Muslim Brotherhood Research Articles

Not Anymore in Politics: Theorising the Young Egyptian Muslim Brothers’ Political Disengagement in the aftermath of the 2013 Military Coup

Abstract This study relies on the life story narratives of 48 young members of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers in identifying the different reasons behind their political disengagement in the aftermath of the 2013 military coup. Unlike the smt scholarly writings addressing Islamists’ political disengagement within a limited scope of analysis that focuses on members leaving their groups rather than politics, this study presents a multi-layered approach that examines the interplay between youth’s personal experiences, the repressive macro political conditions, and the organizational decay in shaping young Muslim Brothers’ positions towards political activism.

Erdoğan and the Muslim Brotherhood: an outside-in approach to Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East

ABSTRACT Amidst multiple foreign policy flip-flops of the Turkish government, the Middle East is where observers agree most about the explanatory priority of ideational factors over realpolitik calculations. The assertive foreign policy activism to extend the country’s role in the region has largely been linked to the Islamist leanings of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). This study revisits Turkey’s Middle East policy with a particular focus on the AKP’s relations with the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan al Muslimin), which marked Turkish foreign policy formulation and implementation in multiple theatres from Yemen to Egypt to Libya. Using a neoclassical realist approach, it argues that the AKP’s ideological ties to the Ikhwan are significant for the availability of new resources but Turkish foreign policy behavior in the Middle East, including relations with the Ikhwan, reflects a grand strategy to respond to systemic and sub-systemic stimuli.

Normatif Güç olarak Türkiye: Arap Baharı'nda Müslüman Kardeşlerle Bağlantılar

The debate on normative power has mainly been focused on the European Union. This is partly owing to the fact that its conception is very Euro/Western centric. Yet, it is assumed that the concept is applicable to other actors. The aim of this paper therefore is to examine Turkey and whether its actions embody normative power in Syria and Egypt during the Arab Spring. It applies de Zutter’s four-step methodology of identifying normative power. The result is mixed. In the case of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey tried to be a normative power but failed, due to a lack of recognition. In the case of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey was perceived as a normative power due to the combination of its Islamic identity, adherence to democracy, and the role of religion in its society. The implications of this are significant, since this paper demonstrates that normative power can travel outside of its Euro/Western centric context. At the same time, it also demonstrates that the norms are different and context specific.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan

The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan

Tahrir Square: A Geopolitical Paradigm of the People's Revolution

Tahrir Square:A Geopolitical Paradigm of the People's Revolution Farah Ali (bio) Introduction Geopolitics analyzes the relations between the interests of international political actors and interest within an area, a space, or a geopolitical element. In the geopolitical context, a place is not merely an area with no definition. A place is defined by its multifaceted political milestones.1 An example that occurred in Egypt is the revolution of January 25, which ended the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Ever since, the revolution's location, Tahrir Square, became a symbol of liberation (which is the meaning of its name) and insurgency. It became so much so that the revolution of June 30, which occurred only two years later and intended to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood's regime, also took place in Tahrir Square. This article will focus on the events leading up to the 2011 revolution, and how the geopolitical definition of Tahrir Square was formed in terms of its symbolic meaning to the people and the vitality of public space to political reform or transformation. Origins of Tahrir Square Tahrir Square's original name was Ismailiyah Square, as it was initiated by Khedive Ismail as part of modernizing Cairo. Years later, an incident caused an uproar in Ismailiyah Square; British soldiers opened fire at Egyptian rebels who were protesting the United Kingdom's presence in Egypt. This [End Page 110] occurrence resulted in the death of 24 Egyptians on February 11, 1946. This day is incidentally the same one on which President Mubarak was overthrown, only 64 years later. After the Free Officers Movement changed Egypt from a kingdom to a republic, President Gamal Abdul Nasser declared that Ismailiyah Square's name would officially be changed to one that fits its liberating essence, Tahrir Square.2 January 25th: A Revolution Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo's urban hub, Tahrir Square, to rebel against the Mubarak regime. The revolution's spark was triggered by the repercussions of Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian fruit-seller, setting himself on fire as a form of protest against the Tunisian government on December 17, 2010. Approximately three weeks later, the Egyptians chose to gather in Cairo's biggest square, shouting slogans that demanded Mubarak to step down.3 The Egyptian people were triggered by the Tunisian revolt but had their own resentments toward their government. Factors such as unemployment, high levels of corruption, poverty, and police brutality accumulated over the years of Mubarak's rule. One of the most striking examples of police brutality that caused national unrest was the case of Khaled Said, a 28-year-old businessman who was beaten to death inside an internet café by members of the police force. The police claimed that Said's death occurred because of him swallowing a pouch of marijuana.4 However, a gruesome photo of Said's battered body in the morgue proved that the police's claims were false. The truth was revealed when a video posted by Said on his Facebook profile showed footage of police officers distributing seized drugs and money between themselves.5 With that, a viral uproar sparked on social media leading up to hundreds of thousands of Egyptians voicing their support for Khaled Said and others that suffered from the dictatorial regime. A particular Facebook page created by Wael Ghoneim, a then-Google Market Executive, was quickly "liked" by a huge number of Egyptian users. The page's name, "We Are All Khaled Said," along with its revolution-inducing posts caused people's anger at the [End Page 111] regime to increase. The buildup eventually resulted in an outrage that was initiated on January 25. According to Egyptian tradition, January 25 is the official national holiday that honors their police forces. However, the people viewed the date as an opportunity to mobilize against the police and the authoritarian state. Global media, specifically Western media, emphasized the role that social media played in initiating the revolution rather than emphasizing that an actual revolution was taking place in the streets of Egypt.6 The true essence of the revolution was situated in Tahrir Square, where colloquial slogans demanding "bread, freedom, social equality" and an "[…] overthrow...

The “menstruating” Muslim Brotherhood: taboo metaphor, face attack, and gender in Egyptian culture

ABSTRACT Euphemisms for menstruation and menstruation as a metaphor target have gained much attention in social cognition or communication studies. What is far less explored is the reverse mapping, that is, the use of menstruation as a metaphor source domain (to describe or reason about politics). The present study, using data from the Egyptian press and social media, aims to rectify this. This data will be approached with the literature on impoliteness in mind. As will be seen in this article, metaphorical descriptions of an opposition movement (the Muslim Brotherhood) as a menstruating woman may instill relevant negative emotions such as anger, not only among out-group members but among pro-government fanatics. As sexist insults, menstrual metaphors involve social identity face. Clearly, the menstrual taboo relates to gender (social group membership) and hence to things people often have much face invested in (i.e. to core identity claims). However, it can also instill positive emotional reactions such as laughter. It is then argued that the enjoyment of a taboo metaphor as such relies not on gender, but on ideological beliefs. One can be simultaneously a radical feminist and a pro-government activist. People, men and women, may thus accept or resist metaphors for different reasons.

Correction to: Therapeutic reflections of the maternal theme in Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic group poetry

Correction to: Therapeutic reflections of the maternal theme in Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic group poetry

Speaking Truth to Power in a Dictatorship: Secular Ideology versus Islamic Realpolitik—A Fierce Dispute in Ṣaddām’s Iraq

ABSTRACT In July 1986, a dramatic top-secret meeting of the Baʿth Pan Arab Leadership, the party’s highest ideological body, fully recorded by Ṣaddām Ḥussein, took place in wartime Baghdad. This meeting is thrice unique. First, the medium, an unabridged, audio-recording. Second, the topic, the dilemma of many Middle Eastern ruling regimes, vacillating between a secular, or semi-secular ideology and Islamic political expediency. In the case of the Baʿth, a more secular and ideological movement than most, this dilemma is particularly poignant. Third, it is exposing a bitter clash between a brutal dictator, who had executed comrades for opposing him, and three brave lieutenants. On the surface it was convened to discuss a tactical alliance with a sworn enemy, the Muslim Brethren (MB). At a dangerous moment in the Iraq-Iran War, Ṣaddām identified swelling popular religiosity. He hoped that an alliance with the MB would blunt criticism of his regime’s secularism. All the same, some participants feared that secular Arabism, the central tenet of Baʿthi faith, was at stake. Unexpectedly, the meeting produced a startling drama. Albeit temporarily, it forced Ṣaddām to take one step back. Other ideologically oriented dictators, such as Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Ḥāfiẓ al-Assad, and the Ayatollah Khomeini, too, faced ideology-politics dilemmas, yet none of them left such a surprising chronicle. A similar audio recording also comes to mind that offers a rare verbatim meeting of the inner working of a county’s highest institution at a moment of crisis – the transcripts of Kennedy’s ExComm during the Cuban Missile Crisis. While it deliberated an existential global matter and took place in a democracy, one sees similarities, namely, its detail, the exposure of emotional charges, the ability to speak truth to power, and the benefit resulting from that ability.

Organizational Rifts within Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the Question of Violence

Abstract This article traces the rift within Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood since the July 2013 military coup. It argues that the tensions within the Brotherhood that became public in early 2015 have led to the formation of two organizations within the movement, each with its own leadership, structure, and media outlets. The article contends that the split within the Brotherhood between the two camps—the pacifists and the revolutionists—is over leadership, legitimacy, and strategy. Furthermore, the article investigates whether the revolutionists have espoused the use of violence against al-Sisi regime. Its findings confirm that while the revolutionists do not adopt any of the violent actions against the regime, they tolerate the use of violence in the name of qisas, self-defense, and retaliation. These findings are based on a thorough review of the official statements of the revolutionary camp within the Brotherhood.

The Political Function of Religion in Kurdish and Perso-Iranian Nationalist Confrontations after the 1979 Revolution

Abstract During the early years (1979–1982) following the 1979 revolution, because of the prevalence of a traditional society, religion was politically more functional. Religious discourse became hegemonic and most groups, including secularists, were forced to use such a discourse to promote their politics. The Persian politicians used Islam to make Perso-Iranian nationalism dominant over others, while non-Persian politicians appealed to it to gain their ethno-national rights. Using Qualitative Content Analysis to analyse the scattered texts of speeches, interviews, messages of the Persian and Kurdish leaders published in different publications at the time (which are available in some archives and databases), this article describes how they use religion in their confrontations. The findings show both marginalisation and resistance against it appealing to Islamic discourse. Ignoring those parts of Islam that are not in their interest, the Persian nationalists use Islamic brotherhood and unity to reinforce Islamic identity over Kurdish identity in order to marginalise the Kurdish nationalist movement, as well as to mobilise ordinary people against the Kurdish forces. Conversely, the Kurdish nationalists resist, and demand equality as Muslim brethren. In this regard, while religion has uniting, mobilizing and legitimating functions for the Persian government, enabling it to pursue nationalistic aims and to justify relevant measures, it also partly has a legitimating one for the Kurdish opposition.

Manajemen Pondok Pesantren Dalam Meningkatkan Keterampilan Berdakwah Di Pondok Pesantren Modern Dan Tahfidz Al - Ikhwan Assalam Serapuh ABC Kecamatan Tanjung Pura


 
 
 
 This research is a qualitative research. With this type of field research, this is done to explain various kinds of problems related to the subject matter being studied. Sources of data in this study obtained by means of observation, interviews and documentation. The results showed from the results of interviews with informants regarding the implementation of the management of the Al Ikhwan Assalam Islamic Boarding School has been going well. The application of management in the management of Islamic boarding schools includes various aspects such as aspects of education, aspects of worship, economic aspects, aspects of da'wah, aspects of social media, aspects of cooperative relationships. In carrying out the management planning of Islamic boarding schools, it is carried out at the beginning of the new academic year by compiling a work program to be carried out, the organization carried out has a management structure that includes aspects of their respective fields, in the implementation alone conducted in accordance with plan which has been made at the beginning and with time according to their respective aspects, while the self-evaluation is carried out at the end of the new school year to assess activities that are already running and lack of activities to become suggestions for further activities. Improvement in students' da'wah skills at Pondok Pesantren Al Ikhwan Assalam Serapuh ABC is done by applying the elements of management. Namely da'wah planning, organization of da'wah, implementation of da'wah, supervision of da'wah and evaluation of da'wah. Some of the supporting factors in da'wah management activities are the existence of a library as a reference source for the library. There is responsibility and loyalty from the administrators and Ustadz of Al Ikhwan Assalam Islamic Boarding School Serapuh ABC in fostering the da'wah of students . In addition to supporting factors, there are inhibiting factors, namely the activities carried out are sometimes unsatisfactory, due to limited references from the students. Limitations Inadequate reference sources Weak use of technology to develop student excellence values because students are not allowed to use cell phones in Islamic boarding schools.
 
 
 

Penguatan Tradisi Aswaja An-Nahdliyah

Abstract: This study reviews the strengthening of the Aswaja An-Nahdliyah tradition; efforts to counter the transnational Islamic movement. Talking about the transnational Islamic movement, it cannot be separated from the desire of the Islamist group. Such as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) and the Muslim Brotherhood (IM) to introduce Islam that really refers to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. The purpose of this study is to describe the transnational Islamic movement. Next, it describes the Aswaja An-Nahdliyah tradition in the context of internal strengthening of the Nahdliyin youth. Then, analyze the impact of strengthening the Aswaja An-Nahdliyah tradition in an effort to ward off transnational movements. This study uses a qualitative phenomenological approach (qualitative phenomenological approarch) which aims to describe the situation or phenomena that occur qualitatively descriptively. Data analysis techniques in this research are data collection, data reduction, data presentation, conclusion and verification. The results of this study are first, the pattern in the transnational Islamic movement is influenced by the transmission and transformation of knowledge, then the piety movement (politic of piety) and political movement. Second, the Aswaja An-Nahdliyah traditions are the pilgrimage to the grave, Yasinan and Tahlilan, Manaqiban and Maulid Nabi, Ruwahan or Nyadran, Istighosah, the tradition of Bulan Suro, Ngapati and Mitoni or Tingkepan, the tradition of the Month of Shafar. Third, in the tradition of Pilgrimage to the Grave, Tawassul teaches the value of humility and tawadlu'. With the Istighatsah tradition, it is able to strengthen Ukhuwah. As for Ukhuwah, which is embedded in Muslims, it will fend off everything that leads to violence that leads to radicalism. When Muslims get used to the Khotmil Qur'an tradition, Muslims will motivate themselves to learn and practice Islamic teachings. So, strengthening the Aswaja An-Nahdliyah tradition is one of the most effective vaccines in an effort to prevent and at the same time fight the infiltration of transnational Islamic movements.

Egypt’s Salafi Awakening in the 1970s: Revisiting the History of a Crucial Decade for Egyptian Islamic Activism

This article aims at revisiting the history of Egyptian Islamic activism during the important decade of the 1970s, by reintroducing a crucial element that is absent from the existing academic literature: the role played by Salafi ideas in the religious socialization of 1970s Egyptian Islamic activists. Far from only being the product of Saudi Arabia’s intense petrodollar-funded proselytization efforts, these Salafi ideas had already gained a foothold in Egypt in the first half of the 20th century, when they started being promoted by organizations such as Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya, which saw itself as a rival to the Muslim Brotherhood. Reintroducing this element helps complexify a historiographical narrative of the 1970s that has been mostly centered around the Muslim Brotherhood and the posthumous role played by the ideas of radical thinker Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966), and it is key to a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the subsequent evolutions of Egyptian Islamic activism.

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN EUROPE: BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS. PART 2

In this article, the author considers two most important, in his opinion, aspects of the activities of the Islamist movement «Muslim Brotherhood» (MB) in Europe today – a rupture that has emerged in the system of the highest governing bodies of the MB (the formation of two rival centers – in Istanbul and London) and the intensification of attempts of MB groups participation in the political life of European countries under the «banner of Islam». The author draws attention to the fact that the observed «renaissance of the brothers» in Europe not only clearly contrasts with the position of their associates in most Arab countries, in whose social and political life they are failing after failure, but can also be considered as an attempt to lead the MB precisely through his European experience to preserve the movement itself, to support the dynamics of its activity, to formulate its upcoming goals. In other words, to demonstrate the ability of the movement and its ideology to transform and adapt to the conditions of the 21st century. To do this, the Islamist «brotherhood» is actively exploiting the potential of the welfare state and political freedoms in the Old World. The author explores the mechanisms used by the Islamists of the BM to penetrate into state structures and influential layers of European societies. It is noteworthy that the activities of the MB are increasingly mentioned by European experts and politicians in the context of growing internal threats to their countries.

THE STRUGGLE OF MUSLIM IDEOLOGUES AGAINST OPPRESSIVE REGIMES: RETHINKING THE CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE ON RELIGION

Sociologists have developed several theories to understand the role of religion in the society and the ways in which religion interacts with other social institutions and cultural norms. The conflict perspective on religion, as viewed by Karl Marx, posits that religion functions to maintain social inequality and reinforce the power of the ruling class by promoting false consciousness and distracting the oppressed from their true economic and political conditions. Marx famously described religion as the opium of the masses because he thought that it offered a false sense of comfort to the exploited people, preventing them from recognizing the true source of their suffering and mobilizing to overthrow their oppressors. This article examines the revolutionary ideas of Muslim ideologues—namely, Maulana Mawdudi, Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutub—and attempts to prove that contrary to what conflict theorists argue and believe, revolutionary Muslim ideologues have used religion to mobilize their exploited population to rise up and overthrow oppressive regimes. Keywords: Oppression, Conflict, Jihad, Colonization, Karl Marx, Emancipation, Social Justice, Jahiliya, Muslim Brotherhood.

Pemanfaatan Media Sosial sebagai Media Dakwah Islam dalam Kemajuan Perkembangan Teknologi

In this era of increasing globalization, many people use various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc. Many people use social media platforms that aim to achieve their desires such as social, economic and religious.Social media also has a big impact on anyone who use it positively, such as preachers who always provide many benefits to Muslim brothers and sisters in spreading da’wah. With social media, da’wah can be heard anytime and anywhere. The purpose of preaching is to always remind all that life in this world is only temporary and the hereafter is an eternal place, and the most powerful is only Allah SWT. This study aims to find out about the use of social media as a medium for Islamic da’wah in the advancement of technological development. In this study, a survey was conducted on 52 respondents from among lecturers/teachers, students, and the general public. The result obtained from the research are a discussion of knowing and understanding the use and role of social media as a medium of da’wah and the challenges, opportunities and threats of preaching in social media.

What Role for the Sisters? Islamist Movements between Authenticity and Equality

In mainstream Islamist discourse, there is an awkward coexistence between recognition of women as equal political actors and affirmation of a traditional Muslim view of the man as head of the family. Islamism emerged in countries where patriarchy has remained deeply engrained. Yet their stances have varied. In Morocco, female Islamists have pushed for women’s rights and a guarded opening towards cooperation with feminists. In contrast, the Muslim Brothers in Egypt have remained more conservative and female cadres have prioritised fighting any development seen as threatening the Muslim family. The Arab Spring also stirred matters regarding gender relations, as women took active part in the uprisings. In the years to come, women’s issues will likely demand ever more attention across the Arab world. How the Islamists deal with this will be pivotal in determining the future of the movements. To understand the evolving responses of the movements to this challenge, it is essential to analyse the development of mainstream Islamist discourse and practice relating to gender relations in the period leading up to the ruptures of 2011. This article will investigate the issue in the two cases of Egypt and Morocco, and seeks to understand the relationship between internal and external drivers of ideological change.

Muhammad Surur and his work Wa jaʾa dawr al-Majus

Muhammad Surur was one of the early polemicists who criticized the Iranian Revolution and warned against the threat of Shiʿa domination of the Middle East. Years before the Iranian Revolution, Surur developed firm anti-Shiʿa convictions that provided the basis for his 1981 book Wa jaʾa dawr al-Majus [Then Came the Turn of Majus (Zoroastrians)]. While anti-Shiʿa rhetoric was certainly not unique to Surur, his specific emphasis on the political dimension of the sectarian divide played a significant role in popularizing such sentiments. The political context of his homeland of Syria, and especially the repression experienced by the Muslim Brotherhood under the allegedly ‘Nusayri (Alawi)’ Syrian regime, clearly informed this anti-Shiʿa treatise and contributed to special criticism of Syria’s Alawis. Geopolitics and great power competition constantly appear in his work, as Surur believed that the Iranians, like their Persian ancestors, had national ambitions in the neighboring Arab countries and sought to control the region with the help of the Arab Shiʿa, whom Surur saw as a ‘fifth column’.

A Feminist Ethos of Point Zero

A Feminist Ethos of Point Zero

Kedourie, nationalism, Islamism, and the umma

Sylvia Kedourie, in a 1955 piece, analysed the ideological point of contact between Arab nationalism and Islam, in so doing highlighting the distinctions between watan and umma in linguistic patterns and ideological significance. In this piece, using the starting point of Kedourie's prescient examination, I trace the ways in which such a linguistic shift from umma to watan has followed a broader pattern towards the localization of Islamist factions, perhaps best illustrated by the example of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arabian Peninsula.