Dynamics of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Civil Services Mentor Magazine - July 2014

Dynamics of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

Introduction (Free Available)
Background and Evolution (Free Available)
Muslim Brotherhood Organizational Structure (Free Available)
Ideological Stand (Free Available)
Political Activities (Only for Online Coaching Members)
Muslim Sisterhood (Only for Online Coaching Members)
Brotherhood in Post-Arab Spring Era (Only for Online Coaching Members)
Conclusion (Only for Online Coaching Members)

Introduction

Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist religious, political and social movement. Until now, it was considered as the largest, best-organized political force in Egypt, with wide following. Despite a number of setbacks, in the form of state suppression, the group has survived.

It was founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, in March 1928. Al-Banna was an Egyptian schoolteacher, who preached implementing traditional Islamic Sharia law in all aspects of life. He was inspired by Islamic reformers- Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida. Hassan believed that Islam had lost its social dominance to corrupt western influences and British rule.

Thus, the genesis of Muslim Brotherhood can be traced- partly from fundamentalism, and partly as a reaction to western inventions.

However, the group was deeply affected by the forces of the Arab Spring, wherein, during the Egyptian Revolution, in 2011, it faced many ups and downs. Muslim Brotherhood witnessed an early string of success, during the Egyptian Revolution. But soon the fate reversed and led to the doom of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Background and Evolution

In its early years, the Brotherhood focused on education and charitable work. However, it did not take long to become a major political force in Egypt. The Brotherhood established its base among the poor Muslims, and played a prominent role in the Egyptian nationalist movement, fighting the British.

Gradually the Brotherhood expanded its sphere of activities, and started organizing activities of espionage and sabotage in British Mandate of Palestine.

Some groups also claim that the Muslim Brotherhood, during the World War II, went on to have some association with the German Nazis, and propagated an anti-west agenda.

Over the years the Brotherhood spread to other Muslim countries, including Syria, Jordan, Tunisia and many others. In November 1948, after several cases of bombing and assassination attempts, the government arrested 32 leaders of the Brotherhood and banned the organization itself. In December 1948, Egypt's Prime Minister was assassinated by Brotherhood member. Later, in retaliation, Al-Banna himself was assassinated.

The image of Muslim Brotherhood was further maligned in 1952, when the members of the Muslim Brotherhood were accused of taking part in an arson fire, that destroyed about 750+ buildings in Cairo. Most of these buildings were nightclubs, theatres, hotels and restaurants often visited by Britishers and other foreigners.

In 1952, the monarchy was overthrown by the nationalist military officers, of the Free Officers Movement. The Brotherhood supported the coup. But, it aggressively opposed the secularist constitution that the coup leaders tried to implement. Soon, in 1954, Brotherhood was again banned for attempting to assassinate the Egyptian PM- Gamal Abdel Nasser.

After Hosni Mubarak became the President of Egypt, Brotherhood leaders were freed from prison. Mubarak adopted a dual approach of dealing strictly with the radical sections, while offering peace to the moderate sections of the Brotherhood. As a result of this dual-policy, Brotherhood endorsed Mubarak's candidacy for President in 1987.

In 2000, Brotherhood won 17 Parliamentary seats, which increased to 88 seats in 2005. Thus, by 2005, Muslim Brotherhood made the largest opposition bloc. However, in the 2010 elections, when most of the brotherhood leaders were behind the bars, Muslim Brotherhood could only claim one seat. This was due to the reason that- under Egypt's emergency law, the Brotherhood leaders could contest the elections as independents only. The slogan of the Brotherhood leaders, for the election, was- 'Islam is the Solution'.

Muslim Brotherhood Organizational Structure

Muhib- ("lover" or "follower"). The lowest level of the Brotherhood is the muhib. A muhib is part of an usra ("family") which closely monitors the muhib's piety and ideological commitment, working to "improve the morals" of the muhib. An usras meets at least once a week and "spends much of its time discussing members' personal lives and activities." The usra usually has four or five members and is headed by a naqib ("captain").
Muayyad- ("supporter"). A muhib graduates to muayyad after confirmation that the muhib prays regularly and possesses basic knowledge of major Islamic texts. A muayyad is a non-voting member of the brotherhood. Their duties include carrying out tasks such as preaching, recruiting, teaching in mosques assigned to them by superiors. They also follow a "rigorous curriculum of study", memorizing sections of the Quran and studying the teachings of Hasan Al Banna, the founder of the Brotherhood.
Muntasib- ("affiliated"). This process lasts a year and is the first step toward full membership. As one Brother put it, a muntasib "is a member, but his name is written in pencil." A muntasib continues to study Islam (hadith and Tafsir) and now tithes the brotherhood, (typically giving 5% to 8% of their earning).
Ach'amal- ("working brother"). This final level is reached after the subject loyalty is "closely probed." An ach'amal can vote in all internal elections, participate in all of the Brotherhood's working bodies, and compete for higher office within the group's hierarchy."
Murshid- ("Supreme Guide"). Head of the Brotherhood.
Maktab al-Irshad- ("Guidance Office"). Maktab al-Irshad consists of approximately 15 longtime Muslim Brothers including the Murshid, who heads the office. Each member of the office oversees a portfolio on an issue such as university recruitment, education, politics, etc. The office execute decisions made by the Majlis al-Shura and passes down orders through a chain of command, consisting of "its deputies in each regional sector, who call their deputies in each subsidiary area, who call their deputies in each subsidiary populace, who call the heads of each local usra, who then transmit the order to their members."
Majlis al-Shura- ("Consul-tative Council"). This consists of approximately 100 Muslim Brothers. Debates and votes on important decisions, such as whether to participate in national elections. Elects members of the Maktab al-Irshad.

Ideological Stand

One of the principal ideas of the Organization, that has surfaced, time and again, is that the Muslim society has been corrupted by the western influences and the non-islamic elements. And that, there is a need to overthrow such elements and revitalize the ideal of islamic universalism.

During the 1970's, most of the leaders were freed, and allowed to run their reform movements peacefully. During this phase, the Brotherhood published a magazine- Da'wa.

The social base of the Muslim Brotherhood came mainly from professional and student associations of Egypt, due to its network of social services. However, there always existed an unease between the government and the Brotherhood, over the latter's influence over the masses, which led to several repressive measures.

After the 2005 elections, the Brotherhood changed its strategy and started to propagate its responsibility to lead reform and change in Egypt. The Brotherhood also revived the 'Coptic Issue', insinuating that the Brotherhood would do away with Egypt's decades-old church building-permit system, which the Coptic Christians felt was discriminatory.

To extend it's reach, the Brotherhood launched an English-language website and started an initiative to 're-introduce the Brotherhood to the west'.

The Brotherhood describes the principles of the Muslim Brotherhood as- the introduction of the Islamic Shari'ah, as the basis controlling the affairs of state and society; and secondly, work to unify Islamic countries and states, mainly among the Arab states, and liberating them from foreign imperialism.

It denounces the terms and phrases like- 'fundamentalist' and 'political Islam', used by the many sections, which it claims are used by the 'western media' to pigeonhole the group.

In 2007, Muslim Brotherhood issued a detailed political platform, where is called for a Board of Muslim Clerics to oversee the government, and for limiting the office of the presidency to Muslim men. It also declared that woman was not suited to be president because the post's religious and military duties conflicts with her nature, social, and other humanitarian roles. The document warned against burdening women with duties against their nature or role in the family.

On March 13, 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood released a statement opposing the UN Declaration 'End Violence against Women' on the grounds that it would undermine Islamic ethics and destroy the family, and would lead to complete disintegration of society.