Ed Husain is a Muslim professor teaching at Georgetown University in Washington. Last week, he made a startling observation in the London Times. Husain noted, ironically, that the Muslim Brotherhood may be banned in Mecca but actually, it thrives in London.
Prof. Husain bravely called for shutting the various arms of the Muslim Brotherhood operating in the United Kingdom, observing that presented danger to British security and British democracy. He observed that Hamas, which is waging a war against Israel in the Gaza Strip, is the Palestinian arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, Hamas has vowed to act against Israel again until it succeeds.
True, Hamas has been designated as an international terrorist organization by the European Union (EU), among others, but there has been a disturbing trend in the West to underestimate, to misjudge, and even to misrepresent Hamas and its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood.
They have not disavowed their charter or their stated aims. The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood was cosmetically modified after 9-11, now reads: “Jihad is our path; Martyrdom is our aspiration.”
Hamas’s vile assaults on captured Israeli women during and following the October 2023 attacks were not condemned by the Muslim Brotherhood. Indeed many Brotherhood-tied groups shouted their support for what Hamas did. There is no reason to doubt that similar reactions would greet similar atrocities in the future.
The Muslim Brotherhood has global goals
The goals of the Muslim Brotherhood are still global, as the organization reaches out to wider audiences many of whom (Christians, Jews) are themselves targets of the Brotherhood.
But right now the urgent challenge for Israel and the West is Hamas (Arabic: Harakat al-Muqawwima al-Islamiyya – The Islamic Resistance Movement).
Foreign Policy published an analysis in December 2023 of the October attacks on Israel titled “Could Hamas Become a Global Threat?” and the conclusion was yes.
Hamas has had its networks in Europe and the US, like the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, exposed, but they have not been totally uprooted because Hamas networks have sometimes been coddled by well-connected political forces. This means there must be a two-pronged response to Hamas – Israel’s military thrust along with strong Western economic and political pressure.
Ultimately, this must also include a potent strike against Iran, which has become the main ally of Hamas and similar groups. While the truth of Hamas’s hostile intentions has been demonstrated yet again in the October attacks and their aftermath, it has again been demonstrated that Hamas is not acting alone. Its actions would have been impossible without the strong backing of Iran, which has hovered behind Hamas’s military initiatives.
Therefore, contending with Hamas is not just a one-dimensional struggle of Israel alone. It should be a combined effort of the Western World.
The writer served as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and as director-general of the Foreign Ministry.