CAIRO // Members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, an officially outlawed Islamist organisation, have long been regular fixtures in Egypt's prisons.
So while the arrest this week of 15 of the organisation's top leaders was seen as only the latest roundup of Brotherhood members, one of the accusations in their charge sheet stood out: three of the detained were accused of sympathising with the radical thinking of Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian Islamist intellectual widely singled out for inspiring ideas of Islamist militancy.
Analysts said the accusations may point to a new tactic of smearing the Brotherhood by reconnecting them to the spectre of the long-dead Qutb. It is a gambit that could have unintended consequences, warned Sherif Younes, a historian and author of the book Qutb and Islamic Fundamentalism.
"They are thinking about how to blame those who were captured and so raised the issue of Qutbism. But I don't think that they really understand what is the meaning of bringing Qutb back," said Younes. Qutb's philosophical mix of political Islam and religious romanticism were dangerous during the 1960s, and could become so once again, he said.
While Qutb's writings formed a thorough exegesis of the Quran, it was his famous theories of "offensive jihad" that still inform modern radical Islamists such as Osama bin Laden, who is thought to have studied under Qutb's younger brother, Mohammed Qutb.
Qutb believed that modern Muslims have tacitly rejected the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, returning instead to the period of pre-Islamic ignorance known as jahiliyyah.
Salvation for Muslims would come only from the reinstatement of Sharia, Qutb wrote. But he went several steps further, condemning those Muslims who did not defend the Sharia as apostates - a practice known as takfir.
Qutb, who was a prominent leader in the Brotherhood during the 1950s, took particular aim at the governments of Muslim-majority countries, which he said had strayed from Islam's true path and should therefore be overthrown.
Such talk prompted Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the first presidents of independent Egypt, to imprison and ultimately execute Qutb in 1966.
Brotherhood leaders say that in the most recent arrests, the Egyptian government is seeking to exploit the political history of Mohammed Badie, the Brotherhood's new General Guide, or leader, who was elected last month. Mr Badie, who was not arrested, was once a follower of Qutb during the 1960s.
According to the Egyptian daily newspaper Al Masry Al Yawm, which has published a series of articles on Mr Badie this week, he admitted to police during a 1965 interrogation that he had received explosives, small-weapons and hand-to-hand combat training from a Qutbist group.
"The media made use of the fact that the new General Guide had once upon a time adopted Qutbian ideas," said Abd el Moneim Abou al Fotouh, a senior member of the Brotherhood. Mr al Fotouh said this week's arrests mark the first time that Muslim Brotherhood leaders from the office of the General Guide were accused of sympathising with Qutb - an accusation that, while not among the formal charges against the men, could bolster the prosecution's allegation that Brotherhood members are conspiring to overthrow the Egyptian state.
Law enforcement officials accused the deputy leader, Mohamed Ezzat, and two other senior members, Essam el Erian and Abdel-Rahman el Bir, of seeking to inculcate a faction within the Brotherhood with Qutbian thought. But in an interview on Wednesday, Mr al Fotouh said that of those who were arrested, only Mr Ezzat had ever sympathised with Qutb decades before the Brotherhood distanced itself from Qutbist ideology. Mr Ezzat was also accused of being the group's "secret leader".
In 1977, Hassan al Houdaiby, who was then the Muslim Brotherhood's leader, published a book called Preachers, Not Judges, which was widely seen as the Brotherhood's formal rejection of Qutb's philosophy of takfir. The book articulated what would become the organisation's more nuanced approach to Islamist thought: to guide adherents toward righteousness instead of judging or condemning those who had strayed from the correct path. But even Preachers, Not Judges revealed Qutb's abiding resonance among Brotherhood members, said Mr Younes. The book made no direct reference to Qutb, and instead criticised the work of Abul A'ala Maududi, a Pakistani Islamist who inspired much of Qutb's writing.
As Qutb's divisive philosophy continues to inspire Islamist groups throughout the world, his impact on political thought in Egypt remains difficult to gauge. While the Brotherhood cannot deny their past affinity to Qutb's ideas, they have completely disavowed his more violent principles, said Gamal al Banna, a reformist cleric and the younger brother of the Muslim Brotherhood's founder, Hassan al Banna. The younger Mr al Banna is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Practically speaking, a minority of Muslim Brothers are impressed by Sayyid Qutb's ideas," he said. "It's absolutely not all of them. Maybe 40 per cent of them."
mbradley@thenational.ae
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
