The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood web site is reporting that Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood leader Faisal Mawlawi is seriously ill and was replaced as General Secretary by Deputy Chairman Ibrahim al-Masri. According to the report:
Highly ranking sources from the Lebanese Islamic group asserted that the movement conducted an election which resulted in a victory for Ibrahim al-Masri as General Secretary, taking the place of Sheikh Faisal Mawlawi. Lebanon’s Muslim Brotherhood movement is scheduled to end its annual assembly in the coming days and results will be announced to the public by the end of the current regulatory period, which expires at year-end. The movement’s elections were secretly carried out by members of the Lebanese Islamic office including the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Shura Council’s members and the executive guidance bureau as well as members of the group’s nationwide administrative offices. The group neither officially announced nor issued any statement on the movement’s changes despite allegations attributing to Sheikh Faisal Mawlawi’s deteriorating health holding him back from performing his duties. It is expected that the names of the movement’s leaders will be announced in the near future. Ibrahim al-Masri will become the third Chairman of Lebanon’s Islamic Group, which was formally established in 1964. Fathi Yakan and Faysal Mawlawi were former chairmen respectively. Ibrahim al-Masri was among the five participants requested to take part in the election along with Fathi Yakan, Fayez Ieali, Mohamed Karima and Mohamed Driei. The group has suffered from a number of challenges and difficulties due to Sheikh Faisal Mawlawi’s illness including crushing electoral setbacks in the last parliamentary elections after failing to get enough seats. Only one seat was attained for Imad Al-Hoot in Beirut’s Sunni-dominated third district where he was listed in Saad Hariri’s Future Movement. Reports claimed the Future Movement had harassed candidates where they perceived members from the Lebanese Islamic group close to Hezbollah.
A previous post reported that the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, known as al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Association), was founded and led by Faisal Mawlawi. Mawlawi is closely associated with Youssef Qaradawi, the leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood. He is the the Deputy Chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the theological body headed by Youssef Qaradawi as well as a trustee of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, also headed by Qaradawi. In addition. Mawlawi is a trustee of the Union of Good, a worldwide collection of Islamic charities chaired by Qaradawi that appear to be raising fund for Hamas.
In August 2005 Mideast news sources reported comments by Al-Nasri that “combatants” from the Islamic Group were fighting alongside Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and that the group’s support of Hezbollah dated back to the 1980’s.”