Abstract
The Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) has long been an important power group in Egyptian society and is considered the oldest and largest Islamist organisation in the Arab world. Its moderate Islamist ideological discourse and its participation in the political arena granted the organisation the role of leading opposition force in pre-revolutionary Egypt. Mubarak’s expulsion significantly altered the Brotherhood’s image. Initially, the “radicals” of the pre-revolutionary era became the moderate interlocutors in post-revolutionary Egypt. In a similar way, the Ikhwan safeguarded the Brotherhood’s primary role, leading it to become the main parliamentary force. Nevertheless, after the accession of Morsi to the presidency and its violent removal by the army, the Muslim Brotherhood were ousted again from the political system and severely persecuted. Most of the Islamist forces were banned or forced to accept the rules of a military regime that denies space to political Islam. This article will review the current situation of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist forces in Egypt…
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Notes
- 1.
See (Izquierdo-Brichs and Etherington 2017) in this book.
- 2.
An exception to this rule was Nasser’s pan-Arabism. Pan-Arabism became a major tool for the Nasserist regime. Through its use, Nasser and his allies managed to challenge not only national enemies but also regional ones, through the expansion of his influence beyond Egypt’s boarders. In contrast, neither Sadat nor Mubarak had been able to control the ideological discourse, and in both cases Muslim Brotherhood mainly controlled this.
- 3.
It is, of course, impossible to verify the real numbers, but they are believed to be constantly increasing.
- 4.
Following the January revolution, a sector of al-Azhar’s imams tried to regain independence, by calling on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to reverse Nasser’s 1961 law that placed al-Azhar’s budget under state control and made the Grand Sheikh a presidential appointee.
- 5.
Wasat was mainly composed of ex-members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abou Elela Mady, the founder of the party, was a member of the Brotherhood for 18 years. According to Mady, what pushed them to withdraw from the organisation was their leaders’ refusal to renew the Brotherhood and form a political party by separating proselytising from politics. Until Mubarak’s fall, Wasat had not obtained a licence to operate as a political party. Personal interview with Abou Elela Mady, founder of the Wasat party and co-founder of the Kefaya movement.
- 6.
Personal interview with Khalil al-Anani, expert on political Islam and Deputy Editor of the Al Siyassa Al Dawliya journal published by the Al-Ahram Foundation.
- 7.
Personal interview with Sanna al-Banna, granddaughter of the Brotherhood’s founder and a member of the organisation.
- 8.
Riyadh’s reaction was probably an effort to make people forget that 15 of the terrorists were Saudi Arabian citizens, while at the same time to demonstrate the competitive relations between the different dogmas in Islamic and Islamist tendencies.
- 9.
The official web site of the Muslim Brotherhood has its base in London http://www.ikhwanweb.com/. Recently the organisation launched the TV channel “Egypt 25”, which is streamed free on internet.
- 10.
Cyberactivism was used by the Brotherhood’s youth in order to criticise the organisation’s leadership.
- 11.
The organisation encouraged many members and sympathisers to set up Islamic economic institutions, helped by those who had accumulated fortunes during their exile in oil rich countries.
- 12.
Quoted in (Wickham 2002, 97).
- 13.
Quoted in (Abdelrahman 2004).
- 14.
The unexpected electoral results, the escalation of terrorism in Egypt, and the electoral success of the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria all served to alarm Mubarak’s regime. Thus, in 1993, a new law for professional associations was issued, establishing a minimum of 50 percent participation in the elections in order to guarantee democratic procedures and prevent an ‘organised minority’ taking over. The proposal provoked reactions from many associations, mainly controlled by the Brotherhood, with many demonstrations held.
- 15.
For more information, see (Lampridi-Kemou 2012).
- 16.
Kefaya (enough) was a social movement and coalition of opposition to Mubarak’s regime, which had a major momentum during 2005, for the Presidential elections and the constitutional reform.
- 17.
Quoted in (Morrow 2009).
- 18.
Quoted in (Kassem 1999)
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Claret-Campana, M., Lampridi-Kemou, A. (2017). Islamist Forces in Contemporary Egypt: The End of Conventional Dualities. In: Izquierdo Brichs, F., Etherington, J., Feliu, L. (eds) Political Islam in a Time of Revolt. Islam and Nationalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52833-5_6
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