Inside the Muslim Brotherhood: Religion, Identity, and Politics

by Khalil al-Anani

Overview

Over the past three decades, through rises and falls in power, regime repression and exclusion, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has endured, proving more resilient than any other Islamist movement in the world. In this book Khalil al-Anani explores the factors that have enabled the Brotherhood to survive so long within an ever-changing political landscape.

Inside the Muslim Brotherhood unpacks the principal factors that shape the movement's identity, organization, and activism. Investigating the processes of socialization, indoctrination, recruitment, identification, networking, and mobilization that characterize the movement, al-Anani argues that the Brotherhood is not merely a political actor seeking power but an identity-maker that aims to change societal values, norms, and morals to line up with its ideology and worldview. The Brotherhood is involved in an intensive process of meaning construction and symbolic production that shapes individuals' identity and gives sense to their lives. The result is a distinctive code of identity that binds members together, maintains their activism, and guides their behavior in everyday life. Al-Anani attributes the Brotherhood's longevity to its tight-knit structure coupled with a complex membership system that has helped them resist regime penetration. The book also explores the divisions and differences within the movement and how these affect its strategy and decisions.

The culmination of over a decade of research and interviews with leaders and members of the movement, this book challenges the dominant narratives about Islamists and Islamism as a whole.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190279738
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/03/2016
Series:	Religion and Global Politics
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Khalil al-Anani is Associate Professor at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar. He previously taught at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Georgetown University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. He is co-editor (with Mahmoud Hamad) of Elections and Democratization in the Middle East (2014).

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Note on Transliteration
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Unpacking the Brotherhood
2. Debating Islamism and Theorizing the Brotherhood
3. Constructing Islamic Collective Identity
4. Power of the Jama'a: The Enduring Legacy of Hasan al-Banna
5. Chasing the Prey: The Brotherhood's Art of Recruitment
6. Tarbiyya and Consolidating the Brotherhood's Identity
7. The Brotherhood's Organization, Structure, and Ideology
8. Ikhwanism: The Brotherhood's Code of Identity
9. Enforced Coherence: The Brotherhood under Regime Repression
10. Conclusion

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Al-Anani's book is a significant contribution to the literature on the Brotherhood, filling in a significant gap by closely examining and explaining the organizational role of ideology and group identity in the movement's activism, organization, and decision-making. Though focused on the Egyptian Brotherhood, the book includes many relevant discussions to readers interested in Brotherhood groups in other countries as well as political Islam and Islamist movements more broadly. Theoretically sophisticated, it is written in clear prose and will be of great use and interest to students and researchers in Middle East politics, Islamic studies, and social movements."—Christopher Anzalone, Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online

"This is a must-read for understanding Islamist politics of our time Essential."—CHOICE

"Inside the Muslim Brotherhood is a valuable contribution to the study of Islamist movements in general, and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular. Al-Anani's combination of theoretical and ethnographic depth not only provides answers to key questions, it also presents a valuable agenda for future research."—Sociology of Islam

"Depending on its outcome, the current crisis within the Muslim Brotherhood could fundamentally reshape the terrain of Middle East politics and beyond — and yet we continue to know so little about the group. Enter Khalil al-Anani's Inside the Muslim Brotherhood, a uniquely informative portrait of dynamics within a vitally important social and political movement. This book is a must read for everyone seeking to understand the trajectory of Islamist politics today."—Peter Mandaville, author of Islam & Politics

"How does a socio-religious movement endure over nine decades of ebb and flow and continue to operate? In this highly readable book, Khalil al-Anani sheds valuable light on the inner workings of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood—not just its rationale of leadership, organization, and recruiting, but in particular the craft of identity production that marks the oldest Islamist movement in the world."—Asef Bayat, Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champign

"Khalil al-Anani offers a rigorous, compelling, and rich account of the internal structure, organization, and ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. By examining how individual Muslim Brothers are recruited, socialized, and mobilized into a powerful collective identity, al-Anani has made a significant contribution to the scholarly study of Islamist movements."—Marc Lynch, author of The New Arab Wars: Anarchy and Uprising in the Middle East

"Interviews with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, internal documents, and detailed knowledge of the movement's long history make up the rich resources of this book. Khalil al-Anani discusses all of the above in a lucid prose informed by social movement theory, social psychology, and the sociology of religion. In the process, he provides us with one of the most useful books on one of the most important Islamic movements in a century. Unlike so much else that has been published on the Brotherhood recently, readers here will find a composed treatment that does not lose the larger portrait in the heat of the moment."—Mohammed Bamyeh, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh

From the Publisher