On His Birthday… How Humanity Needs His Approach and Justice

In a month like this, 1,498 years ago, Mecca – and the whole world – was honored by the birth of the best of all creations, making His birth – peace be upon Him – the birth of a nation, and His mission a mission of mercy. His advent marked the beginning of a message that changed the course of history, brightened the face of the Earth, and perfumed the breeze of the universe. Allah says: “Indeed, Allah conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves” (Aal-e-Imran: 164), “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [and] to the believers is kind and merciful” (At-Tawbah: 128). Indeed, Allah has bestowed His mercy upon us, and His love has filled our hearts. He – peace be upon Him – is ever-present in our consciousness and lives, a realistic model to which our actions aspire, and a true example that we follow in all our affairs.

Sacrifice and Redemption

This message, which was illuminated by His birth – peace be upon Him – and whose influence and light has reached humanity in every corner of the world and throughout the ages, is carried by the Muslim nation. It seeks to spread it among the worlds, raise its banner with strength and steadfastness, generation after generation, to be an argument against those who deny and sit idle.

The fragrant anniversary of His birth – peace be upon Him – this year coincides with the sacrifices and memories of His followers from the honourable believers who are on His path, the path of sacrifice and redemption. They offered sacrifices as He did, endured the hardships of the path as He endured, and refused to appease falsehood as He refused. We are reminded of the anniversary of the martyrdom of the brave hero Omar Al-Mukhtar on September 16, 1931, who met his Lord as a martyr after leaving behind a saga of heroism and refusing to surrender a drop of water or a grain of sand from his country, Libya. And on September 22, 2017, we remember the anniversary of the martyrdom of Professor Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the former General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, who met his Lord steadfast on the path, refusing to surrender to falsehood even after his tongue fell silent and his bones weakened from movement as he approached ninety. When they asked him to write a letter seeking a pardon in order to be released from his unjust and arbitrary imprisonment, he turned his face away from them and gestured his refusal after his tongue was unable to speak.

In the shadows of the fragrant prophetic memory this year, we are also reminded of the martyrdom of the brave young man, Abdullah Morsi, on September 4, 2019, who stood against falsehood with rare courage inherited from his father, the martyred President Dr. Muhammad Morsi, may Allah have mercy on him. His fate was to join his father as a martyr at the hands of the corrupt and oppressive tyrants. The fragrant memory also comes as tens of thousands of men, women, young people, and elders continue to stand firm behind the walls of oppression and injustice, refusing to concede to falsehood and reject acknowledging those who oppressed their people and imposed their will, despite the grave violations they suffer, the deprivation of basic human rights and the rights of life guaranteed by all religions and laws.

Humanity today suffers from the torments of deviation from the path of justice, compassion, and cooperation outlined by the Chosen One – peace be upon him – and the world is under the control of the greed and hypocrisy of materialistic and utilitarian civilizations that raise false slogans of justice and freedom, and quickly abandon them whenever they conflict with their interests. They support military coups in some regions and then rise and get angry when they occur in other areas! They raise the same slogans and then remain silent about all the violations, systematic killings, and death sentences that befall the freedom seekers and advocates of peace, most recently the unjust judgments on the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Dr. Muhammad Badie, and seven of the major political and scientific leaders of Egypt. These false civilizations also remain silent about tens of thousands of unjust arrests and ongoing violations of the free, while they talk about human rights according to a biased and unjustified discrimination that is inconsistent with the nobility of the raised slogans.

Islamic civilization has set the finest examples of absolute justice, where a ‘Quran’ is revealed to be recited until the Day of Judgment, siding with a Jewish man in a Muslim city whose right was violated, and describing the thief who terrorized the people as a traitor, even if he was a Muslim: “Indeed, We have revealed to you the Book in truth so you may judge between the people by that which Allah has shown you. And do not be for the deceitful an advocate.” (An-Nisa: 105), and a Quran is revealed therein commanding justice with the near and the far, with the enemy and the friend alike: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is acquainted with what you do.” (Al-Ma’idah: 08).

A look at the events In Africa.

The Muslim Brotherhood is closely monitoring the power struggles in some African countries, whether it is through successive coups, rigged elections, or foreign interventions. This exposes all oppressed African populations to the risk of fragmentation and civil wars after suffering from poverty, disease, poor education, and the plundering of wealth for the benefit of specific Western countries. The Brotherhood emphasizes its commitment to values and justice, supporting the peoples’ desires for a dignified life, enjoyment of their wealth, and the removal of all colonizers. The group hopes that these countries will not transition from one colonizer to another. Western countries’ attitudes towards recent coups in Africa are notable, especially given their democratic slogans and opposition to military coups. These slogans are used to serve old colonialism, which still dominates these countries and plunders their resources. The same countries that did not move when the military overthrew the democratic government and the first freely elected civilian president in Egypt, not only supported the coup but provided all forms of support despite the military’s terrorizing, killing, and massacring of unarmed civilians in plain sight of the world. Unfortunately, this is the blind relative justice where the colonizer and project owners only see their interests, regardless of the cost.

The Brotherhood calls on all Arab and Islamic parties to provide humanitarian aid and sincere advice to African populations facing political, economic, and health crises and disasters due to the major countries’ competition, resource depletion, and enslavement of its people. Arabs and Muslims have historically supported their African brothers, just as Africans have supported the just causes of Arabs.

Morocco’s Earthquake and Libya’s Hurricane

The Arab and Islamic world was shocked on the morning of Saturday, September 9, 2023, by the earthquake that struck our beloved Morocco, causing many precious lives. Similarly, on the morning of Monday, September 11, 2023, Muslims were shocked by the devastating hurricane that hit our brothers in Libya. Both the earthquake and the hurricane will have significant humanitarian repercussions that both Morocco and Libya will face in all aspects of life. All Muslims, in general, and Arabs, in particular, must provide all possible material, moral, and consolation support to help the people of Morocco and Libya overcome this ordeal with minimal losses, shortest possible time, and pass through it with social peace, economic security, and rebuilding everything that was destroyed in a short period, God willing.

In this context, Watan TV, in collaboration with several Arab and Islamic satellite channels, held a virtual conference on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, attended by many figures and representatives of Islamic bodies and institutions. They called for responding to the duty and providing aid to our brothers in both Morocco and Libya.

Muslim Brotherhood News

(O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain steadfast, and fear Allah that you may be successful.) (Al-Imran: 200).

The organization carefully observes the economic degradation, demeaning and offensive treatment, depletion of resources, and destructive taxation affecting the livelihoods and savings of the Egyptian population. This is coupled with a noticeable surge in inflation and escalating costs, as well as the misuse of coercive measures such as taxes, penalties, and extortion. Concurrently, the media partakes in manipulating public perception, illicitly transferring funds and precious metals, and constructing luxurious residences.

The group has also been following for a while the rumors targeting the ‘free’ people in prisons and immigrants in exile, and the impact on them and how it is targeting their high morale. As you know, our ‘free’ and steadfast brothers and leaders, by the grace of Allah, are steadfast despite the severe suffering and the passage of many years, but what increases their suffering is their inability to communicate with their families or lawyers or even know the news of their relatives outside prisons. We also know that the members of the Guidance Office, headed by the Honorable Professor and Guide, are in a very difficult situation and suffer from legal, human rights, and humanitarian violations. The solitary confined and forcibly disappeared for years, nobody knows anything about them, and their families cannot reach them. We ask Almighty Allah to make a way out soon, for them and for us.

When tracing what can be traced from rumors or statements attributed to the group's leaders behind bars, it is clear that many of them are not documented or based on anything, and sometimes there is a distortion of words. Some have been trying for many years to involve our leaders' names, especially the Honourable General Guide and the members of the Guidance Office, in administrative details and events that occur outside the prisons, either internally or externally. However, the Honourable General Guide Dr. Mohamed Badie had a decisive opinion, and the text of what was previously documented from ‘his honour’ was, "The Shura (consultation) is binding for us, and what comes out of the institutions is binding for all of us."

In our last monthly communication (Issue No. 6), we detailed the events of the court hearing on July 30, 2023, focusing on the hardships endured by the professors. However, we were astonished to find that some media outlets had misrepresented the occurrences of that session, leading to widespread confusion. Dr. Talaat Fahmy, the spokesperson for the group, clarified the actual events with the publishers. Subsequently, the media center of the group released a letter delineating the accurate facts and the misrepresented elements.

In this context, the Muslim Brotherhood would like to reiterate the following fundamental principles to the members of the group, in particular, and to those concerned with the affairs of the group, in general (these principles have been embraced by the group's institutions since August 29, 2022, and we underscore them again due to their significance):

1. Our loyalty to the General Guide, Dr. Mohammed Badie, will forever be etched in our hearts, and he, along with his fellow members of the Guidance Office and the General Shura, and all our brethren, will perpetually be held in the highest regard by us. They have earned our utmost admiration and respect, and we aspire for their involvement in all our affairs through their guidance and counsel.

2. Any ideas or proposals from our leaders and brethren incarcerated will be confined to its context unless we are certain of two crucial aspects:

First: the precision of the relay from them and its consistency, to ensure that it is not a misinterpretation or perception of the transmitter, especially since we have witnessed numerous instances in the past that were ultimately found to be either non-existent or incorrect.

Second: that the ideas or suggestions communicated to us were indeed accompanied by adequate information about the matter from our leaders and brethren and from a verified and authorized source, so that their perspective is grounded in a thorough understanding of the situation.

3. Proposals and perspectives may pertain to one of the issues (either an event that has been conveyed in some manner, a specific decision, or a decision made by the group’s institutions), and we assert the approach to handle each of them according to our traditions and norms (after validating the aforementioned two conditions):

– If the professors' suggestions or thoughts are about a specific event, we make sure to check all the details and background of the event, then explain the reasons to them, and then take their point of view into account for further examination, evaluation, and modification if necessary.

– If the professors' suggestions or thoughts are about a particular decision, we make sure to share all the details and any missing information, and if there is a chance to reconsider the decision based on their suggestions or point of view, it should be taken into account.

– If the professors’ ideas or proposals pertain to an institutional decision, as we have been taught and nurtured, the decision is obligatory for all, but it is essential to ensure that they are provided with the details and justifications of the decision and its nature in a manner that reassures them about the decision. Any messages received from them are considered one of the factors in the decision-making process when the decision-makers document, analyze, and assess its alignment with the group’s reality and are guided by it, but they do not become decisions merely by transmitting them. Generally, their perspective is presented to the institution that made the decision; if it deemed a review necessary, it was conducted, and if it determined that its decision had satisfied the procedures and the overall interest of the mission, the professors were informed of the conclusion.

In conclusion:

The foundational structures of the group specifically include the General Shura Council, both inside Egypt and abroad, the Administrative Body, both inside Egypt and abroad, the Administrative Committee, and the League. Each of these entities manages the group's affairs based on its defined responsibilities, without duplication or overlap. The official channels of the group include the Brothers Online, the group's media spokespersons, both inside Egypt and abroad, and the official organizational pathway for the group's members. These are the sole sources for accurate information about the group. The group strongly encourages its members and those interested in its affairs to rely on information provided by these channels.

Dr. Mahmoud Hussein, acting as the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood

Thursday, 29 Safar 1445 AH, corresponding to September 14, 2023.