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Modern islamic reform movements: the Muslim Brotherhood in contemporary Egypt

1982; Middle East Institute; Volume: 36; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

1940-3461

Said Aly Abd Al Monein, Manfred W. Wenner,

Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

The coming to power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran in February of 1979, the seizure of the Grand Mosque in November of 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December of the same year, as well as the recent assassination of Anwar al-Sadat in Egypt have all contributed to an obsession with Islam on the part of the Western world. In these reports, misunderstandings of Islam and its theories and practices are rife, fundamental errors concerning the history of Islam are continually repeated, and a very confusing picture of the historical and perspectives which influence the views of Muslims is presented. Even more important, however, is the fact that much of what has been written-in both the popular and the serious press-treats these developments as representative of all Islamic political movements, and whatever changes in the theory and practice of Islam may be taking place in other arenas not currently afflicted with violence are either ignored or misunderstood. In this essay, we wish to provide a brief historical introduction to the growth and development of modern Islamic reform movements, and then outline, using the example of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, some important developments which have taken place recently. Last, but not least, we will suggest what the non-Muslim world may expect in the near future if our analyses are correct.