October 8, 2009
Appease or oppose?
by
The Economist
SINCE its founding in Egypt in 1928 the Muslim Brotherhood has suffered repeated bouts of repression, defections by jihadist radicals and liberal moderates alike, and fractious disputes over regional crises, such as Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Still, the secretive but highly disciplined group has retained both a loose international command structure and powerful affiliates in half a dozen Arab countries. Yet, while posing as relative centrists in the broad Islamist spectrum, the Brothers are being tested as never before.
One challenge comes, oddly, from the fact that for the first time a Brotherhood branch finds itself not in its usual morally cosy role of opposition party but actually running a government. Hamas, the Brothers' Palestinian offshoot, has ruled Gaza since 2007, when it ousted the secular nationalists of Fatah in a swift, ruthless coup.
That victory has generated pride but also trouble for the Brothers. Hamas is now responsible for the fate of 1.5m or so people. Many besieged Gazans blame it for provoking last winter's Israeli onslaught, which left thousands homeless and up to 1,400 dead. Some accuse Hamas of fracturing Palestinian unity, whereas more radical Islamists accuse Hamas of betraying hopes of turning the crowded, impoverished territory into a proper Islamic state, noting that its security forces have crushed jihadist rivals with even more zeal than they ousted Fatah. In August Hamas killed 28 people in just such an operation.
Though many governments see Hamas chiefly as a terrorist outfit responsible for suicide-bombings and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, Hamas's boast that it has curbed corruption and crime in Gaza is hard to dispute. The group looks unlikely to be dislodged any time soon. But the Islamists' creation of what is, in effect, a one-party state in Gaza has alarmed other Arab governments.
Read the complete story (Some news sites require registration)
Related Headlines
Increasing numbers of radical Islamic Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message in English
Philippine gay rights group wages battle to run in 2010 congressional elections
Muslim countries seek UN treaty to protect religion from blasphemy
