Umah parties, Brotherhood sometimes acting coherently

Ahmed Sami Abdelfattah

The Muslim Brotherhood gave rise to a series of political parties that combine takfiri and moderate thoughts. Most outstanding among these parties are those called al-Umah (or Nation in English).

There is a party in this name in several Arab states, including in Sudan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. Most of these parties have been banned because of their radical ideology.

The al-Umah party or parties share the same regional view of the Muslim Brotherhood. They approve participation in the democratic process. However, they at the same time back the idea of bringing the regimes of their countries down, even as they know that this would open the door for chaos.

Before the eruption of the Arab Spring revolutions in the Arab region, the Muslim Brotherhood preferred to reach power slowly by infiltrating and controlling state institutions. The movement was afraid that an adventurous campaigning for power would bring it nothing by punishment from the regimes.

The al-Umah parties in the Gulf region are obsessed with the conspiracy theory. They view international positions towards the region as a declaration of war on Islam.

This helps these parties attract more followers and prove the failure of other Islamist parties.

Al-Umah parties in the Gulf attributed the collapse of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt to the dissatisfaction of western countries with their presence in power. The same parties were keen on overlooking the political and administrative failures of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood is different in that it prefers to act in coherence with western forces. It uses this coherence in influencing western decision-making circles in order to serve its own interests.

The group tends to back some politicians, movements and parties and establish beneficial contacts with them. It is also keen on establishing a large public relations network around the world.