Saudi Arabia, Muslim Brotherhood from Alliance to hostility

By Hamza Mustafa; Translation by Yusra Ahmed

On 7th March 2014, Saudi Arabia, surprisingly and unexpectedly, announced Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist organisation” besides other Islamic and Wahabi movements like al-Qaeda and its branches in Yemen and gulf, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham “ISIS”, al-Nusra front,Hezbollah in Saudi Arabia and Houthi in Yemen.

The decision attracted many writers and researchers to find explanation and background behind taking it.

Explanations divided into two main groups, one of them pro-Saudi writers and commentators, either Arabs or Saudis, accused Muslim Brotherhood of trying to change the regime in the kingdom and other Gulf counties, by establishing sleeper-cells in the gulf to make troubles, aiming to throw the regime .

On the other hand, supporters of the Arabic Spring’s revolutions in many Arabic Countries, accused Saudi Arabia of fearing from the outcomes of the revolutions and their elections’ outcomes, and the kingdom’s decision was a part of the counter-revolution that started on 3rd July’s coup.

Going through the fluctuating relationship between Saudi Arabia and Muslim Brotherhood over time, may help in finding out answers to the Saudi Arabia’s unexpected decision.

Many books dealt with relationship between Saudi Arabia and Brotherhood, the most important one was “Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia, Harvard University Press, 2011” by Stéphane Lacroix and was translated and distributed in Arabic by the Arab Network for Research and Publishing, which was banned from distributing its publications in Saudi Arabia in 2014.

In summary, Muslim Brotherhood Movement was founded in 1928, four years prior to the Royal Announcement of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al- Saud, when he unite the country after controlling Hijaz’s “Taef and Madina” and Tohama’s “Mecca and Jeddah” cities.

Since then, Hasan al-Banna, the Movement’s founder, showed interest in the new Islamic Kingdom and went to Hajj every years besides sending his students to make good relationships with Royal Family’s members and well known figures in the kingdom.

In mid of fourth decade in the Past century, the movement started founding branches in many countries like Syria and Iraq and others. However, his request to found a branch in Saudi Arabia was rejected because the kingdom’s law prevent forming any political parties. Despite that, the movement tried to find some activities in Saudi Arabia by its members who went to the kingdom for workings in education and teaching.

In Fifties of last century, the nationalism and national movements grew in Arab countries especially Egypt when they Jamal Abdul Nasser ruled the country.

President Abdul Nasser and other political parties considered Muslim Brotherhood popular competitors to them; on the other hand, the movement did not accept Abdul Nasser’s principles, which led to conflict between them, reached the top in 1954.

The strength of the Nationalism and National movements increase and cover wide public sectors in Arab countries, which led Saudi Arabia to get annoyed from President Abdul Nasser’s support to many popular and communal Arabic Movements in many Arabic countries, led to instability in relationships between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, ended in complete breakage in relations between the two countries in 1957.

Muslim Brotherhood used the new political circumstances, where hostility to President Abdul Nasser and his project to establish a Developed Arabic Bloc supported by Soviet Union was the common factor between them and Saudi Arabia.

Emir Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz contributed in producing a political Islamic propaganda to compete with the National Communal Bloc and its calls for Unity. “Faisal found no option but to adopt Islam as the source and Icon for the kingdom, to oppose the Nationalism, but Wahabi scholars did not have the required ability to debate and compete with them, therefore, they relied on Muslim Brotherhood members who live in the kingdom, to turn into an effective propaganda” according to Stéphane Lacroix .

Muslim Brotherhood group was active through “the Islam Voice” radio station to oppose “the Voice of Arab radio”, beside founding the Islamic University in Medina to compete al-Azhar University. Subsequently, Muslim Brotherhood members held many sensitive positions in the Kingdom, besides granted them the Saudi Nationality.

Saudi Arabia supported other Muslim Brotherhood members and leaders like Syria after Hama troubles in 1982, and other like Iraq and Jordan.

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Muslim Brotherhood kept stable for four decades, till the Gulf 1st War, when some leaders from the Movement supported Iraqi Invasion to Kuwait.

Moreover, the appearance of Jihadi movements which refusing American Military presence on Muslim land, increased the disagreement between the Kingdom and Muslim Brotherhood. As Saudi political leadership thought that Muslim Brotherhood in the kingdom and their activities in teaching and education led to founding Islamic Jihadi trends combined between traditional Wahabi’s and Muslim brotherhood’s principles, which called to changing Arabic regime under claims of cooperation with the West.

Basing on that, Saudi Arabia tried to ban political Islamic parties, and restricted support to Wahabi principles, as they only call for traditional religious practices without interest in political affairs. Besides that the kingdom improved its relationships with many Arabic Countries, after leaving their National dreams and principles, which enabled the Kingdom to practice its control on the region.

When the Arabic Spring’s revolution broke out, Saudi Arabia took a hostile attitude toward them, because they feared of their abilities to change regimes, and turning principles upside down.

The kingdom felt threat after Muslim Brotherhood won the election in Egypt, besides the threat of Iran’s expansion to North Africa for the first time, especially after the wide openness in relationship between President Mohamed Mursi and Iranian leaders.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia found the presence of another Muslim Sunni regime in the region different from its principles and might be more attractive like Turkey, would threaten its position as a symbol of a Sunni Country.

All that threatened Saudi Arabia and felt the political Islam as dangerous as Nasseri experience, therefore, yesterday’s allies became today’s enemies, and vice versa.