Religion and violence

The influence of the Muslim Brotherhood on the movement is a matter for debate. It is perhaps worth looking at the similarities in modes of action and doctrinal closeness of the two movements. In the 1950's Sunni writings circulated throughout the majority Muslim world; they were translated and affected the ideologues of different traditions, including Shi'ites. The Shi'ite Islamists made reference to authors such as Hassan al-Banna^[1] , Abul A 'la Maududi^[2] , Sheikh Taqi al-Dinal-Nabahani^[3] , and Sayyid Qutb^[4] . The writings of Qutb and Maududi were moreover widely translated into Persian from the 1960's, notably by Shi'ite religious journalists who had mastered Arabic. If ideas were thus circulated, they were also carried by people, or proclaimed by those attending congresses such as the one in Jerusalem.

In December 1953, The Islamic Congress for Jerusalem (al mu'tamar al-islami li-l quds) was organised on the initiative of Sheikh Amjad al-Zahawi^[5] , 'alim^[6] of Baghdad. Amjad al-Zahawi was none other than the co-founder, with Muhammed Mahmoud al-Sawwaf^[7] , of the Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, born in 1947. The Congress, which brought together ulemas from all over the Islamic world, took place in Old Jerusalem under the authority of the Jordanian dynasty, which had annexed Trans-Jordan. The aim of the Congress was “negotiation on the subject of Palestine and the defence of the city of Jerusalem from a probable Jewish attack.” Those sent from Iran were Ayatollahs Borujerdi, Kashani and el-Karmai, and also Navvab Safavi, whose charisma impressed both the members of the Congress and the press, according to a contemporary account given by the Iranian diplomats in Jordan to the Foreign Ministry. After the Congress, Safavi went to Egypt at the invitation of the Muslim Brotherhood. He attempted, without success, to reconcile them with Nasser^[8] . Safavi was familiar with the ideas of the Brotherhood through his studies in Iraq, but this visit was his first opportunity to have direct contact with them. He spoke at a conference held at the Cairo University and called on President Neguib^[9] to intervene over the Suez Canal to strike at the English and the Israelis, even though the latter were nowhere near the canal, on the basis that Egypt at that time governed the Gaza Strip. He also met Yasser Arafat^[10] , who he advised him to quit his engineering studies to devote himself to the cause of the Palestinian people.

In 1955 the Feda'iyan criticised the Baghdad pact through which the United States was attempting to organise an alliance of Middle Eastern states against the USSR and her allies. In November of the same year they tried to assassinate the Iranian Prime Minister Hossein Ala^[11]. Safavi and some of his comrades were arrested and executed. This event signalled the end of the Feda'iyan movement. Several groups worked to carry on his ideas, before and after the Iranian revolution of 1979.