The Society of the Muslim Brothers (Arabic: جماعة الإخوان المسلمين), shortened to the Muslim Brotherhood (الإخوان المسلمون al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn), is a transnational Islamist organization which was founded in Egypt in 1928 by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna. The motto of the Brotherhood was traditionally, Believers are but Brothers. That was expanded into a five-part slogan: Allah is our objective; the Quran is the Constitution; the Prophet is our leader; jihad is our way; death for the sake of Allah is our wish. It began as a Pan-Islamic, religious, and social movement. The Muslim Brotherhood had an estimated two million members by the end of World War II. Evidence of its vast influence was clear, with more than 2,000 branches all over the country and 2,000 societies for charity and social services. It ran health clinics, sports clubs, schools and other educational institutes, mosques and Islamic centres, and had a presence of 10,000 army volunteers in Palestine. Its ideas had gained supporters throughout the Arab world and influenced other Islamist groups with its model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work. In 2012, it became the first democratically elected political party in Egypt, but it is considered a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain,Egypt, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. However, the Brotherhood insists it is a peaceful organisation, pointing to its democratic elections, and has consistently renounced violence.Its top leader is on record as saying that the group condemns violence and violent acts. The Brotherhoods stated goal is to instill the Quran and Sunnah as the sole reference point for ...ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state.The movement officially renounced political violence in 1949, after a period of considerable political tension which ended in the assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha by a young veterinary student who was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:42:05 +0000