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News Analysis

Muslim Brotherhood Creates Syrian Militia

Mon, August 6, 2012

by: 
Ryan Mauro

The Muslim Brotherhood, as I've documented in detail, is already preparing to outmaneuver its secular rivals within the Syrian opposition once the Assad regime falls. It already has a head start because of its established networks outside of Syria. Now, it has laid the groundwork to launch its own political party and even founded its own militia.

Perhaps eager to avoid an embarrassing electoral loss like it did in Libya, the Brotherhood is lowering expectations by saying it won’t get more than 25% of the vote in the post-Assad election. It is possible that this estimate has some grounding in reality, as Syrian opposition figures and some experts like Dr. Barry Rubin have given a similar figure for years.

The establishment of a militia separate from the main rebel forces, called the Free Syria Army, is the most important move, as it sets the Brotherhood up as the potential protector of citizens if Syria disintegrates into a sectarian-based free-for-all once Assad falls. As we saw in Iraq, non-extremists will support militias if their lives and well-being depend upon it.

The Telegraph reports that the new Brotherhood militia is in Damascus, Homs, Idlib and other battlegrounds. One of the leaders is named Abu Hamza, who assembled the force with help from someone with the Syrian National Council (SNC). The SNC is an umbrella body in Turkey endorsed by the U.S. and Europe that many Syrians look at with suspicion because of the strong Islamist presence in the leadership.

“Our mission is to build a civil county but with an Islamic base. We are trying to raise awareness for Islam and for jihad,” said one of the militia commanders, who said he raised $40-50,000 per month for the Brotherhood militiamen in Homs Province alone.

That funding is coming largely from Qatar, a U.S. “ally” that has been acting like a bank for Islamists, especially since the Arab Spring began. According to the report, the Saudi Royal Family is financing and arming the Free Syria Army instead.

The creation of the Brotherhood militia magnifies a genuine split within the opposition. One Islamist militia commander in Aleppo told the Telegraph, “I would take it as an insult if you described me as FSA [Free Syria Army].” A member of the FSA command center said that its relationship with Qatar has ended.

The FSA’s relationship with the SNC is also contentious because of the secularist-Islamist divide. The FSA responded to the SNC’s proposal for a transitional government with one of its own. The leader of the FSA, Col. Assad, accused the SNC of trying to “ride over our revolution and trade with the blood of its martyrs.” The FSA has established a Syrian Support Group that also rivals the SNC.

The split between the FSA and the Muslim Brotherhood is certainly beneficial to the West, as it separates enemies from potential allies, but it would be a mistake to assume everyone within the FSA is secular and democratic. As the Long War Journal documents, there are Al-Qaeda-tied units that operate under the name of the FSA.

It’s not hard to find FSA members that are openly hostile to Al-Qaeda and its Islamist ideology, but there may be a certain degree of unity between jihadists and some FSA forces because of necessity. Or, perhaps the Al-Qaeda units are just claiming to be part of the FSA in a bid for legitimacy.

The West needs to recognize that this power struggle is happening and that it has an interest in the Islamists losing. The argument about whether Assad is the lesser of two evils is a different debate. The fact of the matter is that Assad is on his way out and we need to have a productive relationship with those that do not have an Islamist vision.

Ryan Mauro is ClarionProject.org's National Security Analyst and a fellow with the Clarion Fund. He is the founder of WorldThreats.com and is frequently interviewed on Fox News.