- The term 'Islamist' can be misleading, simply because of the sheer ideological variety of the groups that are usually lumped together under its umbrella
- In Syria the Muslim Brotherhood (logo) is at the forefront of the anti-Bashar Al Assad protests
Dec.27.─ Roughly speaking, it is used to describe those groups or individuals that believe Islam is inextricably tied to politics. A loaded term, in practice it is used to label groups across the political spectrum — from those who believe in participatory democracy while basing their politics on Islamic principles, to militant and terrorist outfits that reject democracy and use murder and mayhem as instruments of policy while employing religious arguments to do so. Yet despite the nebulous nature of the word, it is being used to describe an array of emerging forces set to possibly shape the future of the Arab world. Though the 'Islamists' might not have been responsible for sparking the protests that have morphed into the Arab Spring, in a movement largely described as 'leader-less', they are fast emerging as its principal drivers.
Parties with varying degrees of commitment to political Islam are currently basking in the glow of electoral victories in Arab North Africa: Tunisia's Ennahda is the largest party in the post-Ben Ali constituent assembly; Abdelilah Benkirane of Morocco's Justice and Development Party is now that country's elected prime minister. Meanwhile in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party is likely to dominate the constituent assembly once multi-stage elections wind up in January.
Even beyond the aforementioned states, 'Islamist' parties in the Arab world are currently either at the centre of anti-government movements, or supply the only viable opposition, or are actually in government. Yemen's Al Islah is one of Ali Abdullah Saleh's staunchest opponents; in Syria the Muslim Brotherhood is at the forefront of the anti-Bashar Al Assad protests; Hamas controls the Gaza Strip; Hezbollah's political wing plays kingmaker in Lebanese politics; Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki belongs to the Islamic Dawah Party while in Bahrain, the opposition Al Wefaq and Al Haq factions can mobilise thousands.
Of all these groups, perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood is — ideologically — the dominant organisation across the Arab world. Finally on the cusp of taking power in its native Egypt (unless the generals, guardians of the ancien régime, decide to strike), the Brotherhood in fact is a pan-Arab, pan-Islamic phenomenon.
Founded in the late 1920s by Hasan Al Banna, it enjoys wide popularity amongst educated Arabs across the Middle East and beyond and has supporters and sympathisers even in the Gulf sheikhdoms that tolerate no political activity. Hamas, Al Islah and Ennahda are all said to be influenced by the Brotherhood's ideology ...
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