Muslim Brotherhood and its territory building in the political geography of the Islamic world

The Muslim Brotherhood began as a political-social movement in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna in Egypt. Despite the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is an Egyptian organization, the essence of this ideology, based on territory, a nation, and divine sovereignty, gave it transnational motives on a regional and global scale. In order to be able to achieve its ultimate goal, the Brotherhood sought to build a territory in the political geography of the Islamic world, and thus, in the late 1930s, it began to establish ties with Islamist enthusiasts in the Arabic and Islamic world. Using a descriptive-analytic research design, this study aimed to determine factor motivating the territory building activities by the Muslim Brotherhood in the political geography of the Muslim world. The results indicated that such activities were motivated by the ideological beliefs of this Islamic movement to awaken the Islamic Ummah and defend the greatness of Islam and Muslims.The findings of this study also indicated that the collapse of the Ottoman caliphate, the domination of the colonialists over the Islamic countries, their oppression to the Muslims, the establishment of the regime of Israel, and also political tyranny in Islamic countries were among the factors that strongly influenced the Muslim Brotherhood and forced them to react to the turbulent conditions of the Islamic world. Therefore, the territory building activities by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Muslim world can be considered in the context of Islamic awakening movement and unity and convergence in the Muslim world based on the teachings of Salafi Islam promoted by Seyyed Jamal al-Din Asadabadi.IntroductionAt the end of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and Britain and France began to divide the Ottoman Empire among themselves, each dominating a part of Southwest Asia. Aside from Iraq, Jordan and Palestine, which were occupied by the Britain, and Syria and Lebanon that were given to France, the rest of the Ottoman territories, including Egypt, have become the focal point of rivalry among the colonial powers. Apart from the colonial powers and governments, which have always been a constant force for the territory building in the Muslim world, ideologies are among other actors motivating the territory building activities. One of these actors is the "Muslim Brotherhood" that was established by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, and has been taking considerable efforts for the territory building, especially in the West and Southwest Asia, despite its failure in Egypt (2013). This study was motivated by the role of this ideology in the territory building and regional competitions, because the Turkish government is now using this ideology in line with its “Neo-Ottomanism” tendencies.MethodologyA descriptive-analytical method was employed in this study. The data were collected using a library method from different books, articles, first hand and Internet resources in three phases: first, identifying relevant and relevant resources, identifying and extracting important materials by note taking, and finally collecting and processing them. And set. By examining the role, the presence, and influence of the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology on different national scales, the main question addressed in this study is: What factors have motivated the territory building activities by the Muslim Brotherhood in the political geography of the Muslim world? Based on the methodology taken in this study and according to the theory of territory building, it seems that such activities can be attributed to ideological beliefs of this Islamic movement to defend the greatness of Islam and Muslims.Results and discussionWith the collapse of the Ottoman caliphate, colonial powers dominated Islamic countries. The rulers of the Islamic countries did not have a strong will not handle the affairs of their country, and the colonial countries treated the people as they wished. The cruelty and oppression of the colonialists against peoples of the Islamic nations were so intense that the anger of Muslim people and intellectuals was provoked. One of these Muslim intellectuals was Hasan al-Banna from Egypt. He believed that the whole world of Islam is a single homeland, all Muslims, a nation that must be based on the rule of divine law. In 1928, al-Banna established the Muslim Brotherhood in response to the oppression of French companies against Egyptian workers. After a while, the Brotherhood became a widespread ideology in Egypt. This movement had some clash and conflicts with Israel, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak. With the advent of the Arab Spring which was followed by the Egyptian Revolution (2011), Mubarak was overthrown and the Brotherhood rose to power after years of struggle, but their rule was short and they were overthrown in 2013. The Brotherhood’s dominance has been developed on a regional and global scale. But their territory building activities were not uniform and concurrent outside the borders of Egypt. In the early 1930s, the Muslim Brotherhood established the “International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood”. This organization, beyond the Islamic world, sought to spread its influence in Europe. After the dissolution of the Brotherhood by Nasser, this organization played an important role in connecting the Brotherhood branches.ConclusionThe Muslim Brotherhood was founded in response to the developments in the Islamic world. This movement also developed its power beyond national borders in pursuit of their goals such is the Islamic awakening and the defense of the greatness of Islam and Muslims, and launched a territory building campaign on a regional scale. The Brotherhood also sought a sphere of influence on a global scale to advance its goals and plans. Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood established the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1930s to create and enhance coordination and communication between the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood. Therefore, the territory building activities by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Muslim world can be considered in the context of Islamic awakening movement and unity and convergence in the Muslim world based on the teachings of Salafi Islam promoted by Seyyed Jamal al-Din Asadabadi.