Excellent point. Given the propensity for many Americans to play
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rex Brynen
...I'm extremely wary about expanding "insurgency" to embrace non-violent movements for political change—which I prefer to call, well, "politics". :D There's nothing to be gained, in my view, in trying to shoe-horn it into a COINdinista frame of reference.
the old 'Ugly American' bit -- albeit in many cases simply unthinkingly instead of maliciously, it is IMO far better to err on the side of caution in public utterances and writing. What's done in other and professional venues is another matter but a little public discretion goes a long way.
We've suffered slings and arrows from all over the world due to the failures of our media for years and they've not improved. Now we also get the unthinking things said in the blogosphere. This in some cases from folks who tend to complain that we're 'losing the information war...' :rolleyes:
The Muslim Brotherhood in the Wider Horn of Africa
NIBR, 23 Dec 09: The Muslim Brotherhood in the Wider Horn of Africa
Quote:
This report explores whether the
Muslim Brotherhood can act as partners in the quest for development and peacemaking in the wider
Horn of Africa (including Yemen). It explores the history of the various Brotherhoods in the wider Horn and finds that the Brotherhood has had most impact in Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The report suggests that positive engagement, while taking the ideological foundation of the Brotherhood as well as the structure of various sub-groups into considerations, could benefit both the Brothers, the Western partners and the local population, and enhance development efforts.
Book Review: The Muslim Brotherhood: The Burden of Tradition
Book Review: The Muslim Brotherhood: The Burden of Tradition
Entry Excerpt:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpgBook Review: The Muslim Brotherhood: The Burden of Tradition
by Alison Pargeter.
Published by Saqi Books, London. 300 pages, 2010.
Reviewed by Commander Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN
Alison Pargeter is a researcher on Islamist radicalism at the University of Cambridge. Her first book is a refreshingly complex and nuanced examination of the Muslim Brotherhood. The book starts with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, by a schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna, and its evolution from social organization to a political organization based on an interpretation of Islamic ideals.
Commander Aboul-Enein is author of “Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat,” (Naval Institute Press, 2010). He is Adjunct Islamic Studies Chair at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and is a Senior Defense Department counter-terrorism advisor.
--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.
The Brotherhood debate reappears
SWC have debated here the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), although I expect the threads on Egypt, Syria and the Gulf states recently have touched upon the subject.
Of late there has been a serious political dispute within the Gulf states over the support given by Qatar to some rebel factions in Syria; Qatar is no friend of the MB, rather more 'radical' militant factions. Plus the military government in Egypt banning the MB and engaging in a robust, if not brutal "crack down" on the opposition, which is mainly not exclusively MB.
Now the UK is undertaking a review of whether the MB is a terrorist organisation, citing in particular reports that MB leaders in exile in London have plotted against the Egyptian military government. Well reviewed here:http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourking...national-secur
The MB debate found an unlikely Conservative MP ally:
Quote:
The worst possible thing would be a fit-up job that listed the Muslim Brotherhood on the terrorist list with little or no evidence. It would be a betrayal of our values and make the problem worse.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-al-Qaeda.html
The Foreign Policy Essay: Saudi Arabia Dumps the Brotherhood
Will McCants, of Brookings, is always readable and in his article looks at the Muslim Brotherhood's position inside Saudi Arabia:http://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/04/t...e-brotherhood/
New Canadian Report on MB
My colleague at CCISS and collaborator in the Broken Mirrors podacts has a new report out on the MB's infiltration and "civilizational jihad" in Canada and the US. It's availableat http://tsecnetwork.blogspot.ca/
Cheers,
Marc
Gloomy prospects in Egypt
The always reliable IMHO Omar Ashour, from Exeter University, has a short gloomy commentary 'Will Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood return to political violence?' on the BBC:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28524510
He concludes:
Quote:
The Brotherhood leadership so far stress that non-violent civil resistance tactics are their means for toppling the military-dominated government.
But organisational fractures under heavy repression, offshoots, disaffected members, and mutiny against the leadership have happened in earlier crises and have happened in a limited way during the current one, the worst in modern Egyptian history.
And in a regional context - where bullets keep proving that they are much more effective than ballots and where eradication is more legitimate than compromise - the prospects of sustaining non-violence become gloomier
The Muslim Brotherhood in the UK
A thirteen page document from the Quilliam Foundation, prepared for the current UK government review of the Muslim Brotherhood's status here:http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/wp...in-the-uk2.pdf
The Muslim Brotherhood in the UK: rolling along
Based on "leaks" and some briefing from opponents The Daily Telegraph has a story today, sub-titled:
Quote:
Exclusive: Britain set to curtail Muslim Brotherhood activities and block activists coming to London after report finds ties with armed groups and extremists in Middle East and elsewhere
(It ends, citing a UK diplomat) The report is thorough in pointing out the pitfalls of the Muslim Brotherhood but also its mainstream appeal and continuing role in the region.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...in-London.html
One wonders whether the apparent disagreements between the diplomats and Home Office officials have been resolved. Plus whether the current furore and focus on ISIS will lead to any change, the story suggest no decisions till December.