The Muslim Brotherhood as One of the Oldest Islamist Organizations in Egypt - Essay Example

OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the oldest Islamist organizations in Egypt. Founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna in Ismailia, it has established branches in nearly all countries in the Middle East. Because of its size and influence, the Muslim Brotherhood has a strong political persuasion in Egypt and has played a major role in all the country's major political events. However, it is Egypt's 2011 revolution that introduced the organization to the larger global audience.

For many years, the Muslim Brotherhood movement fashioned itself as a united and formidable opposition force in Egypt. The 2011 political unrest, which eventually culminated in a revolution, saw the movement take the most radical step yet towards ascending to power after it backed the protesters who had camped at the Tahrir square for several days demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak’s rule. But there has been debate regarding the actual role of the MB in the revolution. Was the movement nothing more than an opportunistic fence-sitter who rode on the effort of other protest groups to power? This paper interrogates the scope and nature of the involvement of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the 2011 Egyptian revolution, and the political dynamics that saw the movement rise to power.

BODY PARAGRAPH

Subheading 1: Causes of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

• Quote 1: "Sectarian clashes first appeared in November of 1972 under Anwar Sadat. Sadat had groomed fundamentalist Islamist groups, which he used to crush the Nasserists and leftists" (Joya 368).
• This quote captures the background of the involvement of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt’s politics. The movement has been an essential factor in the country’s political equation for many decades. Therefore, the involvement of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the 2011 revolution was the climax of a long and difficult journey that had lasted many decades.

• Quote 2: “Fundamentally, Egypt’s rulers were smart authoritarians who had their house in order. Yet they were toppled by an 18-day popular revolt” (El-Ghobashy 1)
• Before the revolution, Egypt appeared to be very stable under Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak ruled with an iron fist and established intelligence networks that helped him detect and counter political dissidents and other opposing voices. Yet the revolution still happened. When there is an appropriate political mix, revolutionary movements will strike when least expected and win.

• Quote 3: “The two decades of economic liberalization policies were accompanied by authoritarianism while at the same time these policies opened up opportunities for crony capitalism” ( Joya 367)

• Egypt had gravitated towards liberal capitalism. With the new economic structure, corruption and cronyism soared, creating anger and desperation among the masses. Leading military and government officials amassed wealth, widening even further the gap between the poor common masses and the ruling political elite. It is this anger that eventually pushed the people to demand a regime change.

Subheading 2: Place of Muslim Brotherhood in the Revolution

• Quote 1: “One of the most discussed possibilities of future leadership was Egypt’s largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood” ( Kelsey 125).
• The world saw the Muslim Brotherhood as a central driving force in the 2011 revolution. Everyone expected that after the removal of Hosni Mubarak, one of the leading lights in the revolutionary movement would replace him as president. Mubarak stepped down in dramatic political events that led to the election of Mohammed Morsi in the elections that followed the revolution.
• Quote 2: “Additionally, Fox News routinely discussed the Muslim Brotherhood as the enemy of democracy, while CNN provided slightly more moderate comments and discussion of the Muslim Brotherhood amongst its Islamic democracy naysayers and reporting”
• It is critical to note that the western media painted the Muslim Brotherhood as a radical Islamist organization that was not good for Egypt's democracy. By perpetuating the narrative that the group was dangerous for the politics of Egypt and the Middle East, the western media undermined the role the Muslim Brotherhood played in the 2011 revolution, often assigning credit to the protesting masses instead of the Brotherhood.
• Quote 3: "The media frame failed to factor in all of these components of the modern-day Muslim Brotherhood and relied too heavily on one or two components instead" (Kelsey 131).
• Another reason it became difficult to appreciate the role of the Brotherhood in the revolution was that the media did not understand the political dynamics of the new-generation Muslim Brotherhood movement, frequently viewing it through the lenses of prejudice. The news houses projected the movement as a terrorist outfit that should not capture political power.
• Quote 4: "The accounts also marginalized working-class voices, although this group significantly contributed to the Revolution" (Mellor 87).
• In their push for revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood worked with other pressure groups such as the civil society. Most of these groups were not as distinct as the Brotherhood. THe group had been around for many decades as an opposition outfit. Therefore, a fair account of the revolution should acknowledge all the forces that joined together to force a regime change in Egypt during the revolution.
• Quote 5: “Recently, there has been a debate among Egyptian intellectuals about who ideally represents the Tahrir (liberation) revolutionaries” (Mellor 83).
• There are conflicting narratives regarding the actual role the Muslim Brotherhood played in the revolution. Some people think that the movement only took advantage of the situation to claim credit because it was the masses and civil groups that forced Hosni Mubarak out. Some believe that the Muslim Brotherhood was the nerve center of the revolution.

Subheading 3: Muslim Brotherhood in Power

• Quote 1: “For Egypt’s revolutionary situation to lead to a revolutionary outcome, existing structures of rule must be transformed. Citizens must be free to choose their presidents, governors, parliamentarians, faculty deans and village mayors, their trade union, student, and professional association leader” (El-Ghobashy 6)
• The Muslim Brotherhood took the route of democracy after the revolution toppled Hosni Mubarak. The movement wanted to champion a genuine change from anarchy to order and give the people more power over the country's political leadership through democratic elections. Muslim Brotherhood understood that for there to be real change, the entire political system had to align with the wishes and aspirations of the people.
• Quote 2: “After the fall of Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) decided to act as a stabilizing force, to abandon the street and to lend democratic legitimacy to the political process designed by the army” (Poppi 51)
• The Muslim Brotherhood movement decided to work with the army after the revolution. The leaders of the movement wanted to be part of the new political change through democracy. But this move was also seen as a betrayal to the revolution as many protesters were still in the streets calling for the military generals to go as well.
• Quote 3: "The genius of the Egyptian revolution is its systematic restoration of the public will. The uprising restored the meaning of politics if by that term is understood the making of collective claims on government." (El-Ghobashy 6)
• The Muslim Brotherhood focused on restoring the goodwill of the people on the government. The new administration under the movement's Mohammed Morsi made deliberate efforts to give the people more say on matters of governance by supporting a transparent political process and observing meritocracy and inclusivity in high-level government appointments.
• Quote 4: “The main mistakes the Brothers made were, first, to turn their back on several opportunities to spearhead the revolt by leading popular forces…” (Poppi 54)
• While the Muslim Brotherhood played a major role in the revolution and the restoration of public trust in the government soon after the revolution, they made numerous mistakes that would soon haunt them. First, the movement was initially hesitant to join the revolution, which caused some people to see them as outsiders. Second, they squandered an opportunity to force the military generals out of power after they agreed to work with the military and mounting pressure for the army commanders to quit. The movement would pay dearly for these missteps as it is the military that later forced Morsi out of office even though he was democratically elected president.

CONCLUSION

• I will connect my topic with the success of the Muslim Brotherhood during and soon after the Egyptian revolution
• I will discuss why the revolutionary movement eventually failed to establish itself as a strong player in Egypt’s politics and lost to the military generals.
• While the Muslim Brotherhood is now weak and disjointed, we can learn lessons from their involvement in the movement, moving forward.
• I see the Muslim Brotherhood movement regrouping and posing a sustained political challenge to the government of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.