The myth of Brotherhood
I was eagerly following the news about what was being termed as Egyptian revolution's second anniversary. What came across, in fact, was more an evidence that the myth of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was falling apart for the entire world to see. To me, it was not a big surprise. I always believed that the conservative groups could never succeed in today's world, irrespective of whether they were Muslim or else. Any shift towards conservative trends was seen by people as being against their freedom and their right to choose. That is why every attempt by any conservative group to assume leadership ended dramatically.
I think the western society discovered long back that men of religion must not try to interfere in politics and the idea of forcing the people to think and act in a particular way was doomed to fail. These people did not inspire the masses to follow them by example but by virtue of the brute power that they come to hold.
I must hasten to add here that there is nothing in Islam which gives anyone the right to force people to become Muslims, or which mandates that a leader of any country has to be a member of some Muslim group and sport a beard. There were certain elements that want to control people's preferences and want them to repose their trust and future in someone who could ostensibly never lie or steal or kill. This is the myth of pious Muslim brothers.
Even though the idea seemed so naÔve, it has worked out well in the Muslim world and proven that there will always be some people, no matter how educated, who would believe in this theory blindly, especially the women. The conservative Muslim groups have used such elements successfully to further their political goals to grab power and thus control people's lives.
There has been an increased hunger for power among such groups which call themselves Muslim as if Islam is all about such people. It is not. Many have been bewitched and fell into the terror trap because of such thinking. Many ignorant people ended up killing innocents for no reason.
Ever since the failure of the Taliban, I have had suspicions about the ability of any conservative Muslim group to achieve democracy or sustain development or protect human rights, especially the rights of women and children. The Muslim brothers failed singularly in rather too short a time period. Just like the Taliban, they also abused women. No seems to be able to confront this and end it once and for all.
I recently read somewhere that the Muslim Brotherhood was the new curse. While some called it Arab spring and a heaven for these people, I think it has gave us an opportunity to explore and evaluate the realty of the Muslim Brotherhood which lies exposed. They are not new kids on the block, but a shot at power is new to them. This was something they had dreamed of, but never seriously expected to achieve as it happened in Egypt.
It seems the Muslim brothers are now the curse that has wreaked more misery on Egypt and may strike us too, as if we haven't had enough. The Egyptian president has committed to pursue the rebels and prosecute them, without trying to understand why they were still angry and where were the reforms after two years which he and his group promised to usher in within the first 100 days of achieving power? I leave the answers to your own judgment.
By Muna Alfuzai, Staff Columnist
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