Muslim Brotherhood Needs to Be the Next Target After Iran's Mullahs

Khaled Abu Toameh; Gatestone Institute   

"The Muslim Brotherhood's reaction to the US-Israeli attack on the Iranian regime includes an appeal to Muslims to rise against the US and Israel. This call should be treated by the US and the rest of the West as a declaration of war by the Muslim Brotherhood." 

"The Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Sunni Islamist organization aiming to institute sharia-based governance, has come out against the US-Israeli military operation targeting the Shiite Iranian regime, despite the Sunni-Shia divide that originated in 632 CE over who should succeed Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

"Sunnis, who make up 90% of Muslims, believed leaders should be elected by consensus, chose Abu Bakr as caliph. Shias believed leadership should follow Mohammed's bloodline, specifically via his cousin and son-in-law, Ali.

"In a statement published on March 1, Professor Mahmoud Hussein, acting "general guide" of the Muslim Brotherhood, wrote:

"The Muslim Brotherhood affirms that the policy of arrogance and dominance pursued by the U.S. administration, along with the Zionist arrogance seeking to impose a new reality in the region in which the Zionist entity becomes the dominant power, is a rejected policy, and that the peoples will prevent the implementation of this scheme. The group condemns the recent Zionist and American attacks on Iran, which threaten the security of the region and open the door to conflicts among its countries....

"The group stresses the necessity for Arab and Islamic peoples, the peoples of the free world, and all international and regional institutions to assume their role in confronting the increasing Zionist recklessness, declaring rejection of the policy of arrogance pursued by the U.S. administration, and working to spare the region the calamities of war...."

"This statement shows that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian regime share anti-Western and anti-Israel sentiments.

"The Muslim Brotherhood is no less dangerous than the Iranian regime. While banned as a terrorist organization in some Arab countries, it maintains a presence in the Middle East and operates through networks and affiliates in Western countries through various organizations, think tanks and charities that promote its Islamist ideology." . . .More...

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.

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. . . "Hashemi believes the lack of support from Russia to Iran is likely to fracture their ties.

"Russia and China have largely used Iran as a geopolitical bargaining chip with the West. If the current regime weakens further, Moscow will likely seek reassurances from the next Iranian government rather than invest in a collapsing structure. China is similarly seeking concessions from the next government to maintain at least some of its influence. However, both know that Iran's relations with them after the Islamic Republic will be quite different," he explained.

"George Washington University's Ghaedi is of the view that the current Iranian regime would still like to maintain close ties with Moscow given its strained ties with the West. "Tehran is unlikely to risk losing this partnership, especially with Russia holding veto power at the UN Security Council."