An Egyptian newspaper has reported that the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Hamas pledged a Bay’ah (oath) to Muhammad Badie, the new leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. According to a translation of a report in Almasry Alyoum:
In a phone call yesterday, Ismail Haniyeh, the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, gave the oath [bayah]to Muhammad Badi’, the new General Guide of the MB, about a week after accepting his role. In a communique issued yesterday, Haniyeh’s governement maintained that the PM “called upon Allah to give a hand of assistance, support and soundness to Badi’, so the MB’s course in helping the Palestinian national cause and the besieged Gaza continues”, expressing his hope that “the MB will play a role in keeping relations between the Palestinian and Egyptian peoples”. The government further pointed out that Haniyeh also called Mahdi Akef, the previous General Guide, and expressed his “deepest thanks for his steadfast stance assisting the Palestinian cause, and the standing up to the right of the inhabitants of the Besieged Gaza Strip”
Prior to this Almasry Alyoum report, it was known that Haniyeh had issued a statement of support for Mr. Badie. However, the theological importance of a Bay’ah is provided by one Islamic source:
The ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ (Bay’ah) allows Muslims to demonstrate their complete acceptance of the Divine appointment, and authority, of the Khalifah and so testifying that the Khalifah is the representative of God on earth. The word Bay’ah (??? ??) literally means ‘to sell’ something and in this instance can be interpreted as one offering themselves to the will of the Khalifah in all that is good1. Perhaps the most famous example of the Bay’ah was Mohammad’s journey to Aqaba where 12 people from Yathrib pledged their allegiance to Islam in what is commonly known as the Pledge of Al-Aqaba.
The Hamas charter states that it is ” is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and an Israeli TV station has reported that in 2008, Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas. An earlier media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations. Last June, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons.
(Note: Translation provided by Muslim World News)