Al Islah in the United Arab Emirates

The Federal Supreme Court Building in Abu Dhabi. Al Islah is banned in the UAE, and members are currently on trial, alleged to be plotting to overthrow the government.

Al-Islah (“Reform”) is an Islamist group associated with the Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt, inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is a right-wing group based in the United Arab Emirates. It is also known as the Reform and Social Guidance Association.

The roots of Al-Islah settled in the UAE in the 1960s, during Nasser’s regime in Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood members based in Egypt relocated to the Arab Gulf in order to escape Nasser, who reviled the group because of an assassination attempt by a Brotherhood member. The goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is to bring about societies built upon the Quran and Muslim values. Arab Nationalist sentiment was growing in the UAE when they arrived, which made the new Brotherhood escapees valuable in the eyes of the rulers at the time. As more members of the Brotherhood moved to the Arab Gulf they reached out to young people throughout the region. By 1974, three years after Yemen’s civil war led to the region’s independence from Britain, the group had recruited enough sympathisers to officially form Al-Islah. It was approved of by Dubai’s leader Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum (3). It was founded originally as a non-governmental organization seeking to promote sports, charity, and “cultural activity”. The group has become more politicized over the course of its existence. It gained influence in the 1970s and 80s, especially in the realm of education because of the large number of Brotherhood teachers who moved into the country from Egypt.

Al-Islah shares ideology with the Muslim Brotherhood but claims not to be a part of it (4). It claims to want to provide “moral guidance and political reform,” and seeks to discourage extremism (3). In the context of its similarities to the Muslim Brotherhood, this would mean it supports the idea of societies that follow the traditions of Islam as laid out in the Quran and wants Muslim nations to be guided by the principles of Islam (6). Indeed the group has no direct links to the Brotherhood. However its claim of independence from the Brotherhood has been disputed by local news sources and more recently by the state itself (3, 7, 8). The group has been accused of harassing businesses and people it believes are not following Islam closely enough, including in the case of a bombed hotel and general threats posted on the internet. These reports are unproven (8).

Local news sources also report that it has been pushing its political agenda harder in recent years. This is evidenced by the government’s decision to prevent members from holding office starting in 1994, as the group became known as a prominent security threat (3). In 2012 several affiliates were put on trial for being members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is illegal in the UAE, and purportedly confessed that Al-Islah was a paramilitary organization (9).

Since its inception in the mid 20th century Al-Islah has supported a Muslim centered United Arab Emirates and continues to call for the ideology of Islam to guide the country.

Timeline

1960's- Muslim Brotherhood members migrating to UAE

1974- Al Islah officially founded as an NGO

1980's- Continuing to build influence in UAE

1994- Members banned from holding public office

2012/2013- several members put on trial for affiliation with Muslim Brotherhood

2013- Muslim Brotherhood and affiliates labeled terrorist organization by UAE government.

Bibliography:

The World Almanac of Islamism. S.l.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. Print.

Boghardt, Lori Plotkin. "The Muslim Brotherhood on Trial in the UAE." The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Pekka Hakala, “Opposition in the United Arab Emirates,” European Parliament, Directorate General for External Relations, Policy Department, November 15, 2012.

Forstenlechner, Ingo (Winter 2012). "The UAE, The "Arab Spring" and Different Types of Dissent". Middle East Policy(XIX): 60.

"Brotherhood 'sought Islamist State in UAE'" The National. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/brotherhood-sought-islamist-state-in-uae>.

Helbawy, K., (2009) The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Historical Evolution and Future Prospects, p.65

Rashid Noaimi, Ali. "Setting the Record Straight On Al-Islah in the UAE." Al-Monitor. 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/uae-setting-the-record-straight.htm>

Rubin, Barry M. Guide to Islamist Movements. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2010. Print.

Ireland, Louise. "UAE Islamist Group Denies Reports It Has an Armed Wing." Reuters UK. 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emirates-islamists-idUKBRE88M05X20120923>.