The Three Faces of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Future of Political Islam

• In Event: The Future of Political Islam: Behavior and Ideology

Abstract

In the decade before the Arab Spring, political and structural conditions led to several ideological changes within the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood found itself a social movement, a political party as well as an ideology. These three faces caused several tensions during critical junctures: the 2005 parliamentary elections, the conduct of the brotherhood parliamentary bloc between 2005-2010, their involvement in the revolution, the election of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi, and their subsequent fall from power. In this paper I will trace the three faces of the Brotherhood during these important moment of transition, the tensions that arise, and finally end with a discussion of how the Brotherhood can reconstitute itself in the face of increased repression and exclusion and what the means for the socio-political role of political Islam.

Author

• Dalia Fikry Fahmy, Long Island University, Brooklyn