The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria: The Democratic Option of Islamism

by Naomí Ramírez Díaz

Overview

Anyone who follows world events has heard of the Muslim Brotherhood. Usually considered a fundamentalist religious organisation opposed to secular regimes, the so-called Arab Spring began to challenge this conception, and showed the MB’s commitment to democratic principles and elections, albeit with certain difficulties. Until now though, most analysis has focused on the Egyptian branch – the group that gave spiritual birth to the local branches in other countries – with very little having been studied about the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, especially since the Hama massacre of 1982 and the formal disappearance of the group from Syria.

This book provides a deep insight into the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood’s ideological evolution from its inception until present-day. Since Syria has unfortunately become the place where all forms of Islamism converge, understanding the SMB, their ideological evolution, and their potential role as moderating forces, is essential in order to debunk some clichés on the MB in general. Each chapter corresponds to a specific period in the SMB’s timeline, while the final chapter discusses how the endemic gerontocracy of the group calls for an urgent renovation of structures, and stresses the importance of younger generations in renovating the ideology of the SMB.

Through the examination of original primary sources written by the SMB themselves, and relevant groups related to them, this book challenges the traditional categories applied to Islamist movements. It will therefore be a key resource for anyone studying Islamist movements, as well as for students and scholars of Middle East and North African Politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367735852
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/18/2020
Series:	Routledge/ St. Andrews Syrian Studies Series
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Naomí Ramírez Díaz received her PhD on Arab and Islamic Studies from the Autónoma University of Madrid. She has published numerous articles on the Syrian struggle and has also translated multiple sources, providing the public with first-hand accounts of the situation in Syria.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The democratic option of Islamism 6

What is Islamism? 6

Islam and democracy 12

The concept of opposition in democratic systems 15

Elections, nationalism and Islamism 17

From the 'Failure' of political Islam to post-Islamism 18

The democratic option of Islamism 20

References 22

2 Key ideologues of the SMB 25

Early stages 26

Mustapha Sibai, post-Islamist avant la lettre? 28

Citizenship 30

Socialism 32

Popular sovereignty 34

The role of Islam 35

Yes to ikhtilaf and no to fitna 36

Said Hawa and the change in context 37

A vague understanding of democracy 38

Islamic government and democracy in Hawa's thinking 39

Secularism and Islam 42

His stance on reforming the SMB 43

Hawa and Marwan Hadid 44

Conclusion: Sibai and Hawa: two figures, two methods and some similarities 44

References 46

3 The Fighting Vanguard and the radicalisation of the SMB's discourse 49

A particular context 49

Was sectarianism the primary cause of the uprising? 50

The Baath in power 51

The Fighting Vanguard: the origin of the armed struggle 52

The SMB and armed action 54

Confusing wheat with chaff 55

Differences over how to end the conflict 57

Short-lived alliances 59

The Islamic revolution: the SMB's attempt to grab hold of the situation 60

Discrepancies with Khomeini's Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979 61

The aftermath of the massacre 62

The SMB and the negotiations with the regime 63

The national alliance for the liberation of Syria 63

Early stages 65

The role of the Iraqis and the Lebanese 66

One last attempt 67

From direct contacts to mediations 68

Early mediations in the time of Hafez al-Asad 68

Hamas' early incursions 69

The dilemma of the Islamist groups in the region 70

Conclusion: the pitfall of the SMB after years of splendour 71

References 74

4 Back to basics under Bashar al-Asad 76

Twenty years after Hama 76

Bashar I of Syria 77

The so-called 'Damascus spring' 77

The National Honour Pact 80

The document's content 80

The eighties Achilles 'heel: the thorny sectarian issue 82

A further political impulse: the SMB's political program 82

Religion and politics 83

The civil State 84

The Islamic reference 86

Freedom 87

The rejection of violence 88

Citizenship and equality 88

The functioning of the State 90

The role of Zuhair Salim 91

Secularism 92

Reflections on the State 93

The Damascus Declaration 94

The Syrian regime and Islamist actors 95

Hamas 96

The AKP's involvement 97

The alliance with Khaddam and the return of Hamas 97

Suspension of their opposition activity 98

Conclusion: involution, negotiations and stalemate 99

References 101

5 The SMB and the Syrian revolution 104

A late incorporation 105

The calls for demonstrations 105

The political front 108

The creation of the first opposition group and its expansion 109

Declaration of principles 110

The creation of a political party 112

The militarisation of the revolution 113

The SMB's role in the armed conflict 114

Al-Nusra: how to deal with Al-Qaeda's presence in Syria 115

The Revolutionary Honour Pact 116

What about military intervention by external actors? 118

Humanitarian campaigns 119

Conclusion: biting off more than one can chew 120

References 123

6 The generational cleavage and the need for internal reform 125

Reactivating the role of the new generations 126

SMB grassroots inside the country 126

Outside the country 127

Social media 128

Demanding more power 129

The achievements of the youth 130

Maktab al-Shabab: the youth office 130

Media outlets developed by the youth 131

Ideological contributions of the younger generations 132

The global and holistic nature of Islam (shumuliyyat al-islam) 132

Citizenship and the Islamic reference 134

The concept of shura 136

Should there be a common project? 138

The role of women 139

The need for an internal reform in the SMB 141

The short-lived MB Egyptian experience 142

SMB stances on the Egyptian MB 143

With regards to Mursi's rule 143

Immediate reactions after the military coup in Egypt 145

The effect of the coup in Egypt on the internal dynamics of the SMB 147

The political program of the National Party for Justice and the Constitution 148

Conclusion: what comes next? 150

References 152

Conclusions 155

Annex I Translation of "The Syria that we want", annex to the political project for the future Syria 161

Annex II Translation of the "National Document-Pact for the Future Syria" 164

Annex III Translation of the "Revolutionary Honour Pact of the Fighting Factions" 167

Annex IV Translation of the foundational statement of the National Party for Justice and the Constitution 169

Index 171