Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood Essay

Words: 2491
Pages: 10

The Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest Islamist organization in Egypt. It was founded in the 1920s by Hassan Al-Banna. The movement was a model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work. At first, it only aimed to spread Islamic morals, but soon became involved in politics. While the Muslim Brotherhood claims that it supports democratic principles, it aims to create a state ruled by Al Shariaa. Al Shariaa is the Islamic law stated in the Quran. The Brotherhood's mostly used slogan is "Islam is the solution", and it is known worldwide. It officially opposes violence to achieve goals; however, some of the movement's members were involved in massacres, bombings and assassinations of
…show more content…
They are only aiming to dominate and expand their power all over Egypt.
As some of the interviewees mentioned, the dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood over the parliament has in fact some political implications for Egypt. The decisions of the party clearly show their intentions to expand their power. After the 25th of January revolution, the movement stated that they only aim for one third of the seats in the parliament. However, they actively pushed large numbers of people to vote as much as possible to their favor (Brown). Their actions thus completely contradict their words. Moreover, the Muslim Brotherhood had initially vowed it would not nominate a candidate from the party for the presidency. Nonetheless, Khairat El-Shater, a Muslim Brotherhood leader and a businessman, was actually one of the names that were announced for the presidential elections (Mohyeldin). The decision of the movement angered many Egyptians, as it has been clear that the brotherhood is gradually trying to take over all aspects of the political life, starting with the parliament, the constitutional committee and now the presidency (Mohyeldin).
The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood does not only have political implications, but social implications as well. There are concerns about women's rights under their rule. Some people claim that the Islamists would impose a dress code on Egyptian women. Fears are that veil would not be an option,