Modernity And Tradition In The Islamic Movements In Iraq: Continuity And Discontinuity In The Role Of The Ulama

Observing the above Islamic movements which preceded al-Da'wa, we can classify them into two different phases of Muslim society's response to Westernization and secularization. One was a general trend of Islamic political movements not only among the 'ulama but also among laymen against secularization in the Middle East, regardless of sectarian differences. The other was a specific response limited to the 'ulama community among Shi'i in Iraq. Both tendencies are closely intertwined but they often contradict each other. Al-Da'wa can be located at the crossing point of these two tides. In al-Da'wa, the first trait can be seen as an influence coming from the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb aI-Tahrir (Liberation Party). In Iraq the Muslim Brotherhood was founded as the Iraqi branch of the movement founded in Egypt in 1948, and Muhammad Mahmud al-Sawwaf and Muhammad Faraj al-Samarra'i, leading members of Iraqi branch, initiated its activities in Mosul, Baghdad and Basra in the 1950s. Al-Khursan mentions that Sayyid T alib al-Rifa'i in aI-Da'wa was influenced by the Islamic thought of the Muslim Brotherhood. [6] As for Hizb alTahrir, several Iraqis participated in it in Jerusalem including Shi'i members such as 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Badri and 'Arif al-Basri, as well as Muhammad Hadi al-Subayti, who turned out to be one of the leading figures in the early stages of al-Da'wa. Both of them afierwards however withdrew from Hizb al-Tahrir because of sectarian tendencies among the party leadership, [7] and joined al Da'wa. al-Khursan also pointed out the theoretical influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Sunni Islamists, especially that of Sayyid Qutb and Mawdudi. [8]

Considering the number of Muslim Brotherhood members that were laymen, the faction traced to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb al-Tahrir can be understood to symbolize the popularization of Islamic movements throughout the Muslim world in that period. 'Popularization' here means that the 'mood of crisis' brought about the rise of the consciousness among laymen to the necessity for Islamic reform.

What happened parallel to the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and in other Sunni societies was a movement for the modernization of madrasa in Iraqi Shi'i society in 1930s. Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar established Muntada al-Nashr in 1935 and started his educational activities, founding many modern types of madrasa. His purpose was to "narrow the gap between secular state-controlled education and the old madrasa, and .... to bring the religious and secular components of Iraqi Shi'i society closer," where Nakash pointed out "the existence of a bitter struggle between two opposing groups" i.e. between "radical modernist" and "extreme conservatives." [9] Though al-Muzaffar was an 'ulama (mujtahid), his efforts can be recognized in the context of popularization of Islamic reform movements, when we see the reaction of the Shi'i religious establishment in Najaf toward Muntada, which "did not recognize the Muntada as a true madrasa" until Isfahani issued a fatwa for its recognition after several years. [10 ] Many of the founding members of al-Da'wa were students of al-Muzaffar such as Murtada al-Askari and Sayyid Mahdi al-Hakim. Muhammad Sadiq al-Qamusi, also one of the founding members, had worked in the secretariat general in Muntada.