Road to Ittihadiya … From the secret files of the Muslim Brotherhood

Published on May 10, 2013 on Youm7 site

We are republishing an article by renowned novelist Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, where he reviews the latest publications of journalist and researcher in the affairs of Islamist movements Abdel Rahim Ali. 

The books reviewed by Abdel Meguid include 'Bin Laden, the ghost that America made', 'Scenarios before the fall', 'Encyclopaedia of Islamist Movements', 'Islam and freedom of opinion and expression' and others.

Abdel Meguid starts his article, which was titled 'Road to Ittihadiya … From the secret files of the Muslim Brotherhood'. The headline of the article matched the title of one of the books penned by Ali. Abdel Meguid's article was published on the news site, Youm7. 

In his article, Abdel Meguid exhibits his testimony about Ali and his books. 

"This is also how the writer and the book reveal many secrets that constituted the road to Ittihadiya," Abdel Meguid wrote in his article.

He added that the same secrets were based on old blood.

"It is also difficult for me to continue presenting the rest of the chapters of the huge book due to the lack of space, but after you finish it, you will find copies of all the secret documents on which writer and researcher Abdel Rahim Ali relied, so you cannot help but believe," Abdel Meguid wrote in his article.

Here is the full text of the article:

This is the main title of the new book of Abdel Rahim Ali, a writer and a researcher in the affairs of Islamist movements. Previously, he had published several books in this field, including 'Bin Laden, the ghost that America made', 'Scenarios before the fall,' 'Encyclopaedia of Islamist Movements' which is made of eight parts, 'Islam and freedom of opinion and expression' and others. 

In fact, the title of this book, which was published a few days ago by the Arab Research Centre, may make you immediately think of the past two years after the revolution. But when you read the subtitle, 'The Brotherhood's Secret Files,” you know that you will enter into a long history. 

The book is all devoted to the Brotherhood before the revolution, with the exception of the long introduction that reveals the old contact of the group with America, which ended with a close alliance between them based on two axes:

The first is to protect Israeli national security and create a Sunni Islamic alliance in the Middle East under the leadership of Egypt and Saudi Arabia to curb the Shiite tide and Iranian influence in the region without forcing the US to get involved in military confrontations.

The chaos happening in the countries where the Brotherhood ruled after revolutions opens the door for divisions and drawing a new geopolitical map for the region. 

This is happening at a time when the Brotherhood seeks to control the joints of the Egyptian state. This was evident in the document the security services found in the office of Khairat al-Shater himself within the famous Salsabil case. One of the most prominent features of this document was distorting the media in various ways, which is what is happening now, neutralizing the army and containing the police, which is what is happening now as well, and working to create a constitutional and a legal environment conducive to the formation of militias trained in martial arts.

The book then discusses in its first chapter the political opportunism of the Brotherhood since its inception. The group was close to the royal palace exactly when the Egyptian national movement moved away from it, from King Ahmed Fouad until the end of the Farouk era. The book showcases many of letters Hasan al-Banna sent to the palace. It also brings to light some of the articles the Brotherhood published in its magazine to curry favours with the palace. 

The group did the same thing with Farouk. It functioned as Farouk's eyes on his enemies.

The writer does not present transmitted words, but rather provides copies of articles, letters, and other documents as evidence of everything he says. 

The book is in fact based on documents and documentation. The Brotherhood used to do this at a time when it was hostile to other national forces, such as the left, Young Egypt and al-Wafd, although its hostility to al-Wafd sometimes wanes when it has an interest in that. Indeed, the Muslim Brotherhood thrived under al-Wafd's governments.

The author continues to review the Brotherhood's relationship with other forces, such as the Constitutional Liberals, to make it clear to you that the whole matter has not left the area of ​​political opportunism with the letters or articles you read to them. 

The same thing is repeated with Abdel Nasser who was initially supported by the Brotherhood in the abuse of opponents, especially in the trial of Kafr al-Dawar workers. 

Then the group turned against Abdel Nasser and tried to assassinate him in 1954 when it found that he would not respond to it and dissolve it as it engaged in politics like other parties. 

The book continues with a documented, permanent account of how the group returned to the spread and expansion that the defeat of 1967 gave it a suitable land to some extent, and then it became more suitable during the era of Sadat, who allied with it. 

The Brotherhood's expansion increased during the Hosni Mubarak era, at a time when the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood increased in strength and capabilities. 

For Sadat, the left was the main danger. He did not find a way to kill it except by agreement with the Brotherhood. 

The researcher presents for all these historical periods' testimonies from the statements of the members of the group and the international organization, and monitors how it succeeded in controlling the poor on the streets and professional unions, and so on. 

However, the group did not abandon its opportunism, which was fully demonstrated in the People's Assembly elections in 2005, in which the Brotherhood obtained seats in the People's Assembly in agreement with State Security, and then how it failed all the opposition parties in the 2010 elections when it decided to enter the elections, while the opposition boycotted the same elections. 

The National Democratic Party made its biggest mistake when it crushed the Brotherhood and the partisan opposition that was forced to enter the elections after the Brotherhood agreed to enter them.

We focus here on the Brotherhood's opportunism with the ruling regime throughout its history and since the establishment of the group. 

But the second chapter is the most dangerous, as it exposes opportunism within the group itself, and presents the conflicts between its members from the leaders, and it presents many of the internal battles that are silent, such as the battle of some leaders with Abdel Hakim Abdeen, the brother-in-law of Hassan al-Banna's sister and the group's general secretary. 

It presents the messages and discussions that took place about his abnormal actions in the homes of some of the Brotherhood leaders. The writer calls him 'Rasputin of the group', and how he was attacking the sanctity of people's homes in the name of the call.

It also throws light on the position of Hassan al-Banna supporting him and how he acquitted Abdel Hakim Abdeen from what was attributed to him. 

He brings messages to Dr. Ibrahim Hassan, the group's representative, who resigned on April 27, 1947, in protest against the way the crisis was handled by Abdel Hakim Abdeen. 

The book also shows letters explaining the procrastination in the matter under the slogan 'In the loss of the right is the interest of the call'.

Hassan Al-Banna had ordered the arrest of three major leaders, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan himself, Ahmed al-Sukari and Kamal Abdel-Nabi. Abdel Hakim Abdeen was acquitted. 

Of course, there is no more opportunism than this.

This crisis takes a large area of the book for all people to know. These people cannot find these facts on Facebook or other virtual sites. The researcher presents these facts in full detail. 

With all the messages presented in the book, we do not leave the first chapter unless we know their opportunistic positions with all the forces and with the English as well. 

Then we move to the issue of violence in Chapter Two, which begins with the murder of al-Naqrashi Pasha, the prime minister of Egypt, which took place on December 28, 1948.

Here, the researcher does not rely on police investigations, but on the confessions of the perpetrators, executors and planners through the papers of the original case, excluding the investigations of Political Police so that his research would not be tainted by any suspicion, as he does in the case of the assassination of Judge Khazindar and the attempt to blow up the Court of Appeals, which contained the papers of the case of the jeep car, in which Mustafa Mashhour was at the head of the defendants. The vehicle that was seized was loaded with weapons, bombs and papers containing the plans and strategies of the group. 

The same thing the author does in the assassination of Ahmed Maher Pasha on February 24, 1945. We continue with other violent incidents until we reach them after the July revolution and the attempt to assassinate Abdel Nasser. Researcher Ali remains on his approach, leaving the confessions to speak for themselves. 

He also throws light on the case of preparing to blow up and destroy vital installations in 1965, in which Sayyid Qotb was accused, and then the case of the Technical Military College, which was one of the most serious of what Talal al-Ansari, one of the accused, said in his memoirs after leaving prison, entitled 'Unknown notes from the history of the contemporary Islamist movement - from the setback to the gallows', and how the general guide, Hassan al-Hudaybi was aware and how Zainab al-Ghazali took al-Ansari to al-Hudaybi and how al-Hudaybi welcomed the whole process.