From the Beginning of Muslim Brotherhood

Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood has been an immensely powerful force in Middle East politics, now boasting chapters in 80 countries. Its mission statement: "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations." The Brotherhood's founder, Hassan al-Banna, stated that the group's goal was to assert Islam's manifest destiny and create an empire governed by Islamic religious law and unified in an autocratic caliphate. He claimed "It is in the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet. The brotherhood objective was, to depend and follow the Islamic rules and regulations and maintain the Islamic and Egyptian identity. The movement began as an association for Islamic reform, aiming to serve workers who had emigrated from the countryside to cities in the Suez region, then under British rule. It soon spread to Cairo (in 1932-1934) and, in its second decade, already had an estimated 500 branches and half a million members. The movement was able to rise above similar organizations common in Egypt at the time and become highly popular thanks to Hassan al-Banna’s charisma and his ability to combine a religious message addressing the masses, preaching for a return to pure, original Islam.

With the end of World War II and the defeat of Hitler, Egypt's brotherhood hoped that Europe's Jews would be content to re-establish their lives in Europe. The Brotherhood was disappointed. And they were annoyed by Egypt's Jews helping to smuggle arms to Jews in Palestine. They asked their government to restrict the activities of Jews in Egypt. They complained about Jewish influence with Egyptian newspapers and magazines. They called for a boycott of Jewish products and anything promoting Zionism, and they claimed that no difference existed between Judaism and Zionism. In December 1948, the Muslim Brotherhood assassinated Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Nuqrashi Pasha. It also sought to kill Egyptian leader Abdul Nasser in October 1954.

"Up to 1967 the Muslim Brotherhood was one among many political movements organizing and agitating for change in Muslim, particularly Arab, conditions under the banner of anti Zionism and, but less fervently, anti imperialism anti Americanism. It was often at odds with the then prevalent nationalist/socialist public mood and popular devotional cause and at war with its major proponents Nasser of Egypt and the Baath party in Syria and Iraq. But it was a relatively minor force suspected for it Anglo and American ties and its warm relation with conservative, pro USA, Arab regimes. Then it had a quite limited public appeal dwarfed and overshadowed by the then prevalent nationalist/socialist appeal of Nasserism and Baathism. The outcome of the 1967 wat with Israel, led to abject defeat of the two Arab states that waged, Egypt and Syria and the collapse of the Nasserist/Baathist, nationalist/socialist, appeal it embodied and the spectacular rise, their actual sup plantation,by the Islamist movement fronted by the Muslim Brotherhood. Thence Palestine, the conflict with Israel, became the predominant issue. The Muslim Brotherhood, who came out of the 1967 Arab collapse unscarred, was not late on banking on Arab total disillusionment with Nasser and the Baath and on raising the banner of Islam as the only mean to contain Israel. Thence it became the major, in many way, the sole political movement primarily dedicated to resisting Israel and to opposing its lifeline provider, the USA and With anti Israel/anti Zionism and opposition to the USA as major tenants of its political platform, and as the major unifying factor of it diverse organizations, it achieved unparalled public support throughout the Arab world. The Muslim Brotherhood's present anti Israel vigorours advocacy, more than its anti Americanism ( the Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood did not oppose the USA conquest of Iraq, to the horror and condemnation of other branches) seem to have caused its present estrangement with the USA.