Shadow Sisters: The Role of Women in the Muslim Brotherhood
English - Wednesday 23 June 2021 الساعة 11:09 am
NewsYemen, Sigrid Hermann-Marshall:
In general, women do not constitute a significant percentage in the organizational structures of many Islamist organizations, and they certainly do not have much representation in the decision-making bodies of these groups. However, despite this fact, the role that women play within the Muslim Brotherhood may be a departure from this familiar norm. Rather, there is a role for them in the organization by providing the appropriate cover through which the organization can hide behind, and enable the organization to appear in the image of peaceful and peaceful Islamic institutions with social, not political, purposes.
The role of women in Islamic organizations
Women, as a general rule, are less inclined to assume political roles, and certainly to be interested in adopting harsh, intolerant and confrontational political forms and positions. Whatever the structural biases, it is observed that in the Western world women are elected less than men simply because they are less likely to run for election.
But it is worth noting that women have been active in the Muslim Brotherhood since the early days of the group's history. The role of women in the organization was not limited to being the wives of male members of the group, but they also took direct initiatives to support the ideology and support the organization. Women had significant influences through their role in social and educational projects that continued for generations after that. In a departure from what is common among women belonging to Islamist groups, there has been a clear tendency for women in the Brotherhood to assume official roles in Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated bodies.
The changing role of women in Islamist groups
Recently, in a number of Brotherhood-controlled bodies, women have been appointed to leadership positions, at the top of the hierarchy. Arraya argues that the group appoints women to these positions to meet and align with the perceived expectations of European political decision-makers regarding women's empowerment. For example, last September, three women were appointed to the German branch of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the organization headed by notorious Brotherhood cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi. The assistants are: Ilham Ghadban, Nada Bseisu, and Haya Al-Nabulsi. Ghadban was appointed deputy head of the Fatwa Committee. According to the Fatwa Committee, Bseisu and Nabulsi studied in Jordan.
As with men, women's associations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood's network at various levels foster relationships and tactical partnerships with other non-Brotherhood women's associations and clubs. Over the years, a separate network of Muslim Brotherhood women has not only been established in Europe, but is also trying to exert political influence in Brussels. At this European level, the network is organized as the European Forum for Muslim Women. The Forum is closely related to the former Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, and has members from various European countries. The Forum is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, as also indicated on the website of the Council of European Muslims, which is either the successor organization of the former Federation of Muslim Organizations in Europe or one of its affiliates (it is not entirely clear which one).
Here, it is worth mentioning three women's associations in Germany. The first is the "Islamic Women's League for Education and Education", which is a member of the European Forum for Muslim Women. The second is the organization “With or Without” (referring to whether or not to wear a headscarf) and is known simply as “WoW e.V”. The third is the Center for Meetings and Training for Muslim Women. These associations, and their interrelationship, should be presented in more detail.
detailed look
The Center for Meetings and Training for Muslim Women, based in Cologne, receives funding from various sources and enjoys widespread political support, in addition to the role of the Brotherhood, due to its social activities in caring for Muslim women and immigrants. Receiving an award in 2011, the center's founder said his organization is "closely connected to the Central Council of Muslims" (ZMD). This council is dominated by the organizations that orbit the Muslim Brotherhood, even if these organizations do not represent the majority of the members represented.
Until the middle of 2020, when the center's management rearranged things, it was Erika Thiessen - whose name is Amina Thiessen in charge of finance - who is said to have received it from Islamic Relief Germany (IRD). According to the federal government, Islamic Relief is also part of the Muslim Brotherhood network. There is an overlap between the officially independent German branch of Islamic Relief, Islamic Relief Germany, and the British parent organisation, Islamic Relief International (IRW), not only in terms of organizational history, but also, over many years, in terms of personnel.
There are also personal interactions between Islamic Relief Germany and the German Muslim Association (DMG), formerly the Islamic Society of Germany (IGD). The German Muslim Association/Islamic Association in Germany is the largest organization in Germany in which the Muslim Brotherhood has a controlling stake.
One example is Al-Moataz Tayrah, a Syrian-born pilot, who was previously Ibrahim Al-Zayat's deputy in the Islamic Society of Germany, while holding a leadership position in Islamic Relief Germany and the International Islamic Relief Organization. His wife, Howida Targi, has worked for both the Islamic Association of Germany and the Muslim Women's League for Education and Education. One of Tarji's sisters, Heba Tarji, was a former board member of the European Muslim Women's Forum and also worked for the Frankfurt Center which was co-founded by Zayat's brother. As far as the author of this article is aware, Tarji still works for the Central Council of Muslims.
After the anti-Semitism scandal last summer at Islamic Relief Germany and Islamic Relief International, some departments were filled with women. This was in line with the generally cosmetic surgery that Islamic Relief performed to address this issue. The appointment of women to such high positions appears to have been intended to change the public discourse about being an intolerant organization, and it appears to have had some success; The fact that the aforementioned women showed little evidence of public group activities does not matter. Interestingly, although IIRO nominally dissolved its entire board of directors, there was even one exception to this claim, and the exception was a woman. The only person retained from the old council is Lamia al-Omari; Swedish activist and former president of the European Muslim Women's Forum.
The communicative value of Islamism
The organization “With or without WoW e.V.” In 2015, in Stuttgart, by a number of people from the Gulsorghi family, including the parents of the Chairman of the Board, Lara Tsusan Gulsorghi. In addition to offering “jute” bags bearing the club’s logo, and a kind of motivational game, courses were held ostensibly to improve Muslim women’s access to the labor market. One of the main themes of the messages was that all employers should be motivated to hire Muslim women, regardless of whether or not they wore a headscarf. The project and the project leader received great attention and praise. Awards and lots of public funding followed.
What has not yet been noticed is that B or Without was part of the “Network of the Anti-Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Coalition.” This alliance is clearly involved with the Muslim Brotherhood, its satellite groups and its allies.
The purpose of operating under the coalition banner is to help the Muslim Brotherhood reach a wider audience for recruitment by collaborating with other organizations, obtaining public funds, and providing another layer of immunization against social criticism. These elements interact with one another: reputation management—securing immunity from criticism, and promoting a public belief that the coalition is doing what is in the “common good”—is key to its ability to access public finances, for example. This is largely a success: neither the coalition, nor the B or without organization face very little criticism, either from social media or from more formal means, the same pattern we saw with the Muslim Women's League for Educatio.
Conclusion
The Muslim Brotherhood may not be familiar with the Western proverb that politics “begins with culture” [i.e. if you want to change politics you must first change the culture], but it does in fact work with this example. Rather than seeking to seize power all at once, the Brotherhood looks to Reshaping society, so that this change is reflected in the state's policies and policies.
One practical example is the Brotherhood's attempt to reformulate conservative religious positions around the necessity of wearing the veil into the secular narrative of women's liberation and Muslim women's empowerment. This effort seeks to make the veil more acceptable in majority societies in the West, and even garner active support from certain sectors of the population. All the while, the group pays great attention to avoiding the involuntary imposition of the veil, either by direct patriarchal force or by isolating women so that they do not understand that there is a debate about the role of the veil. Moreover, it never mentions the repressive notions of gender that make Islamists prefer the hijab.
Finally, the role of women in the Muslim Brotherhood and similar Islamist groups is often misunderstood, and this is not surprising, because these groups are keen to distort their goal in the context of presenting themselves to Western governments and societies. But it is important, first, to recognize when women's groups are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and secondly, the serious risks of allowing such groups to be presented as or within the mainstream of civil society they intend to eventually overthrow.
Quoted from the European Eye on Radicalization website.
