MUST READ : THE WOMAN WHO POSSIBLY TRIGGERED THE HAMAS ATTACK

 This post is about Maryam Rajavi and Iran. I mentioned this in the earlier post yesterday. The Houthis in Yemen have declared war on Israel - almost certainly at the instigation of Iran. The Houthis have fired ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones at Israel that are made with Iranian technology and assistance.

First something about the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Iran is now overshadowing the entire Middle East and especially Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza. Not forgetting Shia majority Iraq and Shia controlled Syria which are almost Iranian provinces.

As I have said before the Hamas in Gaza is the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood or Ikhwan Muslimin.  The Muslim Brotherhood is much more influential than Iran and way more dangerous. They are more shrewd operators. (The MB are Sunnis who are against the Shia ideology. But right now in Gaza they are cooperating with Iran for political survival).

The MB was founded in 1928 in Egypt by a very unhappy man named Hassan al Banna.The official Egyptian name of the Ikhwan Muslimin is  جماعة الإخوان المسلمين  (gama'ah al ikhwan al muslimin) which means Society of the Muslim Brothers. 

Founded amidst an extremely under developed, poverty stricken and socially backward Egypt of 1928 their struggle was and still is very peasant based (aka fellahin or the poor peasants). Until today in 2023 the majority of Egyptians are still fellahin or poor peasants.

"In 2003, the fellahin were still leading humble lives and living in mud-brick houses, like their ancient ancestors. In 2005, they comprised some 60 per cent of the Egyptian population"

I dont think things have gotten much better by 2023. In fact I think the situation in Egypt is worse now. 

From its founding in Egypt in 1928 until today almost the entire senior leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood is not only exclusively Arab but it is exclusively Egyptian. 

If you are interested you can check the 'Whos who in the Muslim Brotherhood' at this link:  https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/whos-who-egypts-muslim-brotherhood#MuhammadBadie

That is the senior leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. 

Many of these guys (it is exclusively male) were born into poor families in Egypt, including the fellahin or peasants. Many of them now live in exile outside Egypt.

My view is people remain poor when they reject modernisation.  They are afraid of progress, especially social progress. So they use multiple means to enforce their status quo. Also known as conformity. "You must behave like I do. It is good for you". They are afraid of change in their home societies.

Other ways of describing this behaviour is village mentality or tribal mentality. And they also have life-preservers or life-rafts that they grab onto to sustain their conformity. Religion is a huge life-raft to preserve conformity. So are culture, tradition, language, dress codes and things like that. Like people who are drowning (in an ocean of progress and modernisation) they grab on to their life-rafts and refuse to let go. This is how the MB began in Egypt. 

But 98 years later the MB has become a money machine. Many of their leaders live in exile in Europe, Britain and in America where they enjoy the trappings of super modern, western civilisation, including marrying white women. They collect huge amounts of money from backward Muslim countries around the world. They need to keep frightening people with religion to keep collecting money. It is no more "You must behave like I do. It is good for you". Instead it has become "You must continue behaving like you do. It is good for you."

The Muslim Brotherhood now operates political parties, associations, civil society groups, NGOs in many Islamic countries under different names. Here are some names of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliates around the world (NGOs, political parties) :

• France - Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (Union of French Islamic Organizations, est. 1983)
• Germany - Islamische Gemeinschaft in Deutschland (Islamic Community in Germany, est. 1982) 
• Britain - Muslim Association of Britain (est. 1997) 

 

• Belgium - Ligue Islamique Interculturelle de Belgique (Intercultural Islamic League of Belgium, est. 1997)
• Pakistan, India and Bangladesh - Jama’at-i Islami is one of the most influential Islamic political movements in South Asia – shares Muslim Brotherhood ideology
• India - Popular Front of India (PFI)
• Iraq - Iraqi Islamic Party
• Tunisia - Ennahda Party Tunisia  (en-nahḍa means "the Awakening")
•  Egypt -  Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Ḥizb al-Ḥurriyyah wa-l-ʿAdālah
  
• Turkey - Justice and Development Party - Erdogan's AKP party
• Indonesia - Parti Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) or Prosperous Justice Party.  Founded by Hilmi Aminuddin (who was given the title Muraqib ‘Amm by the Muslim Brotherhood).  Hilmi brought the Muslim Brotherhood to Indonesia.

(Important Note : Many of the Muslim Brotherhood political parties around the world (eg Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia) have the word 'Justice' or keadilan somewhere in their name. Does that sound familiar)?

• Gaza - Hamas
• Kuwait -  Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) 
• Jordan -  Islamic Action Front, an Islamist political party. 
• Sudan - Al-Haraka or Al-ikhwan, branch of Egyptian MB since 1940s
•  NGO - International Forum for Islamist Parliamentarians

My Conclusions on the Muslim Brotherhood : So with such huge worldwide tentacles reaching into so many Islamic countries (Sunni only) and Muslim societies around the world,  the Muslim Brotherhood exploits local Muslim issues and local Muslim grievances to serve its own agenda. 

How can the Kashmir issue serve the Muslim Brotherhood's larger agenda?
How can the Palestine issue serve the Muslim Brotherhood's larger agenda?
How can the civil war in Libya serve the Muslim Brotherhood's larger agenda?

Their original struggle to establish their notions and delusions of a "world caliphate" has now fizzled out. Within 12 months the Muslim Brotherhood inspired Arab Spring of 2011 became the Arab Hell. And now 12 years later the Middle East is still burning. 'World caliphate' is just not going to happen. 

But for the children of peasant fellahin who were born in mud houses in Egypt,  the wonderful magic of such comfortable living as exiles in Switzerland, Europe and the West  is too alluring (and also very expensive). They have already established the networks, the offices, the affiliates all over the Muslim societies, Islamic countries and in the West. The money keeps coming in. Why not just keep it going.  "You must continue behaving like you do. It is very good for me".

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshal who lives in exile in five-star luxury in Qatar recently began a new trend. He addressed pro-Palestine rallies in Peshawar, Pakistan and in Kerala, India via video conferencing. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistani and Kerala Muslims were able to hear his speech directly. Certainly the local Muslim Brotherhood affiliates must have used the opportunity to collect plenty of donations. Its all about the money.

Ok here is Madam Maryam Rajavi, 70 years old. She is the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating the overthrow of the Iranian government, and president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Her husband Massoud Rajavi, was the co-leader of the MEK until his disappearance in 2003.

Here is a short video (12 minutes) from October 2023 where Maryam Rajavi addresses a conference attended by Michael Pompeo the former US Secretary of State. 

Ok so what is the connection to Gaza?

September 16, 2023 was the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran which caused widespread demonstrations throughout Iran last year. The demonstrations, riots and violence has really frightened the Ayatollahs. Although not reported, the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death triggered protests and demonstrations in Iran again. The Ayatollahs promptly arrested Mahsa Amini's father and kept him in jail in case he became a symbol for  the demonstrators.

A spinoff from the Mahsa Amini protests was the further expansion and consolidation of Maryam Rajavi's resistance network throughout Iran. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has certainly gained more traction throughout Iran. They are more organised, coordinated and with a clearer idea on how to bring about an end-game for the Ayatollahs and a new beginning for Iran. They are now poised for the next great uprising in Iran which seems to be happening on a more frequent basis.

The NCRI website shows videos of mullahs getting shot randomly by a bank security guard or getting run over by Iranians in the middle of the street.  The Iranian people are really getting tired of the Ayatollahs and the mullahs.

The Ayatollahs in Iran are getting increasingly worried. Throughout Middle Eastern societies, throughout their history and until today people who are in the public eye often die very publicly and they die very badly. I think this is going to happen to the Ayatollahs.

That is why we see not just Gaza but Iran sponsored Houthis in Yemen and 100% Iran funded Hezbollah in Lebanon simultaneously attacking Israel. This is a coordinated action and it can only be coordinated by one country which is Iran. 

The purpose is to deflect attention away from the Ayatollahs own crumbling legitimacy and credibility in Iran.  Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in office for 34 years since 1989 and he has no more legitimacy with a large number of Iranians. Too many Iranian people hate him. 

Of a certainty Hamas will be rooted out and destroyed. The Ayatollahs dont mind sacrificing Hamas in Gaza. After all the Hamas is not Shia. They are Sunni. With Hezbollah firing rockets and now the Houthis lobbing ballistic missiles the Ayatollahs want to come out as the heroes - to the Iranian people. It is all about boosting their legitimacy with the Iranian people, which they do not have.

Lets see what happens. There will not be a Third World War. But there will be a different Middle East.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.