Is There a Future for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt?

After a brief moment in the sunshine four years ago, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has retreated deep into the shadows under perhaps the most severe government crackdown against the group since the 1970s. As this crackdown expands far beyond the Islamist group, and more violent extremism takes hold in the Sinai and Egypt’s south, what does the future hold for Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the concept of moderate political Islam?

The answer to this question requires a look at the organization’s history. Formed in 1928 by Hassan al Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood was an attempt at Islamic revivalism dedicated to redirecting Egyptian society back towards an Islamic morality, which al Banna believed was lost. In the years following al Banna’s death, many of the Brotherhood’s members were jailed by Gamal abd al Nasr and the Free Officers movement, erstwhile allies in the revolution against Egypt’s King Farouk. During that time, one faction of the Brotherhood broke off under the leadership of Sayyid Qutb to form the ideological basis for violent Sunni extremism, driven by the concepts of takfir (excommunication of Muslims the group deemed immoral) and armed Jihad. However, the bulk of the group chose to follow Husayn Hudaybi in his rejection of Qutb’s violent doctrine and his reiteration of al Banna’s emphasis on the “slow Islamization” of society.