Michele Peterson
The discussion of the rise of radical Islam is much like the discussion of what came first, the chicken or the egg. Did US and Western policies cause the rise of radical Islam, or did the rise of radical Islam lend to reactionary Western policies? The two are so extraordinarily intertwined that it can be difficult to discern where one ends and the other begins. Since 9/11, several hundred books and articles have been published on the relationship between the United States, the Middle East, and Islam. These publications cover how the United States' self-interest and power grab in the Middle East led to a rise in radical Islam. Other publications examine how ideology has impacted the United States' engagement with the Middle East. One popular theory on the rise of radical Islam is the “us-versus-them” US security policy. US policies developed under Presidents George H.W. Bush through Barack Obama have used “us-versus-them” policies to lead engagement with the Middle East. However, these policies were seen less in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Many scholars contend that the “us-versus-them” security policies are primarily responsible for creating a continuous cycle of mutual demonization between the United States and Muslim communities (Athanassopoulou, 2018).The rise of radical Islam does not rest solely on the actions of the United States; there are specific terrorist and political organizations that assisted radical Islam in becoming more prominent. Organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda have significantly contributed to radical Islam.
The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most influential Islamist movements globally (Hoffman, 1995, as cited by Pandian et al., 2020) and was found to spread the idea of Islamic politics, specifically among Egyptians. al-Qaeda was formed after the West abandoned the Arab mujahidin after defeating the Soviet Union. The Muslim Brotherhood looked to change the landscape of Muslim countries through politics and is immensely knowledgeable in Islamic teaching, while al-Qaeda embraced armed jihadist ideology (Pandian et al., 2020).
Hassan Al-Banna, who was young, formed the Muslim Brotherhood by persuading youth through sermons at cafes, cinemas, and social clubs. With Al-Banna, there was a real push to socialize children based on Islamic teachings. Conversely, al-Qaeda leadership trained children at an early age to use weapons and receive instructions to make bombs (Pandian et al., 2020).
While there are similarities between the two organizations, the differences highlight the various methods used to disseminate radical Islam. Muslim Brotherhood pursues the ideology of intermediate Islamic concepts in Europe and among Muslims, while al-Qaeda seeks to establish a network of jihadists to attack Western ideology (Pandian et al., 2020).
Upon comparing Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda, one might assess that the Muslim Brotherhood is less radical in its actions. However, Luke 16:10 (2001) states that one faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and one dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much (2001, ESV). Based on this, a group is either radical or they are not. If you radicalize religion in one tenet, then you have essentially radically all tenets of that religion.
