Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Islam in Egypt a growing force |
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| ahmer |
| 01/12/02 at 07:38:20 |
| masha'Allah:) Islam in Egypt a growing force Influence of Muslim Brotherhood felt throughout nation despite crackdown by government By HAMZA HENDAWI Associated Press Friday, January 11, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A10 CAIRO -- Mosques across Egypt overflow with worshippers during Friday prayers. More and more women -- even girls as young as seven and eight -- are covering up in public. Egyptians are peppering everyday talk with religious phrases and sayings of the Prophet Mohammed. Recitals of the Koran, Islam's holy book, blast from radios and cassette recorders in homes, taxis, public buses, stores and sandwich stands. Sex scenes have virtually disappeared from state TV, which interrupts programs to broadcast the five daily calls for prayer in this nominally secular country. Even though it's been outlawed for decades, the Muslim Brotherhood can take a large share of credit for persuading millions in this nation of 67 million people to wear their religion on their sleeves. An elaborate network of brotherhood schools, clinics, informal banking and even sports facilities offering services with efficiency chronically lacking in their state-run equivalents and charging less has endeared the Islamic movement to millions of poor Egyptian families. It once resorted to assassination and other violence to pursue its goal of a religiously based state, but the brotherhood says it wants to bring about change peacefully and has nothing to do with the kind of Islamic extremists linked to the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. The Egyptian government still considers the movement a threat, however, accusing it of being nothing more than a political face for extremists. Founded in 1928 but banned since 1954, the brotherhood wields the widest and most visible influence of any Muslim fundamentalist group in Egypt. For 30 years or more, it has played a central role in a stealthy revolution: keeping alive an Islamic revival that began in the waning years of the 19th century, bringing the faith's tenets closer to everyday life and managing to function despite state persecution. "We're still a long way off from achieving our aim of an Islamic state, but we have succeeded to a large extent in changing the fabric of society toward religious piety, except for a minority that's still hung up on Western values," said Essam Erian, a prominent brotherhood leader. The government of President Hosni Mubarak, seeking to appease a population becoming increasingly religious, is now attempting to project an Islamic image of its own. It allows bureaucrats to ban bokks and films deemed irreverent toward Islam and tolerates court rulings in favour of militant clerics demanding a stricter interpretation of the faith. It turns a blind eye to many brotherhood members running in elections but sees to it that the number of those winning seats remains low. In the election of 2000, 17 brotherhood members won seats in the 454- seat parliament, making them the largest opposition bloc but no threat to the overwhelming majority held by Mr. Mubarak's National Democratic Party. In the battle for Egyptians' hearts and minds, the government wields the power of prestige and feared security agencies. The brotherhood has the sympathy accorded underdogs. But the movement, which has inspired chapters in several Arab nations and elsewhere among the Arab diaspora, has had to dig deep to weather the latest government onslaught. For nearly a decade, Mr. Mubarak's government has rounded up hundreds of brotherhood members, jailing dozens after military trials and detaining others for months without trial. It insists the movement is a front for groups that waged a bloody revolt during the 1990s. While it's nothing the brotherhood hasn't experienced before, the crackdown has been more deliberate and ambitious than previous ones. The damage it's inflicting could be felt for years. Authorities now target the brotherhood's mid-level leaders, robbing the group of leaders of the future and those with youthful energy. At the same time, the government allows the group just enough leeway to keep frustration among supporters from boiling over. The latest round of arrests, in early November, is an example of the government's strategy. Trial in a military court began in late December of the 22 men arrested -- including doctors, engineers and academics -- charged with subversion, sedition and recruiting new brotherhood members. "Every time there are arrests, we lose some of our cadres and potential members are scared away," said Mr. Erian, who was released from prison in 2000 after serving a five-year sentence for belonging to an outlawed organization. [url]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/GIS.Servlets.HTMLTemplate? tf=tgam/common/FullStory.html&cf=tgam/common/FullStory.cfg&date=200201 11&cache_key=internationalAfricaHeadline¤t_row=1&start_row=1&num _rows=1[/url] |
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