Research Paper Undergraduate 3,141 words

Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Origins, Ideology, and Influence

~16 min read 7 sections World Studies · Middle Eastern

Abstract

This paper examines the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from its founding by Hasan al-Banna in 1928 through its evolution into a significant political force in the Middle East. Drawing on a range of scholarly and policy sources, the paper traces al-Banna's biography and motivations, the organization's early social welfare activities, its ideological development under figures such as Sayyid Qutb, and the Egyptian government's alternating suppression and tolerance of the group. The paper also assesses whether the Brotherhood should be classified as a terrorist organization, concluding that its contemporary "change-from-within" strategy has yielded considerable political influence while its relationship to violence remains complex and contested.

Key Takeaways

Introduction: Non-state threats and the Brotherhood's relevance
Background and founding of the Muslim Brotherhood: 1928 founding, Sharia goals, parliamentary gains
Hasan al-Banna: biography and ideology: Al-Banna's origins, teaching career, and vision
Growth, radicalization, and the influence of Sayyid Qutb: Splits, Qutb's radical ideology, revolutionary vision
The Muslim Brotherhood as a political and social force: Social welfare, recruiting professionals, political Islam
Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?: Terrorism debate and change-from-within strategy
Conclusion: Legacy, political evolution, and Western implications

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What makes this paper effective

Integrates a wide range of scholarly and policy sources—including U.S. Congressional Research Service reports and peer-reviewed journals—to build a well-supported historical narrative.
Maintains a balanced analytical tone, acknowledging complexity rather than reducing the Brotherhood to a single label, particularly in its treatment of the terrorism question.
Connects historical origins directly to contemporary geopolitical relevance, showing how al-Banna's 1928 movement shaped modern Islamist politics.
Uses extended quotations judiciously to let authoritative voices reinforce key claims without overwhelming the author's own analysis.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates effective literature synthesis: rather than summarizing each source in isolation, it weaves multiple scholars' perspectives together around a single analytical thread—whether and how the Muslim Brotherhood evolved from a social-religious organization into a political power. This technique gives the paper argumentative coherence even though it is primarily a research review.

Structure breakdown

The paper opens with a post-Cold War framing of non-state threats before narrowing to the Muslim Brotherhood specifically. A substantial middle section covers the organization's founding, al-Banna's life and philosophy, the ideological split that produced Sayyid Qutb, and the group's social and political strategies. The paper closes with a nuanced assessment of the terrorism question and a forward-looking conclusion about Western responses. Citations follow APA-style author-date format throughout.

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Essay 3,141 words

Introduction

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, many observers in the West lamented the passing of the "good old days" of the Cold War, when the enemy was clearly known and its geographic borders clearly delineated. By sharp contrast, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the threats against the United States from within and without are largely from non-state actors that can wreak havoc against America and its allies with apparent impunity. One group that has received a growing amount of attention from policymakers and analysts in recent years is the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which is suspected of sponsoring terrorist activities. This paper provides a review of the relevant literature to determine what conditions in Egypt allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to succeed, presents a history of the organization and its founder Hasan al-Banna, and assesses whether the Muslim Brotherhood is in reality a terrorist organization. A summary of the research and salient findings is presented in the conclusion.

Background and founding of the Muslim Brotherhood

Despite what many Western observers might believe today, the fundamentalist Islamic ideology directed against the West and its culture did not first emerge in February 1998, when Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri articulated what they termed "the global Islamic front against Jews and Crusaders" (quoted in Baruch 2005, p. 8). According to Baruch, "This one-sided conflict has deep roots that go back to 1928 when Hassan al-Banna established the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in order to fight against Western influence in the Islamic community" (p. 8). In this regard, Sharp (2006), an analyst with the U.S. Department of State, notes that the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 to shift Egypt away from secularism and toward an Islamic government based on Sharia (religious) law and fundamental Muslim principles. Today, Sharp advises, "The Muslim Brotherhood operates as a religious charitable and educational institution, having been banned as a political party in 1954; however, many Muslim Brotherhood members run for parliament as independents" (p. 10). During the parliamentary elections in Egypt in 2000, for example, 17 independent candidates widely regarded as Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers were elected, and in 2005, Brotherhood-affiliated candidates won 88 seats in the Egyptian parliament (Sharp, p. 10).

Over the years, the Egyptian government has alternated between tolerating and suppressing the Muslim Brotherhood; in some cases its members have been arrested and imprisoned, while during other periods the government has allowed the group to operate with virtual impunity (Sharp, p. 10). The formation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the late 1920s — various authorities cite 1927, 1928, and 1929 as the founding date — represented the beginnings of the radical Islamic movements being witnessed in the Middle East and elsewhere today (Hovsepian, p. 5). Chickering and Haley (2007) report that "Most of the new threats to U.S. and international security are arising in countries with weak or illegitimate governments and strong societies, presenting very different challenges from those of the strong states that were adversaries in the past" (p. 59).

As noted in the introduction, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt represents a nebulous threat to the United States and its interests abroad because of its non-state status. As Chickering and Haley emphasize, "The United States and its allies face growing hostility and instability in a region in which the U.S. has few strong relationships or none at all with many of the principal actors. Some of these are states and leaders of states (Iran, Hamas, Syria); others are nonstate actors (Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt)" (p. 59). For the most part, the absence of U.S. recognition of such groups is a direct consequence of foreign policy decisions; in some cases, however, it is a response to opposition to such groups by a friendly government — for example, the Egyptian government's previous outlawing of the Muslim Brotherhood (Chickering and Haley, p. 60).

5 Sections Hidden · 1,415 words

Hasan al-Banna: biography and ideology350 words

According to Moussalli, the group's founder, Hasan al-Banna (1906–1949), provided a framework that would be followed by other Islamic groups in the decades to come. "In Egypt in 1927," Moussalli advises, "Hasan al-Banna founded the first…

Growth, radicalization, and the influence of Sayyid Qutb340 words

Although the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt focused its intellectual reinterpretation of Islam on a return to the fundamentals, the group also carefully selected recognized major Western political concepts — such as constitutional rule and democracy — as requisite tools for revamping the doctrine of an Islamic state (Moussalli, p. 114). Moussalli adds, however, that "the Brotherhood's extremely antagonistic dealing with…

The Muslim Brotherhood as a political and social force310 words

As Hovsepian emphasizes, radical Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have adopted a practical approach to recruiting and political activity by appealing to the day-to-day realities experienced by citizens of Arab nations. Kaplan (1994) advises, "Many Egyptians see the Brotherhood as a benevolent…

Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?220 words

Whether the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt can be regarded as a terrorist organization today is a matter of perspective. According to Cook (2007), the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood…

Conclusion195 words

The research showed that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was established by Hasan al-Banna and a few followers in 1928, or thereabouts depending on the source. From these humble beginnings, the organization has grown to become a…

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Works Cited

Baruch, Offer. (2005, July). "No Time for Complacency." Security Management 49(7): 8.

Chickering, A. Lawrence and P. Edward Haley. (2007). "Strong Society, Weak State." Policy Review 143: 59–60.

Cook, David. (2007). "Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror." The Historian 69(3): 512.

Davidson, Lawrence. Islamic Fundamentalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Greenblum, Benjamin M. (2007). "The Iranian Nuclear Threat: Israel's Options under International Law." Houston Journal of International Law 29(1): 55.

Hovsepian, Nubar. (1995). "Competing Identities in the Arab World." Journal of International Affairs 49(1): 1–24.

Kaplan, Robert D. (1994, November). "Eaten from Within." The Atlantic Monthly 274(5): 26.

McGregor, Richard. (2007, May 29). "In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad." The Christian Century 124(11): 37.

Mishal, Shaul and Avraham Sela. The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence, and Coexistence. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Moussalli, Ahmad S. Moderate and Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Quest for Modernity, Legitimacy, and the Islamic State. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1999.

Nusse, Andrea. Muslim Palestine: The Ideology of Hamas. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.

Pires-O'Brien, Joaquina. (2002, October). "A Fury for God." Contemporary Review 281(1641): 243–44.

Sharp, Jeremy M. (2006, June 14). "Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations." CRS Report for Congress, Order Code RL33003.

Stark, Jan. (2004). "Constructing an Islamic Model in Two Malaysian States: PAS Rule in Kelantan and Terengganu." SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 19(1): 51.

Sullivan, Denis J. and Sana Abed-Kotob. Islam in Contemporary Egypt: Civil Society vs. The State. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1999.

Usman, Jeffrey. (2002). "The Evolution of Iranian Islamism from the Revolution through the Contemporary Reformers." Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 35(5): 1679–81.

Zeidan, David. The Resurgence of Religion: A Comparative Study of Selected Themes in Christian and Islamic Fundamentalist Discourses. Boston: Brill, 2003.

Key Concepts in This Paper

Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Banna Sayyid Qutb Political Islam Islamic Fundamentalism Sharia Law Non-State Actors Jihad Egyptian Politics Islamist Movements