Muslim Brotherhood

Known as the “Mother of Islamic Movements”, Muslim Brotherhood entered the political sphere and was banned in Egypt in 1948 because of its “increased militancy” according to the ruling powers, startled by the expanse and impact on all of Egyptian society through a narrative which addressed the needs and responsibilities of all classes and all sections, of religious and spiritual, as well as social and political.

In 1948, a member of a secretive militant arm of the MB, Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, assassinated Egyptian Prime Minister, Nokrashy Pasha, in response to the latter banning the group and dismissing all its members from government employment. In response, Hasan al-Banna was assassinated by government agents, after a late night ambush.

Though formally banned, representatives of the Brotherhood continued to sit in successive Egyptian parliaments, and in January 2011, Egyptians rose to bring down Hosni Mubarak, the long standing president of Egypt in what was coined the Arab Spring. In June 2012, MB candidate Dr. Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt’s first democratic elections to become the first civilian President in its history. A year later, a Military Coup marked by the massacre of Rabi’a Square in August 2013, in which 3000 Egyptians were mowed down by armed forces loyal to Defence Minister Abdelfattah El-Sisi, brought down the fledgling democracy. Mohammed Morsi stood trial and died at his hearing in his holding cell in June 2019.