The Brotherhood: Its Baneful Effects on Youth

Submitted by Renox (United States), Nov 2, 2022 at 00:54

This is an important essay by Dr. Pipes in which he carefully analyzes the equally significant new book by Cynthia Farahat "The Secret Apparatus" – basically a historical account of the Egyptian organization "The Muslim Brotherhood", established in 1928.

A once largely charitable association formed to improve the lot of those Egyptians living in abject poverty, the Brotherhood eventually morphed into a political entity absorbed and enthralled by the irresistible and irrepressible Islamic cris de coeur, calling for a world-wide "umma", the final triumph of Islam, all mankind thence anticipating the arrival of the prophesized and long-awaited Day of Reckoning.

"The Secret Apparatus" features a very strong point worth mentioning, namely that it is one of those books that gathers and collects far flung and often intractable data and sources and manages to present this disorganized information coherently and seamlessly as a logical whole in one 400 page-long tome. No doubt, this is quite an accomplishment especially considering that most likely most of her sources were in Arabic.

Still, I was hoping at least some mention had been made and some importance given to the myriad Muslim youth organizations that abound world-wide. In some cases, these have at the very least been inspired by the example and background of The Muslim Brotherhood. The connection should not continue to be overlooked.
The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) for example, based in Riyadh and founded in 1972 is one such prominent example of this type of association. It has, as one of its principles, "... establishing the principle of pride in Islam among Muslim youth and consolidating moderate centrist thought." What exactly that means, of course, would require a great deal of search and research, but it almost certainly is not..... or rather, is not only a "charitable" organization.

Along the same lines, MYNA, the Muslim Youth of North America, advocates service to youth by youth, but it includes published objectives such as "Fostering an engaging Muslim culture in North America and promoting Islamic principles grounded in the Qur'an and Sunnah." This body appears to have its HQ in Plainfield, Indiana (USA).

ISNA, the Islamic Society of North America, apparently is the largest of these associations in North America (whether Mexico is included in this usage of "North America" as it often is, I don't know in this case).

Strangely, I thought, it is also headquartered in Plainfield, Indiana (USA), the same as WAMY above. What the connection is – if any - between these two bodies (WAMY and ISNA), I'm afraid, I haven't been able to research or ascertain. But it's got to be more than a coincidence......agree?

By the way, Article II of ISNA's Bylaws states that "The aims and purposes of ISNA shall be to advance the cause of Islam and serve Muslims in North America so as to enable them to adopt Islam as a complete way of life." (mashallah) ما شاء الله

What all this means, what it portends, I'm not sure, but one thing I see is the bedrock for at least a couple of PhD studies just waiting to be done. There are at least a dozen more organizations than the three I mentioned above around the globe.....there's even some sort of organization in China and other unexpected areas.

Farhat's has given us the definitive study of the Muslim Brotherhood organization. I only wish she had included a chapter on Muslim Youth groups to alert us to whatever influence the Brotherhood may have on them. I believe youth organizations have yet to be given the importance they deserve and the implications they no doubt indicate for the future.

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