Muslim Brotherhood - Background and Current Status - Term Paper Example

The Muslim Brotherhood also launched a paramilitary wing, the Special Apparatus, whose members were engaged in a campaign of bombings and assassinations and in a fight against the British colonial rulers (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011).

During the 1930s, underground links were established with the German Government but were closed during the Second World War (Johnson, 2010). In late 1948, the Egyptian Government disbanded the Brotherhood for attacking British and Jewish interests. That same year, an alleged member of the group was accused of the assassination of Prime Minister Mahmoud al Nugrshi and this was followed by the retaliatory assassination of Hassan al-Banna by men believed to be government agents or supporters of the late Prime Minister. In 1952, a military coup d’etat led by a group of young officers overthrow the colonial government. Anwar al Sadat, once the Free Officers’ liaison with the Brotherhood became president (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011).

Current status of the brotherhood in Egypt
The Brotherhood has operated as an illegal organization in Egypt and its member was unpopular with the Egyptian government. The Brotherhood has been accused of several assassinations and assassinations attempts, thus thousands of its members have been imprisoned and tortured. For instance, following a failed assassination attempt on President Gamal Abdul Nasser in 1954, the Brotherhood was blamed, banned and its members harassed and imprisoned (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011). Government harassment and suppression notwithstanding, the Brotherhood continue to grow underground. The Brotherhood shifted its ideology to the use of jihad against ignorant societies, both Western and the so-called Islamic ones (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011; Johnson, 2010). This ideology has inspired the founders of many radical Islamic groups such as al-Qaeda (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011). However, since the 1970s, the Brotherhood avowed violence and joined mainstream Egyptian politics with a political direction that tended towards more moderate secular “Islamism” and so-called Islamic Democracy.

In the 2000 elections, the Brotherhood won 17 seats in the People’s Assembly and five years later won 20% of the seats (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011). A shocked President Hosni Mubarak launched a crackdown on the Brotherhood, arrested hundreds of its members, and initiated legal reforms aimed at countering their uprising. A rewritten constitution banned independent candidates from running for president, banned political parties that have religious backgrounds, and introduce anti-terrorism laws to detain suspects. These legislations led to the Brotherhood losing most of its seats in subsequent elections and announcing a boycott in the second round of elections. As a major opposition force in Egyptian politics, the Brotherhood has faced continued repression and its members’ frequent harassment. This continued repression of opposition was one of the main triggers for the anti-government protests by thousands of Egyptians in late January 2011, which led to the collapse of the Mubarak government (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011).

Muslim Brotherhood: impact on the global economy
Founded as a religious and social organization, the Brotherhood has contributed immensely to the global economy. Soon after launching the organization, the Brotherhood set up schools, hospitals, and commercial enterprises. To finance this charity work, the organization understood that it needs a financial system based on Islamic laws (Ehrenfeld, 2007). Thus several attempts were made to establish Islamic banking. In 1961, King Saud of Saudi Arabia funded the Brotherhood’s establishment of the Islamic University in Medina and in 1962 the king launched a global financial joint venture that finances Islam following the Brotherhood suggestion (Ehrenfeld, 2007). These activities have contributed positively to global economic development. Read More