The Muslim Brotherhood and the Situation in Syria

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The tense relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood group and the Syrian regime is entirely understandable; the events of Hama still stand vivid to this day in the minds and hearts of those who lived through that period.

It is also entirely understandable that the Syrian regime pursued the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and deprived them of living in their own homeland, and pursued many members of the group inside Syria itself.

The many grievances the Muslim Brotherhood holds against the regime are likewise understandable.

But it is equally understandable that Islam does not regard grudges and rancor as grounds for taking positions and adopting policies;

and it is understandable, too, that Islam absolutely does not permit cooperation with a clear and open enemy lying in wait for the nation, at both the Arab and Islamic levels;

nor does Islam permit even remaining under the same umbrella as a criminal enemy, even where there is no actual cooperation between the two.

The Muslim Brotherhood won the elections in Tunisia and Egypt, and what is required of them is to safeguard their achievements, for their own sake and for the sake of those who look to them with hope for good.

… and a Muslim cannot possibly be found in the very same trench in which the two of them stand together.

Let me remind the group of certain Palestinians who handed out sweets in celebration when Israel assassinated the mujahid Sheikh Said Siyam during the war of al-Furqan, or the war of the Cast Lead operation, against Gaza. What was the position of the Muslim Brotherhood movement across the entire earth? What is the difference between that tragedy and the tragedy of some Syrians applauding the Zionist raids on Damascus? I ask that this matter be thought through clearly.

There are electronic websites opposed to the Syrian regime that glorify Israel, applaud America, and call for foreign military intervention, and I have no doubt that the group sees them and is well aware of them.

Two years ago, I already proposed to the brothers in the Muslim Brotherhood that they distance themselves from the agents of Israel and America, given how much drawing close to them harms the Islamic idea as a whole. Perhaps they thought my words were nothing more than academic rambling.

This is why it is important to engage in self-examination, and to turn one’s back on America and those allied with it. And if it is America that is going to change Assad, then welcome to his continued rule. Perhaps it would be more worthwhile to join the unarmed opposition, both inside and outside the country, and to insist on emerging from this bloody, destructive crisis with the least possible losses.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “الإخوان المسلمون والوضع في سوريا” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.