One Person, One Vote…One Time? The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as Moderates and Democrats from Inception to the Present

Abstract

Some question the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s motives for demanding democratic and social reforms, and whether the members of the Brotherhood are indeed democrats. In order to explore the ideology behind the modern Brotherhood, the This paper will survey the roots of Brotherhood ideology as reflected by its major figures such as founder Hassan al-Banna, as well as his successor, Hassan al-Hudaybi. It was al-Hudaybi in particular who established the identity that the Brotherhood holds today through his appeals for moderation and non-violence. Additionally, many view the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as the legitimate voice of the Egyptian people in the backdrop of an authoritarian government. The Muslim Brotherhood has gradually become more active in the Egyptian political arena, to the extent that some consider it to be as much a political organization as it is a religious one. Though banned from running candidates in parliamentary elections, there are still dozens of independent members of parliament associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. This paper explores the various ambiguities associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and its calls for political and civic and change in Egypt.