Maududi’s philosophy, and broke away from the ideas of other Islamic intellectuals. He pushed Islamic agendas that rejected the prevailing realities of Arab and Muslim societies at the time. He also called for the use of violence in Arab and Muslim countries, as well as in the West. Qutb maintained that authority belongs only to God (Allah) through the concept of hakimiyya, which is limited to Him by virtue of His divinity. In this context, rule is a divine attribute, and whoever disputes God (Allah) over one of His important attributes is an outright unbeliever, with his unbelief becoming an indisputable fact within religion. Therefore, legislation and the enactment of rules and laws becomes the right of God (Allah) alone; no-one else is authorized by Him. Qutb argued that anyone who claims the right of rule, or who denies that it belongs to God (Allah) and follows a way other than revealed by God (Allah), is considered an unbeliever and an apostate outside of Islam.¹⁴ The major problem with Qutb’s thought lies in its attempt to transform a shifting, secular domain, such as politics, and apply to it fixed, religious aspects.

The concept of divine hakimiyya in political Islamic thought is similar to the notion of sovereignty in modern political thought. The idea of hakimiyya was introduced to justify killing, especially a Muslim killing another Muslim in war over jahiliyya (ignorance of Islam). Qutb considered Muslims and non-Muslims as living in a state of jahiliyya, with jihad against existing regimes being the only way out of cultural and social deterioration.

The adoption of takfir (excommunication) has been used by the Muslim Brotherhood to legitimize its escalating use of violence. The Brotherhood has also given rise to many other violent movements, such as Al-Qaeda, Al-Jihad Al-Islami, Saraya al-Quds, Al-Takfir wal-Hijra and Da’esh.

Al-Qaeda’s ideology, which stemmed from the thought of Qutb and Abul Al-A’la Al-Maududi, is the exact expression of jihadist ideology. Among the students of Qutbism were Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri; and in the UAE, Hassan Al-Diqqi, who fled to Turkey or London.

There are many examples of the Muslim Brotherhood’s violent actions, including the following:

The assassination of Judge Ahmed Al-Khazindar in 1948.

The assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud Fahmi Al-Nuqrashi in 1948.

The assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Maher in 1945.

The attempted bombing of King George Hotel in Ismailia, Egypt in 1947.

The attempted bombing of Cairo’s Court of Appeal in 1950.

The attempted assassination of President Gamal Abdel Nasser at Al-Manshiya Square in Alexandria in 1954.

After the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood