Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

Egypt: Salafism Making Inroads

Be careful what you wish for. Since the 2005 parliamentary elections, the Egyptian government, with support from its allies in the West, has treated the Muslim Brotherhood with unremitting hostility. While this might bring short-term gains, driving the Brotherhood’s moderate Islamist vision underground is opening the door for more conservative and potentially violent strands to take its place. In recent decades, but especially during the last five years, a new wave of politically orien..

Palestine and Israel: Time for Plan B

Negotiations over a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have reached a dead end. International efforts should focus on a short-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that can pave the way for a sustainable armistice, concludes a new policy brief by Nathan J. Brown..

Pointers for the Obama Administration in the Middle East: Avoiding Myths and Vain Hopes

But playing off Hamas factions against each other is a difficult game to play. Hamas leaders do indeed argue about strategy and tactics. But their divisions do not break down between hardliners and soft-liners, nor do they lead to schism. Those who seek to split the movement will find much evidence for variations in opinions but they are unlikely to realize any success...

Gaza Engulfed

The situation in Gaza need not have reached the bloody impasse it has reached today. Hamas legitimately won the elections of 2006 and constitutionally formed a government; however, Israel, the U.S. and part of the international community, refused to recognize the Hamas led-government and encouraged Fateh to break cooperation with Hamas and to challenge its stronghold in Gaza. Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states stood by Fateh. Hamas, with backing from Syria and Iran, responded violent..

Islamists in Politics: The Dynamics of Participation

Islamist movements participating in politics in the Middle East have reached an important crossroad. Despite some electoral success, they have failed to influence policy and are criticized by their base for abandoning their religious commitments. Islamist movements must convince their supporters that political participation is the best way to affect government in the long term, despite seemingly poor short term gains...

Privatization Initiative Raises Questions

Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin and National Democratic Party (NDP) Vice Chairman Gamal Mubarak announced on November 10 a proposal to adopt “voucher privatization” or “mass privatization” of 86 public companies out of a total of 153 slated for privatization. Under the proposed scheme, the government would distribute shares to some 40 million Egyptians aged 21 years and above, thus entitling them to share in the operating income of the enterprises. The Ministry of Investment w..

A Historic Opportunity for President-Elect Obama

The countdown to the most important event for the future of the Middle East has begun. In 2011, the term of President Hosni Mubarak (in power since 1981) will end and Egyptians will vote for a new president of the republic. Mubarak, who would be 83 then, is unlikely to seek another term. Despite the various undemocratic succession scenarios under debate—the ascent to power of Mubarak’s son Gamal, an unknown military leader, or another official close to Mubarak—this election will consti..

Press Release: Women in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Pushing for Change

ist women, increasingly restless with their subordinate status in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, are pushing for greater representation and a wider role, according to a new paper from the Carnegie Middle East Center..

In the Shadow of the Brothers: The Women of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood

Islamist women, increasingly restless with their subordinate status in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, are pushing for greater representation and a wider role, according to a new paper from the Carnegie Middle East Center...

Fair Winds for the Brotherhood

The fortunes of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood may be shifting after three difficult years that saw the group’s worst electoral result in history, reports of diminished influence, and sustained government repression. After hitting an..

Saudi Arabia’s “Soft” Counterterrorism Strategy: Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Aftercare

The increasing use of unconventional, “soft” measures to combat violent extremism in Saudi Arabia is bearing positive results, leading others in the region, including the United States in Iraq, to adopt a similar approach. Understanding the successes of the Saudi strategy—composed of prevention, rehabilitation, and aftercare programs—will be important in the fight..

Repentant Jihadists and the Changing Face of Islamism

Repentant jihadists—former Islamic militants who won release from prison by explicitly renouncing violence and other extremist ideas—have become a topic of..

Pakistan After Musharraf

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation this week places new focus on the nation’s uncertain political future and relations with the international community. In a new Q&A on Musharraf’s departure, Frederic Grare assesses how civilian and military relations might change in the aftermath and the implications for the U.S. and Afghanistan. ..

Pakistan After Musharraf

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation this week places new focus on the nation’s uncertain political future and relations with the international community. In a new Q&A on Musharraf’s departure, Frederic Grare assesses how civilian and military relations might change in the aftermath and the implications for the U.S. and Afghanistan. ..

Mauritania’s Coup: Domestic Complexities and International Dilemmas

Conditions at the moment may not lead to greater instability; however, in the future undergoverned territories such as the Sahel region will be a prime concern for American policy makers. U.S. policy must address the usurpation of democratic governance, yet enduring U.S. national security interests will necessitate attention to issues like porous borders, weak institutions, corruption, and the intersection of terrorism and criminality. Promotion of democratic ideals and security object..

Party for Justice and Development in Morocco: Participation and Its Discontents

The PJD, since its creation in 1992, has long been a peaceful political party, separate from its parent religious movement. Its decision to deemphasize religious and moral issues, however, has alienated some of its constituents, forcing the party to compete for their allegiance with more fundamentalist Islamist movements. In Party for Justice and Development in Morocco: Participation and Its Discontents, Hamzawy analyzes the institutional and political conditions that shaped the PJD, i..

The Islamist Conundrum

The elections within the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan for its Shura Council in March and the elections for the central bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in June drew the attention of observers of political Islam. ..

Democracy Promotion in the Middle East: Restoring Credibility

U.S. democracy promotion efforts in the Middle East should focus on realistic political reform goals that correspond both to regional realities and the limited degree of actual U.S. influence. ..

The New Arab Diplomacy: Not With the U.S. and Not Against the U.S.

Arab countries are undertaking diplomatic initiatives that clearly contradict U.S. policy, because they no longer trust the U.S. capacity to contend with escalating regional crises. Even Arab countries traditionally aligned with the United States are no longer willing to follow Washington’s lead on policies toward Iran, Lebanon, or Hamas, concludes a new paper from the Carnegie Middle East Program. ..

Arab Reform Bulletin: May 2008

The growing role of non-traditional media has pushed the state to try to curb them through various mechanisms. Several bloggers have been arrested, including Moneim Mahmoud (editor of the Ana ikhwan or "I am Brotherhood" blog)...