The Muslim Brotherhood writes an op-ed in the Forward Posted by Shadi Hamid

I hadn't seen this when it came out last week, but it's still worth pointing out. In a post a few months ago, I pointed out that Ibrahim el-Houdaiby was, to my knowledge, the first Muslim Brotherhood member to publish in the Forward, the prominent American Jewish newspaper. Well, now, Esam el-Eryan, possibly the most well-known figure of the Brotherhood's moderate wing, is the second MB member to write a Forward op-ed.

Again, I think this is a big deal. It shows that there are Islamists out there who are willing to reach out to the Jewish community and, moreover, willing to entertain the possibility of rapprochement with Israel. This is an important development. Islamist parties - as well as many secular-leftist groups - are virulently anti-Israel, and have for the most part refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. However, based on private conversations with various Islamist leaders, there are more than a few who have indicated their (potential) support for a peaceful two-state solution where Israel and an independent Palestinian state would live side-by-side in peace.

Of course, this is not a position they want to take prominently or publicly since it would alienate their rank-and-file supporters as well as deprive them of one of their trump cards against Arab dictatorships like Egypt and Jordan which have peace treaties with Israel. On the other hand, some Islamist leaders have gone on-the-record with me, as well as with other researchers, regarding their willingness to accept a two-state solution. Even as an organization, the Brotherhood, in its 2004 reform initiative, affirms its "respect of international laws and treaties," which is the code they often use for saying they'll accept Camp David without actually saying they'll accept it.

This is a topic for another post, but Israel is one of the fault lines within the Muslim Brotherhood. Some prominent members have threatened to resign if the Brotherhood ever decides to recognize Israel (as it would have to if it it came to power). In Jordan, a contentious issue within the Islamic Action Front - the political wing of the Jordanian branch of the Brotherhood - has been whether the party should participate in governments that have diplomatic relations with Israel. Some prominent members have left the organization over this matter.

Anyway, none of this really matters a whole lot now, since Islamists aren't even being allowed to contest elections in the first place. In Egypt, the Brotherhood is currently fighting for its very political existence, after one of most sustained periods of repression the group has ever had to face.

Comments

[Khaled]

Hey shadi,
for the records, according to the Forward's editor Oren Rawls, Dr. el Erian has written/interviewed by the Forward several years ago, so it is not first time he appears on the Forward. Thanks

[buy r4i]

I would say the rights of minorities were most certainly NOT respected in the united states in the 19th century: jim crow, lack of civil/political rights for women, a thousand other examples. however, this does not mean there was any causal link between said issues and the preponderance of christian fundamentalists in congress: human right were just not that developed back then. in egypt, however, it would most certainly be the case.

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