Syriatologists often argue that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) was once a peaceful, non-violent organization, which did not turn violent until after the Baath Party came to power in 1963.





They point to the fact that it was represented in parliament and in various Syrian governments, where it lobbied for the establishment of a theocracy. That argument is certainly true for the 1950s, when the MB did in fact play by the rules of Syrian democracy, abiding by ballots rather than bullets. But if we dig deeper into the personal history of the organization’s founders, we will find one event that is wrapped deep in web of Syria domestics, proving that they were prone to violence—right from the beginning. It took place in Damascus in May 1944, one year before the Brotherhood’s official establishment in Syria.

All historians trace the Syrian MB back to its founder, Sheikh Mustapha al-Sibaii (1915-1964), an Azharite from Homs who abided by gentlemen politics during his lifetime. The same cannot be said of his army of supporters and disciples, however. Sibaii had met Imam Hasan al-Banna while studying in Cairo, returning to Syria to set up a local branch of the Egyptian Brotherhood in 1945. Before that Sibaii had founded Shabab Mohammad, a paramilitary organization bent on combating public vice on the streets of Syria. Shabab Mohammad penetrated society in the early 1940s, feeding off the commitment of the Syrian youth to bringing an end to the French Mandate, which had ruled Syria since 1920. Sibaii recruited young men from the Syrian middle class, forming the nucleus of what later became known as the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.

The crisis of 1944

In mid-1944, red flags were raised at the underground cells of Shabab Mohammad, meeting at the Khaled Ibn Al-Walid Mosque of Homs and the Al-Tajheez School of Damascus. A charity ball was going to be held in Damascus, hosted by the wife of Madam Catroux, the wife of General Charles Catroux, special envoy of Charles de Gaulle in Syria in Lebanon. Its proceeds were going to a women’s NGO that provided milk to families in-need, but that did not really matter to the Syrian MB. What mattered to them was that ladies from the upper crust of Damascene society were reportedly going to attend the event unveiled. Shabab Mohammad reached out to Jamiyat al-Hidaya al-Islamiya, a Damascus-based NGO which was connected to the Egyptian Brotherhood. Together they sent a delegation to the Syrian government, led at the time by a notable from Aleppo named Saadallah al-Jabiri. They asked him to call off the ball or prevent women from attending with no headscarf. Jabiri politely turned them away, claiming that the choice of clothing for Syrian women was none of his business, and should not be any of theirs.

Jabiri was no secular, it must be noted. He hailed from a religious family and his father had been mufti of Aleppo. Since first joining parliament in 1919, however, he had strongly supported women’s emancipation. On 19 May 1945, Shabab Mohammad took their case to the pulpits, over which Jabiri had little influence, calling on worshipers to bring down his argument unless he bended to their demands. Leading Damascus cleric Sheikh Ali al-Tantawi later claimed that Jabiri had “blackened his name” and “corrupted his nationalism” by standing up for the women’s charity ball.

After Friday prayer, Shabab Mohammad gathered 300 of its supporters at the gates of Danqiz Mosque in Damascus, leading a massive anti-government demonstration. Jabiri ordered police to disperse the demonstration, and in the violence that ensued, two demonstrators were killed. He refused to apologize, claiming that the demonstrations had resorted to violence, firing at the policemen. A Damascene cleric named Mohammad al-Ashmar was arrested on charges of instigating violence and sent to the notorious Palmyra Prison in the Syrian desert.

The very next day, Shabab Mohammad used its influence in Ashmar’s native al-Midan neighborhood, staging a full shut-down. By 21 May all the bazaars of Damascus had closed in solidarity with the clerics, including its historic markets, al-Hamidieh and al-Bzurieh. One thousand people amassed at one of the mosques of al-Midan, carrying pistols and knives, demanding downfall of the premier and release of their comrades. They threatened to set Damascus ablaze if their demands were not met. A woman was attacked on the Damascus tram in Marjeh Square and pelted with stones because she was unveiled. They also attached Cinema al-Amir in Salhieh because it was showing a women’s matinee. They tried to break down its doors to drive out the women by force.  Police were sent to the scene, and two more demonstrators were killed.

A creative solution

Pamphlets were distributed on the streets of Damascus, calling for continuation of the strike. More pamphlets were seized in Aleppo, signed by the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, calling on the city’s residents to rise in solidarity with Damascus. The documents described Prime Minister Jabiri as an “atheist and enemy of God.” The premier then came up with a creative solution to the snowballing crisis. He summoned the head of the Women’s Syndicate Adila Bayhum al-Jazairi, who was distributing bread to the city’s poor during World War II. He asked her to withhold the bread for one day only, and tell people: “Go to the clerics, let the ulema provide you with bread.”

Bayhum had an axe to grind with the Muslim clerics, who never approved of her activities emancipation and saw her empowerment of women as akin to heresy. She complied with Jabiri’s request. Masses showed up at her offices, demanding bread and were instructed to go to the mosques. They did but the clerics—taken completely aback—were unable to provide. Overnight the people turned sour, unleashing their anger on Shabab Mohammad, which they blamed for sending their children hungry to bed. Within two day the momentum of Shabab Mohammad demonstrations died out completely.

Jabiri then went to Parliament to explain himself before Syrian lawmakers, saying: “The mosques are for all Syrians and not just for them. They also need to understand one thing clearly: that the government is from them and working for them, but ultimately, it cannot be crossed, and needs to be obeyed.”

BY: Sami Moubayed