I.

Introduction

Muslim Brotherhood, international Islamic organization based in Egypt and working toward an increased Islamic role in government and society. Hassan al-Bannah, an Egyptian schoolteacher from a small town in the Nile Delta, founded the Brotherhood in 1928 as a small social club. Bannah sought the formation of an “Islamic System” that would gradually reform civic, social, family, and educational organizations, which he believed had been torn apart by Western secularism (nonreligiosity) and materialism. In their stead, he would re-create the unified Islamic community, or umma, that had existed centuries before. Bannah did not advocate the overthrow of governments, but he considered any person or group who opposed his goals to be an enemy. By linking his authoritarian credo to Egyptian nationalism, Bannah’s ideology inspired thousands of college students, young professionals, and others over the next two decades.