Everything You Need To Know About The Muslim Brotherhood In Egypt

Business Insider ^ | Feb. 3, 2011 | Jayshree Bajoria

[La Enchiladita]

The Muslim Brotherhood (known in Arabic as al-Ikhwan al-Muslimeen) is Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organization. Founded in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna, it is widely considered the world's most influential Islamist organization, with numerous branches and affiliates.

It is "the mother of all Islamist movements," says Shadi Hamid, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution's Doha Center.

The group has emerged as Egypt's biggest opposition movement. Many analysts expect the Brotherhood to play a larger role in the country's future, following the anti-government protests of 2011 in which hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to call for political and economic reforms and the ouster of autocratic President Hosni Mubarak.

...But there are concerns over the group's aim to establish a state ruled by sharia or Islamic law, questions over its support for the Mideast peace process and its policy toward Israel and the United States, and ambiguity over its respect for human rights.

[La Enchiladita]

A History of Violence

The Brotherhood's original mission was to Islamize society through promotion of Islamic law, values, and morals. An Islamic revivalist movement from its early days, it has combined religion, political activism, and social welfare in its work. It adopted slogans such as "Islam is the solution" and "jihad is our way." It played a role in the fight against British colonial rule and was banned for a short time in 1948 (BBC) for orchestrating bombings inside Egypt and allegedly assassinating Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Nuqrashi. It then experienced a short spell of good relations with the government that came to power through a military coup, which ended British rule in 1952. But following a failed attempt to assassinate President Gamal Abdul Nasser in 1954, the group was banned again.

[La Enchiladita]

Implications for the United States

Egypt is an important strategic ally of the United States in the region, specifically in the pursuit on an Arab-Israeli peace process. As this 2011 Congressional Research Service report notes, since 1979, Egypt has been the second-largest recipient, after Israel, of U.S. foreign assistance (PDF). For the United States, its most important foreign policy goals in Egypt are: Egypt's peace with Israel, U.S. access to the Suez Canal, and general bilateral military cooperation. And therefore, Washington would like a government in Cairo that is supportive of these goals.

...Leslie Gelb, CFR's president emeritus who has served as a senior official in the U.S. State and Defense Departments, says if the brotherhood rose to power in Egypt, it "would be calamitous for U.S. security (Daily Beast)." He adds: "It would be delusory to take the MB's democratic protestations at face value."

[AngelesCrestHighway]

[Reagan69]

We have our own Muzzie Bro right here in DC ! Right in the White House !

[Servant of the Cross]

Islamization

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

The thing to remain cognizant of is that the “Muslim Brotherhood”, which was established in 1928, has been around 40 years before Fatah, and 50 years before Hezbollah and 50 years before Hamas and 60 years before Al Queda. I mean, all these terror groups are the OFFSPRING of the MB, the MB isn’t this latecomer to the party.

[Mike Darancette]

Stinking Nazis!

[oneamericanvoice]

Similarily, they were banned from Tunisia. Now, they have returned. These protests didn’t start on their own. The Egyptians have lived under Mubarak for 30 years with no unrest. Why now?

Let us not forget that they were in league with Hitler who had promised his aid to solve their “Jewish” problem once he dealt with the European one.

[brityank]

Some additional info on MB and its infiltration:

[T]he Muslim Brotherhood operates in the United States under a variety of names and organizational umbrellas. Technically, there is no “Muslim Brotherhood” in the United States. But the Muslim American Society (MAS), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and others are – according to a document captured in a raid and released by law enforcement in 2007 during the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial) – Brotherhood-linked organizations.
-- Pamela Geller

Muslim Brotherhood's Penetration of Obama Administration

Read the whole column, (and comments), but be warned it will make you sick.
And mad!

[La Enchiladita]

Definitely CAIR-related.
People are not looking at all deeply into the “unrest” in Egypt, just buying media spin and outrage.
Even, some of the CFR members referenced above are resigned and saying acceptance of the MB as a player in the Egyptian government is a necessary price to pay.
And, of course, we note how this “unrest” “suddenly” emerges during the current U.S. administration.

[NVDave]

The only thing I would add to this is that they had an intellectual in the 60’s by the name of Qutb, who took the MB from what was essentially a bunch of hicks in the sticks to appeal to the major urban areas of the middle east.

Qutb is also, IMO, the origin of the anti-American plank of Islamism.

It should be NB that Qutb was educated in America, at places including Stanford.