Ideological Rapprochement of the Islamic Revolution and the Muslim Brotherhood

* By the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003, the Muslim Brotherhood organization was recognized as a terrorist organization and its activities in the territory of the Russian Federation are prohibited.

The ideological rapprochement between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Shiite movement of Islam is due to the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the 40s of the last century. The beginning of relations between the "Brothers" and Shiite Islam is connected with the support of the Al-Azhar Mosque for the idea of uniting Islamic movements during that period, which became possible due to the marriage of Egyptian Princess Fawzia and Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The conclusion of this marriage was primarily for political purposes: King Farouk and the Shah of Iran wanted to limit the influence of the Hashemite family, which at that time ruled Iraq and Jordan.^[1]

The formation of the "House of Rapprochement between Islamic Movements" prompted the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, to approach the Shiite doctrine, because he considered that the political course of Egypt at that time made it possible to approach the Shiites. Hassan al-Banna's appeal was addressed to all Muslim communities in the world. Al-Banna's ideology was universal, unrelated to any particular Muslim movement. In his personal letters, he said that he was addressing not only Sunnis, but all Muslims, and his ideology was an attempt to unite all Muslims.^[2]

During the meeting dedicated to the establishment of the House of Rapprochement, Hassan al-Banna met with Muhammad Taqi al-Qami, one of the most prominent Shiites. This meeting was the first step in relations between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Their collaboration continues to this day.

Omar Al-Tlemisani, the third leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said: "In the 1940s, Imam Mohammed Taqi al-Qami visited the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo and discussed the principle of rapprochement between the main Islamic movements for a long time and carefully: Maliki, Hanafi, Hanbali, Zaidi, Imamiya." The same text mentions that Hassan al-Banna met with the Shiite Marja al-Taqlid Ayatollah Kashani during his trip to the Al-Haram Mosque in 1948, where they discussed various issues. They agreed to hold a conference to gather and unite Sunnis and Shiites, but this did not happen due to the assassination of al-Banna on February 12, 1949.^[3]

Despite the lack of strong organizational ties between the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran after these meetings, the Brotherhood had a significant impact on the revival of the Islamic spirit in Iran. This movement sought to promote Islam not only as a religion, but as an idea regulating all aspects of political, economic and social life. Mojtaba Mir-Luhi, known as Navvab Safavi (1924-1956), was a young Iranian religious scholar who founded the Ansar al-Islam Association (SID) in the early 1940s and played an important role in linking Shiite fundamentalism with Islamic fundamentalist movements in other countries. Like the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, Ansar al-Islam believed that in order to resist the hegemony of the West, Muslims should fight sectarianism, put aside the Shiite-Sunni conflict and create a united Islamic front."^[4] Safavi Navvab visited Cairo in 1954, where he met Omar Al-Tlemisani, and was also the main speaker at a meeting at Cairo University, where, as the leader of Ansar al-Islam, he claimed responsibility for the assassination of former Iranian Prime Minister Razmar Aaj Ali.^[5]

Relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the leaders of Shiite movements in Iran continued until the Islamic Revolution. The proof of this was that the current leader of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was influenced by the ideology of Syed Qutb, the most important ideologue in the history of the Muslim Brotherhood. Before the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979, Khamenei translated two books by Sayyid Qutb, The Future of this Religion and Islam and the Problems of Civilization.^[6]

Muslim brothers and adherents of Khomeini share common Islamic views that make them closer to each other than to their fellow Sunnis and Shiites. The brothers believe that power is a religious “assel”, which means that a person's faith is incomplete without a promise of loyalty to the imam – unlike consensus in generally accepted Sunni Islam. This is similar to the Velayat-e-faqih doctrine, which states that a religious judge has custody of the people.

Other common features include the establishment of a “general leadership” and the ability to apply takiya, a form of religious hypocrisy (concealment of faith) in order to avoid persecution or harm. Both ideologies endorse elections as a political mechanism, but require the rule of sharia law and supervision of the population's choice by religious figures – which can be described as “democracy under the supervision of the clergy” or constitutional theocracy. In addition, both groups seek to expand their influence.^[7]

The position of the Muslim Brotherhood after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran

The Muslim Brotherhood welcomed the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini because this is the first time since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that an Islamic government has been established, and also because the success of this revolution has inspired confidence that the Muslim Brotherhood is capable of overthrowing the regime in Egypt. And we see the greeting and support of this revolution from the leaders and thinkers of the Muslim Brotherhood in Omar Al-Tlemisani's statement for the Egyptian magazine Al-Musawar in 1982: "We supported him politically [Khomeini] because the oppressed people were able to get rid of an unjust ruler and regain their freedom."^[8]

Rashid Ghannouchi in the book "The Islamic Movement and Modernization" said: "But we are among the directions that follow from the concept of Islam, which is comprehensive, aimed at creating a Muslim community and an Islamic state based on this comprehensive perception, and this concept belongs to three main directions: the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic groups in Pakistan and the Imam Khomeini movement in Iran. ^[9]

Abu al-Maududi told Davat magazine in 1979 in response to a question addressed to him about the Khomeini revolution in Iran: "The Khomeini Revolution, the Islamic Revolution and its sponsors are an Islamic group, and young people have been educated in Islamic movements, they especially need to support this revolution and cooperate with it in all spheres". ^[10]

The headline "The Iranian Revolution in Balance" was the main one in the Society magazine, presented by the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, written by Ismail al-Shatti, one of the symbols of the Muslim Brotherhood. The editor of the magazine said, "The Shiite Imamia is part of the Islamic Ummah, and all Muslims have a duty to protect them, especially if the enemy is non-Muslim and non-believer." ^[11]

Omar Al-Tlemsani, about five years after the revolution in Iran and at the height of the Iran-Iraq war, wrote an article in Dawat magazine from 1985, entitled "Shiites and Sunnis," in which he said: "The rapprochement of Shiites and Sunnis is the responsibility of Muslim scholars now." He also said, "The Brotherhood's relationship with Shiite leaders has not diminished. They contacted Ayatollah Kashani and received representatives  Navvaba Safavi in Egypt." He also said: "Apart from all the political differences between Shiites and others, the Muslim Brotherhood continues to strive for a certain rapprochement of various groups among Muslims." "Scholars of both fields are considered insufficient in their religious duties if they do not work to achieve the kind of rapprochement that every Muslim on earth desires," says Al-Tlemsani: "Our Muslim scholars should support the idea of rapprochement in order to prepare for a better future for Muslims."^[12]

The Muslim Brotherhood's support for the Islamic revolution in Iran was not limited to press releases and moral support: the Secretariat of the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood initiated contacts with Iranian officials to form a delegation of the Muslim Brotherhood and visit Iran to support the revolution.

To this end, Iran appointed a liaison officer with the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lugano, Switzerland, on May 14, 1979, to study decisions on relations with Iran.^[13]

However, Yusuf Nada, the Muslim Brotherhood's foreign relations representative, said that "the Muslim Brotherhood delegation met with Khomeini in Paris before going to Tehran and supporting the revolution. This delegation consisted of Rashid Ghannouchi, Hassan al-Turabi and representatives of the Brotherhood from Lebanon and Egypt. According to Yusuf Nada, this meeting took place in 1978. He also stressed that the Brotherhood had close ties with the leaders of the Islamic Revolution in Iran long before everything happened. The delegation that visited Tehran after the success of the revolution consisted of representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iraq. Although Tehran airport was closed at that time, the Brotherhood delegation was allowed to land, reflecting the strength of the relationship between the Brotherhood and the revolutionary regime in Iran.  Another visit was paid in June 1979 to Tehran. Yusuf Nada was the link between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian revolution, the Iranian link was Khomeini's personal assistant Ebrahim Yazdi, who became the first foreign minister in the revolutionary government. The Muslim Brotherhood was in the period of the US siege by Iran due to the hostage crisis of the US Embassy in Tehran, which supplied the government of the revolution with food through Yusuf Nada companies. ^[14]

The Muslim Brotherhood viewed the success of the Khomeini revolution as a personal success. Khomeini realized the dream of creating an Islamic state. The Muslim Brotherhood had to support him to the end. This support began with the success of the Islamic Revolution. Tehran is a clear enemy of many Sunni countries in the Arab world, but the Brotherhood still maintains relations and supports Iran in its conflict with Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The Muslim Brotherhood's position on the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

The First Gulf War, or Iran-Iraq War, was the first to be measured by the strength of the Muslim Brotherhood's relationship with the Islamic Revolution. The war began just a few months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The Muslim Brotherhood took an anti-war position because the war was between two Islamic armies, and demanded an end to the war in order to stop further bloodshed and destruction that had befallen the two countries. However, the Muslim Brotherhood was on the side of the Iranian army, because it is an Islamic army born before their eyes. The Muslim Brotherhood believed that Saddam Hussein wanted to destroy the Iranian army before it became a strong army, invincible thanks to the Islamic faith of its officers and soldiers. The Muslim Brotherhood believed that Saddam Hussein's army was fighting the Iranian army acting on behalf of the United States to stop the export of the Islamic Revolution to the Gulf kingdoms. The Muslim Brotherhood's support for the Iranian army is visible in their media. At the beginning of this war, in October 1980, the reasons for this war through the prism of the views of the Muslim Brotherhood were mentioned in the magazine Al-hey Tusam: "1 - Fear of the spread of the Islamic revolution in Iraq, 2 - Saddam Hussein's opinion that this is a transitional period of the Iranian army, when it is from The imperial army has turned into an Islamic one - this is a unique chance for its destruction." ^[15]

 When the Iraqi invasion of Iran began, the Brotherhood attacked the Iraqi Baath Party and called it an atheist party that wanted to destroy the Islamic movement in Iran. They also called on Iraqi soldiers to lay down their arms and join the Islamic Revolution camp in Iran. ^[16] The Brotherhood was not satisfied with their role in providing advice, but they made efforts and the steps they took to try to end the war. Yousef Nada revealed his role as a mediator between the Iranian and Iraqi sides in his dialogue on Al Jazeera, according to Nada, when he tried to intervene and influence King Fahd, King of Saudi Arabia, to urge Iraq to end this war. ^[17]

The Iran-Iraq war demonstrated the strength of the Muslim Brotherhood's relationship with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, thanks to the enormous support of the Iranian army and the Brotherhood's numerous attempts to end the war. For example, at the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, at the request of one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Mohammed al-Ghazali, the Iranians agreed to release Egyptian prisoners of war who fought with the Iraqi army against Iran. ^[18] This shows the strength of their relationship.

The Muslim Brotherhood's relations with the Iranian Revolution in the light of the Palestinian issue

The Palestinian crisis has been and continues to bring the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran closer together, and both sides see it not as a political crisis, but as an ideological crisis for all Muslims of the world. In this regard, they rejected the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the Oslo Agreement of 1993. Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood believe that there is no political solution to the Palestinian crisis, since a political solution does not guarantee the return of Palestinians to their homes. Hamas is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in December 1987, which has become the best example of the strength of the Muslim Brotherhood-Iran relationship in this matter. Hamas has been linked to Iran strategically, especially after the Hamas-Fatah coup in the Gaza Strip. Less than three years after the founding of Hamas, he first announced his contact with Iran in 1990 at a conference organized by Tehran to support the Palestinian uprising. Hamas represented its founding leader, Khalil Al-Kook, and the relationship continued until the second conference in 1991, culminating in the opening of a permanent Hamas representative office in Iran. ^[19] During his visit to Iran in February 2009, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal praised Iranian leaders for their support during the conflict in the Gaza Strip^[20].

Relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian regime continue through Hamas. Between August and October 2017, a Hamas delegation visited Tehran twice to brief its officials on the latest developments in the reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo, in addition to reaffirming Iran's central role in supporting resistance movements in light of the recent positions of the movement's president in the Gaza Strip. Tehran is the biggest supporter of Hamas, endowed with money and weapons ^[21]

In the following years, informal contacts took place through envoys from the global organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, the body officially responsible for coordinating the activities of the group's offices around the world and forming its external relations. Iran has collaborated with the London office to organize joint religious dialogues between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, including the Iran-backed Islamic Unity Forum, which was founded in 2007 in collaboration with the Secretary General of the World Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim Munir. Such activities have allowed Iran to maintain and develop contacts with members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, who are the root of this movement and have great influence on the global organization. ^[22]

On the thirtieth anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, on February 11, 2009, in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Radio, the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Mahdi Akef, said: "Imam Khomeini's ideas included a sincere call for freedom and respect for human rights and opposition to global arrogance, these principles are respected by the Muslim Brotherhood. This statement summarizes the strong relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran from the 1950s to the present. ^[23]

The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and the rapprochement of the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran

When the Egyptian color revolution began on January 25, 2011, Ali Khamenei said in his sermon on Friday (February 4) before the departure of former President Hosni Mubarak that "the Egyptian revolution is a continuation of the Iranian revolution." In this sermon, the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution sought to use the Arabic language, although it is not familiar to him. It is confirmed that Hezbollah and Hamas forces participated and helped the Brotherhood escape from Egyptian prisons on the night of January 29, 2011, as confirmed by the Cairo Criminal Court. On the night of January 29, 2011, prisons were attacked in 3 cities of Egypt, among them was Wadi el-Natrun, where the future President M. Morsi was being held. As a result of the assault, 34 prisoners convicted under Mubarak escaped, including Morsi. It was established that the assault was carried out by members of the Muslim Brotherhood association with the support of militants from Hamas and Hezbollah.^[24]

In February 2012, the Islamic Awakening Conference was held in Tehran, which focused on highlighting the common denominators between the Iranian revolution and the Arab Spring revolution. Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke at the conference, emphasizing the official Iranian vision of the "Arab Spring" revolutions.  The participants of this conference were representatives of several Arab countries, in particular those that survived the "Arab Spring", most of which belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood or their partners. Iran's political and religious leadership has officially declared that the Muslim Brotherhood is the only force in these revolutions. Photos of Syed Qutb, Hassan al-Banna and other Brotherhood figures were at the top of the main conference hall. ^[25]

Iran was the first to congratulate Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, on his victory in the 2012 presidential election. Less than two months later, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi visited Tehran to attend the opening session of the Non-Aligned Movement summit. This was the first visit by an Egyptian president after the rupture of relations between Egypt and Iran, which lasted for decades and was characterized by qualitative events in both countries caused by the Iranian revolution, Egypt's acceptance of the Shah and the signing of the Camp David Agreement between Egypt and Israel. This visit proved the strength of the historic joint relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran.^[26] In February 2013, former Iranian President Ahmadinejad visited Cairo. It was the first visit by a president since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which severed diplomatic relations between the two most important countries in the Middle East. ^[27]

After these visits, Iranian officials hoped that rapprochement with Egypt within the framework of the Brotherhood's activities would be the first step towards a strategic partnership with Egypt. However, this aspiration has not been achieved, despite the desire of the Muslim Brotherhood to do so. Nevertheless, there were many internal factors, such as the rejection of the Egyptian army and Egyptian intelligence services, so these strong institutions were the strongest supporters of the traditional alliance in foreign policy with the United States and the Gulf states. The Salafi forces (allies of the Brotherhood in Egypt during this period) also rejected this rapprochement due to an ideological dispute with the Shiites and external factors such as Saudi Arabia's rejection of this rapprochement. As a result, Egypt, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, chose to continue limited cooperation with Tehran. ^[28] Nevertheless, these two visits by the Presidents of Iran and Egypt were one of the reasons for the resignation of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Egyptian-Iranian relations through the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood are a red line for Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Iran-Qatar-Turkey triangle

Despite the inability to establish diplomatic relations and overthrow the Brotherhood in mid-2013, Iran maintains contacts with Brotherhood leaders currently in Qatar and Turkey and uses the same means as before 2011, for example, the Islamic Unity Forum, to maintain contacts between representatives of the Iranian government and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The presence of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Qatar and Turkey facilitated these contacts. In Istanbul, where exiled members of the Muslim Brotherhood are located, Iran has alienated members of the group and other Islamists by organizing trips to Tehran and offering university scholarships. Since at least 2016, two Iranian organizations closely associated with the Iranian government (a conservative research institution in Qom dealing with Islamist movements and a civil society group based in Tehran) have invited current and former members of the group to participate in conferences.

In July 2017, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with Ibrahim Munir on the sidelines of a meeting of the Islamic Unity Forum. This is the most important summit meeting between the two sides since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi.^[29] This meeting provoked a violent reaction from the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which criticized Munir for his participation in this meeting. Nevertheless, the Muslim Brotherhood maintains relations with Iran to ensure its security in the region. The Brotherhood does not rely solely on Qatar and Turkey. If the coup attempt against Turkey in 2016 or the Arab blockade against Qatar were successful, the Brotherhood's interests in the region would be at risk. Therefore, the Brotherhood is working to maintain close relations with Qatar, Turkey and Iran.

When the Trump administration designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, Turkey and Iran were quick to criticize the United States. Ankara rejected the American move, saying that it strengthens "anti-Islam" in the West and around the world, accusing Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of supporting terrorism in the region, stressing that Tehran opposed the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in the list of "terrorist organizations" of the United States.

"The United States supports the largest source of terrorism in our region, Israel," Zarif told reporters on the sidelines of the Doha forum. "Washington is not in a position to try to trap others in terrorism," Zarif said. "We reject any attempts by the United States in this direction." ^[30]

Donald Trump will not be able to take this step because of Turkey's refusal.How can the organization of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan be a terrorist group?

Conclusion

For almost 80 years of joint cooperation between the Muslim Brotherhood and Iranian Shiites, their common foundation has been political Islam and the creation of an Islamic world government. This common ground between one of the largest and most influential Sunni Islamist movements, and the Shiite Islamic Republic of Iran has facilitated and encouraged cooperation between the two sides for many years. On an ideological level, both sides advocate the creation of an Islamic state, religious protection and propaganda, and call for Islamic unity. In addition, they share some common geopolitical goals, such as the need to confront Israel and liberate Palestine. Through this cooperation, we find that Iran wanted to strengthen its influence in Arab countries by using the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is present in most countries of the region. The Brotherhood also wanted to use Iran to achieve its goals of creating an Islamic world state and uniting the Muslims of the world.