The Muslim Brotherhood
started as a revivalist movement to restore the pristine glory of Islam but
soon, it became involved in various terrorist activities and caused havoc in
the middle-east. Though some of the economic aims of the Muslim Brotherhood are
noteworthy, most of its ideas are regressive and are more suited to the
medieval ages than to modern times. The democratic secular nations are
afflicted with inequalities be it social, or economic, and often fail to ensure
justice to the downtrodden. These inequalities provide a fillip to the
religious extremists and revivalists to aim to go back to the old golden period
of their religion. For example, Hasan al-Banna was dismayed at the sight of
poverty-afflicted workers of Egypt working at Suez Canal Company, while its
foreign employees were living a luxurious lifestyle[1].
It provided him with an impetus to reject the modernist ideas and instead
return to the golden age of Islam where justice would be assured to every
individual and presumably, there would be no discrimination. The return of the
Taliban in Afghanistan is partly due to widespread corruption and a delayed
justice delivery system in the democratic system, and the masses looked up to
the Taliban to solve their disputes swiftly and impartially.
As St Augustine said,
“What are States without justice, but robber bands enlarged?” The modern
democratic nations have to work towards bridging inequalities, rising
inflation, exploitation otherwise the extremists can take advantage of the
despondency of the masses and will show them the dreams of the Caliphate where
everything will be hunky-dory and there would be no exploitation of any kind.
It will go a long way to stem the rising tide of extremism, intolerance, and
terrorism.
The economic vision of
the founders of the Muslim Brotherhood is an elusive one and it’s tough to
sustain it in the modern world. Though it contains some noteworthy ideas such
as equality of opportunity, the welfare state, etc., there is a need to
fine-tune them in keeping with the requirements of the present times. The
Muslim Brotherhood has also gradually changed its stance towards neoliberalism.
The religious extremist
organisations attract the people with their grand vision of returning to the
old golden age of religious kingdom where there will be no discrimination and
it will be based upon the teachings of their religion. But, it’s impossible to
return to the old period. As in this world, change is the only constant.
Religious scriptures were revealed to cater to the needs of that period but it
has to be modulated according to the requirements of the present times. As
Muslim Brotherhood experience has shown, religious extremists are hesitant to
take positions when class disputes arise as they are wary of highlighting class
disputes, which threaten the illusory unity of the members of their religion.
Also, these extremist organisations remain a tool in the hands of the powerful
and bourgeoisies to cater to their interests and to deceive the gullible
masses.
[1] Mitchell, Richard P. (1968). P7. Chapter 1: Hasan al-Banna and the Founding of the Society of the Muslim
Brothers. The Society of the Muslim Brothers. New York: Oxford University
Press.