Society of the muslim brothers
Mitchell, Richard .P.
Society of the muslim brothers - London Oxford University Press 1966 - 349p.
This is a detailed study of the Muslim Brother-
hood, a movement for religious and social reform
which troubled the political life of Egypt for
almost a generation until it was suppressed by
the military regime in 1954; it continued after
that in secret, and emerged briefly as a focus of
opposition to the regime in 1965. It is divided
into three parts: a narrative of the foundation,
rise, and suppression of the Brotherhood; a study
of its organization and methods; and an analysis
of its ideology.
The value of the book lies not only in its detailed
investigation of an important phase in modern
Egyptian history, but still more in its being almost
the first attempt to study in detail the develop-
ment of a kind of movement which has occurred
again and again in the history of Islam: a
movement which begins by calling for moral
reform through a return to orthodox beliefs and
piety, but which in course of time becomes a
political movement aiming at the seizure of
power, the destruction of a social order, and its
replacement by another in which it will be
possible for the devout Muslim to live without
making compromises with the world.
There have been three or four short books on
the Muslim Brotherhood, but none of them of
this scope or thoroughness. It is based on a vast
collection of primary sources in Arabic (official
publications of the Brotherhood, expository works
by its spokesmen, reports of trials) as well as on
innumerable interviews and first-hand obser-
vation over a period of years. Much of this
material is now no longer available, and the book
will therefore remain an indispensable source for
those who wish to study this movement, or this
kind of movement, or the history of Egypt during
this period.
Society
305.6971 Mit
Society of the muslim brothers - London Oxford University Press 1966 - 349p.
This is a detailed study of the Muslim Brother-
hood, a movement for religious and social reform
which troubled the political life of Egypt for
almost a generation until it was suppressed by
the military regime in 1954; it continued after
that in secret, and emerged briefly as a focus of
opposition to the regime in 1965. It is divided
into three parts: a narrative of the foundation,
rise, and suppression of the Brotherhood; a study
of its organization and methods; and an analysis
of its ideology.
The value of the book lies not only in its detailed
investigation of an important phase in modern
Egyptian history, but still more in its being almost
the first attempt to study in detail the develop-
ment of a kind of movement which has occurred
again and again in the history of Islam: a
movement which begins by calling for moral
reform through a return to orthodox beliefs and
piety, but which in course of time becomes a
political movement aiming at the seizure of
power, the destruction of a social order, and its
replacement by another in which it will be
possible for the devout Muslim to live without
making compromises with the world.
There have been three or four short books on
the Muslim Brotherhood, but none of them of
this scope or thoroughness. It is based on a vast
collection of primary sources in Arabic (official
publications of the Brotherhood, expository works
by its spokesmen, reports of trials) as well as on
innumerable interviews and first-hand obser-
vation over a period of years. Much of this
material is now no longer available, and the book
will therefore remain an indispensable source for
those who wish to study this movement, or this
kind of movement, or the history of Egypt during
this period.
Society
305.6971 Mit