Al Banna Did Not Make Up A New Version of Islam

Al Banna Didn’t Make Up New Version of Islam, Just Breathed New Life Into Muslim Nation.


Thousands of people poured into the Jordanian capital, Amman, to attend a large rally organized by Jordan’s chapter of Muslim Brotherhood, on Nov. 16, 2006, marking the centenary anniversary of Hassan al Banna, the founding father of the Muslim Brotherhood. The participants, including MB leaders from all over the Arab and Muslim world, unanimously agreed that Islam has witnessed a renaissance during the 20th Century at the hands of Hassan Al Banna, citing his Islam-based methodology which, if implemented, can solve all social, economic and political problems, and liberate the Nation from any foreign occupation.
 
Jordan’s MB Chairman, Salem Falahat, cited some of Al Banna’s great deeds, assuring that he didn’t come up with a new version of Islam, ” but he was concerned with preaching Islam as the way it was in the early centuries; Al Banna chose a reformist method which differed from that of the other scholars and reformists before him, he added, pointing out that   Al Banna stressed on the importance of cooperation, not only with Muslims, but also with any one caring for the Nation’s concerns and issues. “This way of understanding has brought the group closer to the public, since its methodology makes it get concerned with public issues and the Nation’s cares”, he said. He praised Al Banna as a reformist who managed to reach a common ground, on the bases of which people of all the social and religious spectrums can work closely with each other, giving a top priority to the woes of the Nation.


Al Banna, Faalahat added, didn’t introduce himself or his group with a specific school of thought, seeking primarily to mold all the Nation in the pot of Islam. The Jordan MB Chairman ruled out that the unabated attacks against Islam could weaken or uproot it, assuring that faith is deep-rooted in hearts and has become a way of life. He recalled that the MB call has been, for over sixty years and is still gaining a growing support from the Jordanians, attributing this to the tolerant nature of this call which” meets people on a common ground and encourages its members away from any splits”, according to Falahat. He also assured that the group’s methodology will continue, regarding the constants of the religion as immune to change. He stressed that the ultimate goals of Islam are topped by liberating the Arab and Muslim nation from any form of occupation, with people monitoring the government’s commitment to the spirit of the social principles of Islam, reviving hope in the discouraged people. However, he hastened to say that the MB call sees all Muslims as brothers, encouraging its members away from accusing any Muslim of disbelief or apostasy.


From the Egyptian branch, Chairman of the MB Parliamentary Bloc, Dr. Mohamed Saad el Katatny, said that Al Banna didn’t give much time to writing books but he focused on reforming and educating people as well as grooming men to carry the banner of the Call after him, praising his disciples as devoted, and that they scarified their money and souls for the cause of their Call.


Regarding the Palestinian cause in al Banna’ s methodology, Katatni said that it was Imam’s pivotal issue, adding that Al Banna didn’t consider it only a national or a Pan Arab issue insomuch as the root of the conflict between the right and the wrong, but he considered it also as part of a construct leading to the return of caliphate.” His Call has reached out to more than 90 countries with an organization bearing the same name and calling for the same idea”, Katatni said, adding that al Banna’s words still echo worldwide, as his tolerance is acknowledged by both his supporters and adversaries.


Qatar-based prominent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yousuf Al Qaradawy gave a phone speech from Doha, in which he thanked the Muslim Brotherhood group in Jordan for hosting the rally to mark the 100th anniversary of Imam Al Banna, praising him as a character that blended thought with freedom and struggle with politics and social reform. He also said that Al Banna sought eagerly to restore the unity of the Nation as it was, and improve its image all over the world. Qaradawi praised Banna’s disciples who have been and are still with the nation and among people, citing their sacrifices in Palestine in the wars it witnessed.


Regarding the Iraqi ordeal, the Head of the Iraqi Accordance Front, sheikh Adnan al-Dulaimi appealed to the Arab and Muslim peoples to stand up and save the Iraqis of the daily massacres, displacements and destruction. However, he assured that the Iraqi people will continue to stand up against the US occupation and its allies; “Your brothers in Iraq will withstand the occupiers’ aggression and will struggle until they liberate the country”, he added.


Member of the Jordan’s MB Executive Bureau, Saud Abu Mahfouz, talked about al Banna’s achievements, saying if Isaac Newton thought of the reasons behind the fall of the apple, Al Banna thought of how to restore the apple to the tree, hinting at the Muslim Brotherhood group which he founded, and which has branches in more than 80 countries all over the world and its supporters are on the rise everywhere.


The last word was given by head of the rally organizing committee, Dr. Abdullah Farag, who attributed the huge number of participation in the rally to the greatness of Al Banna, his reformist methodology and his strong loyalty to his nation, pointing out that the world doesn’t forget great icons even after their death.


It is worth noting that the governor of the Jordanian capital refused, earlier last week, to give permission to the Jordan MB group to organize the rally, but he retreated from his rejection, one day before the stated time, on Thursday. At the end of the rally, Jordan’s MB Chairman cut the ribbon to inaugurate an exhibition embracing Al Banna’s most important literature, with banners showing the time in which the group was founded; also, MB songs and poems were chanted.