....A CONCISE BACKGROUND
The society of the Muslim brothers which is also known as the Muslim brotherhood is seen as a transactional Islamist organization which was established in Egypt in 1928 by an Islamic scholar in the person of Hassan AT Banna.The ideology of the organization is mainly framed on promoting Islamism and Pan-Islamism and together with the establishment of Islamic democracy and social justice. The motto of the brotherhood is known to be five part slogan which is “God is our objective, Quran is the constitution, prophet is our leader, jihad is our way, death for the sake of God is our wish”.
It began as a pan-Islamic movement, and social movement. The Muslim brotherhood had an estimated two million members by the end of the World War II. Evidence of its vast influence was clear, with more than 2,000 branches all over the country and societies for charity and social services. It ran health centers, sports, clubs, schools and educational facilities, mosques and Islamic centers which were made provisional for their members. Also they had the presence of 10,000 army volunteers, in Palestine. Amazingly, its ideas had gained supporters throughout the Arab world and influenced Islamist groups around the world with the model of political activism combined with Islamic work.
The establishment of the Muslim brotherhood began as a religious organization preaching Islam. It was also seen as a social organization which was embedded with the responsibility of teaching the illiterate, setting up hospitals and even putting up commercial ventures. As time went on they began to oppose British rule in 1996 and with progress extending most parts of Egypt.
Some of the inhabitants of the Egyptian nationalists accused the Muslim brotherhood of violent killings during this period. After the Arabs defeat in the Arab Israeli War, the Egyptian government suspended and arrested most of its members.
The Arab spring at first brought considerable success for the brotherhood but as of 2013 it has suffered severe reversals. After some six decades of illegal status the Muslim brotherhood was legalized in 2011 when the regime of Hosni Mubarak was overthrown. As the country’s strongest political organization, the brotherhood won several elections including the 2012 general election. Presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt first democratically elected president while however on 3rd of July 2013 Morsi himself was overthrown by the military as a response to civil unrest across the country. As of late 2013 the organization once again suffered a severe crackdown and on 25 December 2013 the interim government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization as a response to an attack on a police headquarters in Mansoura on 23 December 2013.
Contributed by
Wencedavid Onyenagubo
History and International Studies
Imo State University
Owerri, Nigeria.
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