The British Muslim Initiative (BMI) is a UK-based Muslim organisation that describes itself as seeking "to fight racism and Islamaphobia, combat the challenges Muslims face around the world, encourage Muslim participation in British public life, and improve relations between the West and the Muslim world", [1] and which "aims to provide a platform from which issues of concern to British Muslims, particularly those of a political nature, can be researched, analysed and highlighted." [2] It has been described as affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. [3]
In 2010, Muhammad Sawalha was the president of BMI. [4] In 2013, Anas Al Tikriti was reported to be the leader [5] or spokesman of the Initiative. [5]
The BMI was formed in 2007 by former leaders in the Muslim Association of Britain, Sawalha, Azzam Tamimi, and Al Tikriti. [3] The group was founded as a "result of a conflict between traditionalists in the MAB who were unhappy with the high level of involvement" in British politics with the Green Party and Respect Party, "while those who formed the BMI wished such activity to continue." [5] The organisation was set up by Daud Abdullah. [6]
The Society of the Muslim Brothers, better known as the Muslim Brotherhood, is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings spread far beyond Egypt, influencing today various Islamist movements from charitable organizations to political parties.
The Iraqi Islamic Party is the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It was part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is part of the current government of Haider al-Abadi since 2014. Osama Tawfiq al-Tikriti succeeded Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi as the party's secretary-general on 24 May 2009, who was succeeded in July 2011 by Ayad al-Samarrai.
There exist a number of perspectives on the relationship of Islam and democracy among Islamic political theorists, the general Muslim public, and Western authors. Today, a number of Muslim-majority countries are Islamic yet secular democracies.
The History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1954–present) encompasses the History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from its suppression under Nasser to its formation into the largest opposition bloc in the Egyptian parliament. The Brotherhood operates under the slogan "Islam Is the Solution," and aims to establish a democratically introduced civic Islamic state. It has been described as "a deeply entrenched force, with hundreds of thousands of members and affiliates across the Middle East".
The History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1939–1954) discusses the History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from its actions during World War II to its official dissolution by the Egyptian government.
The Muslim Brotherhood of Syria is a Syrian branch of the Sunni Islamist Muslim Brotherhood organization. Its objective is the transformation of Syria into an Islamic state governed by Sharia law through a gradual legal and political process.
The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic organization that was founded in Ismailia, Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in March 1928 as an Islamist religious, political, and social movement. The group spread to other Muslim countries but has its largest, or one of its largest, organizations in Egypt, where for many years it has been the largest, best-organized, and most disciplined political opposition force, despite a succession of government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965 after plots, or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered. Following the 2011 Revolution the group was legalized, and in April 2011 it launched a civic political party called the Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt) to contest elections, including the 2012 presidential election when its candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt's first democratically elected president. One year later, however, following massive demonstrations, Morsi was overthrown by the military and arrested. As of 2014, the organization has been declared a terrorist group by Russia, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and is once again suffering a severe crackdown.
The Islamic Action Front is an Islamist political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.
Anas Altikriti is the CEO and Founder of The Cordoba Foundation, The Cordoba Foundation describes its aim as "bridging the gap of understanding between the Muslim World and the West". Anas Altikriti himself is a hostage negotiator, who has successfully negotiated the release of 18 hostages from various conflict zones around the world, between November 2005 and October 2015.
The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989. FIOE subsequently created the European Council for Fatwa and Research, a pan European Muslim Brotherhood organisation which provides guidance to Muslims in Europe. According to its website, it has "hundreds of member organizations spread across 28 European States, all subscribing to a common belief in a methodology based on moderation and balance, which represents the tolerance of Islam" The FIOE has a headquarters office in Brussels and has had some success in positioning itself as a dialog partner for the EU and other important institutions. Funding for the FIOE is derived largely from Gulf sources, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the Waqf Ministry in Kuwait. In February 2014, the FIOE elected Abdallah Ben Mansour as its new President replacing Chakib Ben Makhlouf.
Osama Maukhlif Tawfiq al-Tikriti is a former leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni Arab religious party which was the largest Sunni Arab led party in the Iraqi legislative election of December 2005.
Called together in the Sudan by Hassan al-Turabi, the 1991 Popular Arab and Islamic Congress Conference sought to unify Mujahideen and other Islamic elements in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Iraqi defeat in the Gulf War. It sought to provide an alternative to the Saudi-dominated Organization of the Islamic Conference, although it did not have its financial means.
The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, frequently called al-Islah, is a Yemeni Sunni Islamist movement established in 1990 by Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, with Ali Saleh's blessing. The first article of Islah basic law defines it as "a popular political organization that seeks reform of all aspects of life on the basis of Islamic principles and teachings".
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement, with adherents estimated to number between 2 and 2.5 million. Founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, the group spread to other Muslim countries but has its largest organization in Egypt, despite government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965 and 2013, after plots, or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered.
The Islamist uprising in Syria comprised a series of protests, assassinations, bombings, and armed revolts led by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Fighting Vanguard and, after 1979, the Muslim Brotherhood, from 1976 until 1982. The uprising aimed to establish an Islamic Republic in Syria by overthrowing the Ba'athist government, in what has been described by Ba'ath Party as a "long campaign of terror".
The International Union of Muslim Scholars is an organization of Muslim Islamic theologians headed by Ahmad al-Raysuni described as the "supreme authority of the Muslim Brotherhood", founded in 2004, and with headquarters in Qatar and Dublin.
The Cordoba Foundation is a UK-based research and advisory group with the stated aim of “bridging the gap of understanding between the Muslim World and the West”.
Mohammad Kathem Rashid Maruf Sawalha, also known by the name Abu Obada, is a former leader of Hamas in the West Bank. He is the president of British Muslim Initiative (BMI) and currently resides in London. He is accused of supervising the allocation and supply of large amounts of money to Hamas operatives, an allegation that led to his being named in a 2004 U.S. indictment against Hamas operative Muhammad Salah.
The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is a British Sunni Muslim organisation founded in 1997. MAB has been well known for its participation in the protests opposing the Iraq War. More recently, it has been known for promoting Muslim participation in Britain.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain is the official name of the United Kingdom branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a transnational, pan-Islamist and fundamentalist group that seeks to re-establish "the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate)" as an Islamic "superstate" where Muslim-majority countries are unified and ruled under Islamic Shariah law, and which eventually expands globally to include non-Muslim states such as Britain. The group was designated a proscribed terrorist organization in the UK in January 2024.