Muslim Brotherhood

[MikeF]

I'd suggest reading Albert Bergesen's The Sayyid Qutb Reader.

Dr. Bergesen gave a seminar on the evolution of radical islamic jihad to NPS last year. I found it quite helpful.

Good luck.

v/r

Mike

[AmericanPride]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. As a side note, Qutb attended the same university in the States I did. I found his recorded descriptions of his experiences there amusing.

[MikeF]

I'd recommend limiting your scope particularly for a short paper. It will be easier and more academically relevant. As all grad students are constantly reminded, we are not considered experts so we must limit generalizations so they are not construed as opinions.

While Qutb certainly had some relationship issues in the United States derived from unresolved mommy problems or sexual repression (Freud would have a field day with that case study), the tipping point from his evolution from disgruntled citizen to revolutionary scholar appears to have happened during his time in Egyptian prison. His observations of muslim on muslim violence and torture created such grievances and rage that he refefined his lens of interpreting Islam. Initially, the muslim brotherhood capitalized on his writings to justify taking armed action against a non-muslim state. Later, Al Qaeda would evolve his writings to justify martyrdom.

Bergesen compares this Islamic Revolution and Qutb's work to the output of martyrdom with the Prodestant Reformation and Max Weber's Prodestant Work Ethic as an output.

The Qutb case is but one example you could write on, but I would suggest that you limit your scope.

Plus, you'll become a mini-expert in training on Al Qaeda's early roots.

v/r

Mike

[davidbfpo]

Not a specialist subject for me, but the MB have played a role in confronting extremists in London; searching SWJ with Bob Lambert shows a link to a UK-based publication strongly linked to MB.

Secondly there are several older threads on MB and many where MB appears. On a quick check there are many links and arguments there - I assume you have time to scroll through.

The role of the MB in the UK came momentarily to the fore last summer with Islam Expo, a cultural event with a political agenda and was interesting to watch. Islam Expo's side seminar on political islam was fascinating and maybe worth examining. Here is a UK minister's comment: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/ma...slim-islamexpo and another: http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrori...icle/islamexpo


davidbfpo

[bluegreencody]

2. The 'mass base' (I don't like this term personally, as I believe its too broad) supports the MB because of widespread disenfranchisement in Palestine, Egypt, and Syria. Continued US favor of the regimes in Israel and Egypt reinforces anti-US sentiment in the general population.

I just got back from visiting Syria and conducting research for my master's thesis. I was there for a month. I had some great conversations, especially with a bunch of different young folk from different backgrounds. I even was able to breach their thoughts on the Asad government and the Muslim Brotherhood. While not claiming a complete knowledge of the thoughts of everyone in Syria, the overriding opinion I heard on the M.B. was, no matter what people thought of their political agenda, the problem with them is they commit violence within Syria. They kill their own. If for no other reason, the violent acts committed within their own country by this group was enough to turn everyone I talked to away from them. So I don't think the "mass base" does support the M.B. in Syria. This is not to say that some people don't envision an Arab Union or an Islamic Union as a solution to the imbalance with Israel and the rest of the area, but going through the M.B. is not something that is seen as favorable.
And disenfranchisement (about participation in politics or something like that?) is not a big deal for people because (and this was also universal) the current government keeps the population (individuals and their families) safe against aggressions (bombs) from Israel (which are made and financed by the US). It's that simple.
Also, I think it would be helpful to frame differences between the M.B. in these different countries and areas (you should include Iraq too-one of the Sunni political parties is said to be a spinoff, sorta like Hamas). I think the M.B. in Egypt is a world apart from Hamas in Palestine, partly because of history and partly because of real-time circumstances.
The anti-US sentiment is against the US government, not the people of the US. And yes, the tilted bias towards Israel by the US is the direct reason for this feeling. They call the US "the mother of Israel".

[AmericanPride]

bluegreencody,

I chose to include the Syrian faction of the MB because of its insurgency in the 1970s (driven by a combination of religious, ethnic, and political aims) that eventually led to the complete dismantling of radical religious organizations in Syria. Whatever the future prospects of the Syrian faction, the Assad regime has demonstrated success in repressing radical Islamic movements. I think a strong argument could be made that because of Assad's status as an Alwai minority in a Sunni-majority country, that his government is a 'natural' ally in the War on Terrorism, just as it was in the first Gulf War.

As for the different MB factions, I completely agree. My intention is to argue that the Egyptian MB faction is in opposition to US interests because of its anti-Western and revisionist agenda; and because of its status as an underground party that ultimately intends to redraw the political system in Egypt, it is an insurgency faction using subversion as its primary instrument. It draws upon the support of student, labor, and business associations that are not included in Egypt's system of patronage, and recently won through indirect means a number of seats in Egypt's legislature. The threat IMO is the resurgence of anti-Israelism in Egyptian policy in the form of radical Islam -- not because it threatens Israel itself, but because it undermines regional political stability and ultimately American economic security. As for the Iraqi faction, I haven't read much into yet, nor have I read through the predicted effects of the recent election. However, if the trends prove accurate, it seems that democratization is a developing strategy of these organizations to leverage against US interests by exploiting popular resentment of US policy.

[Jedburgh]

NIBR, 23 Dec 09: The Muslim Brotherhood in the Wider Horn of Africa

This report explores whether the Muslim Brotherhood can act as partners in the quest for development and peacemaking in the wider Horn of Africa (including Yemen). It explores the history of the various Brotherhoods in the wider Horn and finds that the Brotherhood has had most impact in Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The report suggests that positive engagement, while taking the ideological foundation of the Brotherhood as well as the structure of various sub-groups into considerations, could benefit both the Brothers, the Western partners and the local population, and enhance development efforts.