Having your cake and eating it too

Arab Times

21-05-2025

THE primary objective of the Muslim Brotherhood is to seize power. They consider this not only legitimate but essential. Their existence as a religious group without power is, in their view, a temporary phase and merely a stepping stone toward eventual dominance. Despite being founded nearly a century ago, the Brotherhood's tangible achievements to date remain minimal. However, their one year in power in Egypt revealed the true nature of their ideology and the lack of a coherent strategy. This became clear when three million Egyptians took to the streets in a spontaneous uprising demanding their removal.
One of the Muslim Brotherhood's main strategies for gaining influence has been to change society's collective thinking and raise money. Like other extremist movements, whether religious, fascist, or communist, they focused heavily on infiltrating and controlling the main sectors of society. This included education, school curricula, student unions, teachers' associations, and various media platforms. They placed their writers among newspaper columnists and established dozens of charitable organizations.
However, what ultimately hindered their path to power was the widespread theft and financial misconduct committed by many of their members, especially among the leadership. Some of these organizations had amassed vast sums of money, which they sought to grow and invest to provide thousands of jobs for their supporters, particularly expatriates. They established dozens of companies and commercial ventures, especially in the education sector, generating significant profits and raising enough funds to support any future attempt to seize power.
Therefore, they worked to establish dozens of private schools, using customized curricula and teaching methods to influence young minds and instill their flawed political ideology. Business and investment activities require proper licensing and adherence to specific legal conditions, requirements that religious parties typically do not meet. Moreover, the law prohibits such parties from engaging in commercial or investment ventures, and in some cases, their political entities are not even officially recognized by governments.
As a result, religious parties are often forced to bypass these legal restrictions by entrusting large portions of their financial assets to business associates to manage. However, some associates acted dishonestly and seized the funds or a portion of them. Others passed away, and the entrusted wealth was inherited by their heirs. Some members and leaders of these religious parties exploited their political and financial influence to pursue personal agendas and engage in illegal activities. Many were also known for using lies to conceal their disgraceful actions and betrayals of national interests, particularly in the aftermath of Kuwait's liberation.
Their behavior came as a shock to many commentators and prominent figures, including Prince Turki Al- Faisal, Sheikh Saud Al-Nasser, and others. Religious organizations use various methods to maintain their connections with young people, including through unions, Quran memorization courses, scouting activities, lectures, and nearly free educational programs, often offering valuable prizes to participants.
One such activity is the Strategic Leadership Development Program for Youth, which is conducted online via Zoom from Istanbul. The group recently concluded its final course with a ceremony that included speeches from the program's supervisors, led by the general supervisor of the Muslim Brotherhood magazine in Kuwait. This is telling of the true intent behind these programs, which is to subtly gain followers while concealing the true face behind the program.