Muslim Brotherhood & Hezbollah Religion Peace &Conflict 2014-2015

Sunnism: First four caliphs are “the Rightly guided” (Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali); They belong to one of the four schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali); Islamic history drifted away from the ideal community that existed under the four caliphs; Religious activities are exclusive domain of the umma; Sunni clerics are not given the religious titles of ‘imams’ and they have come under state control; ijma (=consensus of the community).

Shi’ism: Ali, was the rightful successor of the Prophet; Only members of the Prophet’s family can govern Muslims on behalf of Allah; Imams are divinely inspired and infallible; Return of the Mahdi (= Hidden Imam or Messiah); Through ascetism and suffering one can remove the ill-effects of persecutions and humiliation (Ashura); ahd (divine covenant) Estimates of the number of Shia range from 120 to 170 million, roughly one-tenth of all Muslims

Day of Ashura today:

Muslim Brotherhood:

Egypt between 19th and 20th Centuries: 1859-1869 Suez Canal was built under the French; From 1882 until 1952 Egypt was under the control of British; 1914 Egypt becomes a British Protectorate and establishment of the Sultanate of Egypt; 1922 Egypt gains formal independence and Fuad I becomes King of Egypt; 1936 - April - Farouk succeeds his father as King of Egypt.

Muslim Brotherhood ideology: Hanbali school; Socio-economic problems of Egypt were rooted in the process of secularization of Egyptian life; The need to rid Egypt from imperial and immoral Western domination through the adoption of an Islamic path; Al-Afghani; Call for an Islamic state based on true Islam;

1928-1949 Constructive Period: 1928-1936 (Hassan al-Banna founder): 1932 : They moved to Cairo; 15 branches by 1932; 300 branches by 1938; 1936-1949: 1940: Creation of the “Secret Apparatus” (paramilitary wing); 1941: They run for the elections; 1948: Muslim Brotherhood officially dissolved; 1949: 300,000 and 600,000 people;

Nasser (1952-1970): Hudaybi was the successor of Al Banna; July 1952-March 1954: Period of reconciliation between the Muslim Brotherhood and Nasser; 1954-1970 Period of tension between the Muslim Brotherhood and Nasser; 1954 six members of the organization were executed by the Government; 1964 Muslim Brotherhood to join the new Arab Socialist Union, 1970 Increasing role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian life

Nasser’s attitude towards the Muslim Brotherhood: Rejection of the of theocratic notion of the State without rejecting Islam altogether; Ideology intermingled Egyptian nationalism, Islamic principles and Arabism; All the religious institutions went under the control of the State (Al-Azhar University); “Nationalization” of Religion.

Muslim Brotherhood revivalism under Sadat (1970-1981): External Factors : Implementation of Saudi Arabia’s support to the MB during Yemen war (1962-1979); Sadat’s peace agreement with Israel; Domestic Factors : Growth of the urbanization without a parallel growth in economy created discontent among a large group of people, Sadat found an ally in the Muslim Brotherhood against the rise of the Left in the Egyptian political life.

Muslim Brotherhood under Mubarak: 1987: they cooperated with the Socialist Labour and Liberal parties and became the main opposition force in Egypt, 2000: they won 17 seats in the People's Assembly, 2005: they managed to win 88 seats out of a total 454, making them by far the largest opposition group (other parties win 14 seats) 2010: elections: they boycotted the second round of the elections after a repression from the Government, 2012: Freedom Justice Party won the elections (47%) :Saad al- Katatni 2012: Muhammad Morsi fifth President of Egypt

Muslim Brotherhood today: 2013 July - The military removes President Morsi amid mass demonstrations calling on him to quit; 2013 August - Hundreds are killed as security forces storm protest camps in Cairo set up by supporters of Mr Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood says the dead overall number 2,200. State of emergency declared and curfews imposed. 2013 September - Court bans Muslim Brotherhood from carrying out any activity in Egypt and orders confiscation of its assets, 2013 December - Government declares Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group after a bomb blast in Mansoura kills 12. 2014 January - Egyptians vote in referendum on a new constitution drafted since the July 2013 overthrow of the Islamist-led government. The new basic law bans parties based on religion, 2014 May - Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi wins presidential election and MB are again banned.

Leaders: Mohammed Badie Saad Al-Katatni

Hezbollah:

Religions in Lebanon:

Acute alienation of the Shiite Lebanese community: Historical pattern of the identity crisis (The Shiites have experienced a long time history of suffering and repressions); Oppression of the Lebanese Shiite community ( Lebanese Maronite-Sunni alliance since 1943)

Structural imbalance : Shiites were not accorded a political role commensurate with their numerical size (National Pact of 1943 based on 1932 census); Shiites were economically disfranchised, (Shiites were the most disadvantaged social group, 85% of them lived in rural areas); 1975 Lebanese Civil war magnified the Shiites political and economic discontent.

Lebanese military defeat: 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon; 1982 Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon; 1983: Lebanese-Israeli accord brokered by U.S. was tailored made to leave South Lebanon to Israel: Emerging alliance between Gemayel Bashir and Israel threatened Shiites; Israeli protracted occupation of South Lebanon.

Influence of Iranian Revolution (1979): Cross-cultural reference of the ideology; Ayatollah Khomeini and Lebanese Shia clergy met in the circles of learning in Najaf (Iraq) and Qom (Iran); Establishment of ties between Lebanese Shia clergy and the militant Iranian clergy.

Establishment of Hezbollah: 1960 Musa al-Sadr arrived in Tyre, Lebanon; 1969 establishment of the Supreme Islamic Shiite court, symbol of the new politically aware presence of Shiites in Lebanon; 1974 launch of the Movement of the Deprived; 1975 the movement developed into a military movement known as Amal; 1978 disappearance of al-Sadr in Libya; 1982 al- Musawi, a member of Amal broke away and founded Islamic Amal: Hezbollah; 1985 public declaration of the birth of the movement.

Leaders: Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Hassan Nasrallah

Hezbollah today: 1983 suicide bombing of the U.S. marine barracks in Beirut; After the death of Al Musawi in 1992, Nasrallah became the third Secretary General of the organization 2000: Israel’s withdrawal from Southern Lebanon; 2006: second conflict between Israel and Hezbollah; 2009 elections: Results showed Saad al-Hariri's pro-Western bloc had won 71 of parliament's 128 seats, against 57 for an opposition alliance of groups Shi'ite factions Hezbollah and Amal.

Foreign support to Hezbollah: Iran: First direct contact between the Islamic Republic and the largest Shiite community outside Iraq; Influence in the Arab-Israeli conflict; Presence in Lebanon helped to break out of the narrow geopolitical confines of Iranian war with Iraq; Syria: Against Western and Israeli domination; 1983 Lebanese-Israeli accord under brokered by U.S., worried Syria of a possible isolation; Syrian-Iranian alliance to support Hezbolllah.

Ideology: Necessity to establish an Islamic order; God is a source of sovereignty provided by His revelation through the Prophet and the rightful designed successors (imams) (Covenant); Hezbollah criterion for power distribution based on demographic majority; Clerical supremacy of imams, (ayatollah Khomeini’s theory of the guardianship of the jurisconsult= wilayat al-faiqh); Division of the world between oppressor and oppressed. (Israel and West =oppressors).

Lebanon: