Second: The Muslim Brotherhood and Caliphate

With regard to the Brotherhood’s claim that the term Caliphate does not exist in Islam, but the Brotherhood only seek to establish an Islamic Union similar to the European Union

The claim of Ibrahim Munir is not true at all, as the Brotherhood founder Al-Banna called those heading Islamic states as caliphs.

Al-Banna said caliphs can also be called imams, who protect the religion from enemies, heretics and rule the country with Sharia law.

He believes that the Islamic caliphate is a duty which Muslims should return to, but it needs great effort.

According to Al-Banna, the Islamic caliphate should be preceded by Islamic governments in Muslim countries, until they become closer and integrate into a global Islamic state.

Since its inception in 1928, the Brotherhood have sought to launch the Islamic caliphate following the initial steps identified by Al-Banna in the Fifth Conference of the organization, under the title of “The Muslim Brotherhood and Caliphate.” These steps aim to achieve a complete cultural, social, and economic cooperation among all Muslim people. Then these states shall form several alliances leading to the League of Islamic Nations. Finally, the Muslim people can select the imam.

When the Brotherhood came to power in Egypt, they thought that they were on the right track to achieve the “Islamic Caliphate,” though the Egyptians realized the danger of the organization after only a one-year rule. On July 3, 2013, the Egyptian people managed to bring down the group to its lowest level.

The Brotherhood had forgotten that they are an entity from outside the Egyptian state authorities, which used to basically choose the ruler of the country; from Abdel Nasser to Mubarak. The Brotherhood did not realize that any radical group should adopt a reassuring speech of “the deep state,” and should not try to dominate political life or write a constitution and basic laws on their own. They should not be hostile towards security forces, the judiciary members, and the army.

The following points summarize the reasons behind the Brotherhood’s debacle of governance in Egypt:

1-   Monopolization. The exclusion of most political forces in Egypt and the domination of leading positions in the state authorities since former president Mohamed Morsi came to power. During the election phase, Morsi worked under the slogan “Participation not Monopolization,” however he monopolized the state authorities after he had become the president.

The Brotherhood excluded all opposing political parties, including the Salafist Nour Party, by dominating the House of Representatives and the Egyptian Constituent Assembly of 2012.

I believe that the mistakes made during the last two years in Egypt were not caused only by the Brotherhood, as the comprehensiveness and dogmatism of the Brotherhood could also be found in other political forces that were protesting in Tahrir Square.

2-   The Façade. The decision-making in the presidency of Morsi had appointed seventeen consultants, four assistants, a vice president and an official spokesman for the presidency. Despite this new step which appeared as a form of institutionalization, the real decision-making came from the Brotherhood’s headquarters in the Moqattam area in Cairo. So it was not unusual that these consultants decided to resign, especially after the constitutional Declaration crisis in November 2012, which was issued by the president without consulting any of his assistants or consultants.

The Brotherhood presented two fronts pertaining to their rule. The first was the Freedom and Justice Party which had no real power. It did not have any chance to practice its political role, as it was always as if a child waiting for the instructions and permission from his father.

The second front was that the large number of consultants who resigned at the end.

3-   Unstable decisions. The confusing performance of the Morsi presidency was obvious in the many decisions gone back on by him, which affected his image as a true president in front of the people. He seemed like an employee who waits for instructions from the Supreme Guide. One of these decisions was the imposition of a new customs tariff that sent the local market into chaos, and increased prices by 30% – 40%. The presidency eventually issued a statement saying that President Mohamed Morsi has suspended the decision.

4-   No vision. The lack of vision in terms of Egyptian foreign policy was another issue. The international state visits conducted by Morsi did not achieve any remarkable results on the ground. In fact, Egypt lost support from a large number of Arab countries.

The Brotherhood’s foreign policy harmed Egypt’s national security. They lacked experience in dealing with many cases, such as Ethiopia’s decision to build the Renaissance Dam, the ‘Halayib and Shalateen’ issue, and the handover of Libyan fugitives in exchange for loans.

5-   Economic failure. Egypt suffered economic failure due to lack of expertise and clear economic vision. A report from the Central Bank of Egypt revealed that the foreign debt jumped to $44 billion at the end of April 2013, compared to $34 billion in 2012; an increase of $10 billion.

6-   Too much too quick. “You eat more than digest,” Erdogan of Turkey, once told Morsi. He advised him to slow down in trying to control the Egyptian state authorities, such as the military and judiciary system. Morsi could not achieve in Egypt, Erdogan’s great experience in Turkey.

7-   The illusion of popularity. The Brotherhood imagined that their supporters could protect them from their opponents. There is a big difference between the numbers of supporters vs. the type of supporters. Most of the votes obtained by the Islamists were from simple people who only support the Islamic movements from their seats. On the other hand, the opposition included influential groups in the Egyptian society, such as judges, journalists, police, administrative authority, and intellectuals.

We can say that the June 30 Revolution was a declaration of the Brotherhood’s political failure, as well as the end of the Brotherhood’s historical project to demolish the civil state and establish a religious state in Egypt to be the basis of the Islamic Caliphate.

The double discourse of the Brotherhood was the main reason of its failure. At the beginning, the group accepted the idea of political pluralism and then changed its mind in 1995. In 2011, Mahmoud Ezzat said, “We have to apply the Islamic Law, only after assuming power.”

History will tell that the Brotherhood failed in Egypt because of their own domestic and foreign policies, and especially that when they ruled Egypt, they ruled with the mentality of an opposition group, not a political authority.