The interplay of regional and domestic politics in Egypt: the case of Salafism

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Islamist landscape expanded after the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 when Salafi movements joined the Muslim Brotherhood and entered the political arena. This article analyses the pragmatic response of the Salafi al-Nour Party both during the Muslim Brotherhood government and after the coup d’état that brought General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to power and the army back to the forefront. It argues that the al-Nour Party's responses were articulated around mechanisms of adaptation, collaboration and competition that were influenced not only by changes on the domestic scene, but also by regional geopolitical rivalries between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.