Pan-Arab anticolonial unity prompted CIA support for the Muslim Brotherhood

Evidence

One lesser-known aspect of the Eisenhower Doctrine was the “Islam strategy.” This strategy consisted of bolstering Islamist organizations against secular nationalists and trying to create an Islamic pole of attraction in King Saud of Saudi Arabia. In a letter to a confidant in the early fifties, Eisenhower said that “we wanted to explore the possibilities of building up King Saud as a counterweight to Nasser. The king was a logical choice in this regard; he at least professed anti-Communism, and he enjoyed, on religious grounds, a high standing among all Arab nations.” Some administrators even began to develop the notion of Saud as a kind of “Islamic Pope.” A year after Eisenhower wrote his letter about Saud, he received Said Ramadan, the son-in-law of the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder Hassan al-Banna, at the White House. Even though the Brotherhood had resorted to violent actions, killing several Egyptian officials, it was to become a part of the United States’ strategy in the Middle East. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 225 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As the “imperialist” West became a valued economic (and often political) partner of the newly independent postcolonial states, pan-Arabism needed an enemy, an “oppositional other,” to keep the fire burning. And that enemy was Israel, a colonial state openly racist against Arabs and with a military doctrine at odds with pan-Arabism. “Arab leaders often vented their differences by staking claims to being the primary defenders of Arab rights and interests: anti- Zionism became the showcase cause of pan-Arabism, the vehicle for leaders to show their pan-Arabist credentials, or a way to protect themselves from those possessing them [their populations]… Instances in which Arab leaders deflected internal threats by mobilizing opinion against foreign enemies (e.g. Israel) and constructing external (symbolic) alliances were so frequent that the Middle East of the 1960s is a veritable laboratory for testing the hypothesized link between internal and external conflict” (Lebovic, 2004: 170). — Youssef Cherif, Neo-pan-Arabism, 26 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The CIA deliberately cultivated Islamist groups as Cold War counterweights to Nasserism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 389; The CIA cultivated the Muslim Brotherhood to counter Nasser’s pan-Arab nationalism; Pan-Arab solidarity required Israel as an external enemy after the imperialist threat receded — Youssef Cherif, Neo-pan-Arabism: a renewed contract of…, 26 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• The US courted even a violent Muslim Brotherhood against Nasser #corroborates (0.88) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 225
• Washington hosted the Muslim Brotherhood’s leadership while branding Brotherhood violence acceptable #corroborates (0.80)
• Pan-Arab solidarity required Israel as an external enemy after the imperialist threat receded #expands (0.78) — Youssef Cherif, Neo-pan-Arabism, 26