The Muslim Brotherhood (i.e., the Brotherhood) is Egypt’s oldest and largest Islamist organization.“Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html. The Brotherhood rose to power following the 2011 ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with Brotherhood official Mohammed Morsi ruling the country from June 2012 to July 2013.David. D Kirkpatrick, “Army Ousts Egypt’s President; Morsi Is Taken Into Military Custody,” New York Times, July 3, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/world/middleeast/egypt.html?_r=0. Since Morsi’s overthrow, the Brotherhood has grown increasingly factionalized, with ideological and tactical rifts between the movement’s older and younger generations.Eric Trager and Marina Shalabi, “Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Gets a Facelift,” Foreign Affairs, May 20, 2015, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2015-05-20/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-gets-facelift; Abdelrahman Ayyash and Victor J. Willi, “The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in 2016
Scenarios and Recommendations,” German Council on Foreign Relations, March 2016, https://dgap.org/en/article/getFullPDF/27762. Egypt’s military-run government—led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi—has sought to uproot the Brotherhood entirely, forcing many Brotherhood leaders into exile.Louisa Loveluck, “Sisi says Muslim Brotherhood will not exist under his reign,” Guardian (London), May 5, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/06/abdel-fatah-al-sisi-muslim-brotherhood-egypt; Nathan J. Brown and Michele Dunne, “Unprecedented Pressures, Uncharted Course for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 29, 2015, http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/07/29/unprecedented-pressures-uncharted-course-for-egypt-s-muslim-brotherhood/ie2g.

The Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928, four years after the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate.Brian R. Farmer, Understanding Radical Islam: Medieval Ideology in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Peter Lang, 2007), 83; “Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html; Jay Winter, “The birth of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2011, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/14/opinion/la-oe-winter-muslim-brotherhood-20110314; Tareq Abu al-Ainain, “Egypt’s Brotherhood Strives for ‘Caliphate’ at Expense of Security,” Al-Monitor, June 2, 2013, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/06/egypt-muslim-brotherhood-caliphate-national-security.html#; “The abolition of the Caliphate,” Economist, March 18, 1924, http://www.economist.com/node/11829711. Since then, the Brotherhood has advocated for the re-establishment of a caliphate, a state ruled by sharia (Islamic law).Brian R. Farmer, Understanding Radical Islam: Medieval Ideology in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Peter Lang, 2007), 83; “Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html; Tareq Abu al-Ainain, “Egypt’s Brotherhood Strives for ‘Caliphate’ at Expense of Security,” Al-Monitor, June 2, 2013, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/06/egypt-muslim-brotherhood-caliphate-national-security.html#. The group’s founder Hassan al-Banna espoused an ideology of “pan-Islamic nationalism”“Hassan al-Banna and his political thought of Islamic Brotherhood,” Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English web site, last modified May 13, 2008, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=17065. and launched Brotherhood branches as well as Brotherhood-affiliated mosques, schools, and sporting clubs.“Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” BBC News, December 25, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12313405. In its early years, the Brotherhood was focused on opposing secular and Western influence in the Middle East and the British colonial presence in Egypt. The group later sought to oppose the Jewish presence in Palestine.John Mintz and Douglas Farah, “In Search of Friends Among the Foes: U.S. Hopes to Work with Diverse Group,” Washington Post, September 11, 2004, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12823-2004Sep10.html;
Agence France-Presse, “Timeline: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, December 25, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/profiles/2013/12/26/Timeline-Egypt-s-Muslim-Brotherhood.html;
Brian R. Farmer, Understanding Radical Islam: Medieval Ideology in the Twenty-First Century, (Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, 2007), 83; “Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html; “Myths and realities: The Muslim Brothers and armed activism,” Al Jazeera, August 12, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/08/myths-realities-muslim-brothers--20148129319751298.html;
“Hassan al-Banna and his political thought of Islamic Brotherhood,” Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English web site, last modified May 13, 2008, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=17065.

Using the slogan “Islam is the solution,” the Egyptian Brotherhood has sought a gradual implementation of sharia. Banna believed that sharia would be implemented by first developing the Muslim individual, the Muslim family, the Muslim community, and finally the Muslim government, or Islamic state.Larbi Sadiki, “Egypt: The triumph of Hassan Al-Banna,” Al Jazeera, July 4, 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/07/20127212233901118.html. According to the Brotherhood’s official English website, Ikhwanweb, Banna urged the Brotherhood members “who were looking for fast results” either to “learn to be patient and persever[e]” or else “leave the [Brotherhood] movement.”“Hasan al-Banna and his political thought of Islamic brotherhood,” Ikhwanweb, May 13, 2008, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=17065.

The Brotherhood maintains that in order to re-establish Islamic governance, the group must first unite a “popular base [of people] that believes in the Islamic system and is aware of its main ideas,” according to Ikhwanweb.“The Principles of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English web site, accessed May 29, 2014, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=813. The Brotherhood has nurtured its base primarily through grassroots efforts—including political organizing and religious indoctrination—as well as through the provision of public goods like health care and education. Beyond these efforts, Brotherhood leaders have also scouted potential members “at virtually every Egyptian University,” according to Brotherhood analyst Eric Trager. The Brotherhood has used its popular base to obtain increased political representation and power through democratic processes, despite the group’s ultimate political goal of establishing an Islamic state.Abdullah al-Arian, “A State Without a State: The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Social Welfare Institutions,” Middle East Political Science, September 20, 2014, http://pomeps.org/2014/09/30/a-state-without-a-state-the-egyptian-muslim-brotherhoods-social-welfare-institutions/; Eric Trager, “The Unbreakable Muslim Brotherhood: Grim Prospects for a Liberal Egypt,” Foreign Affairs, 90 (2011): 114, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/68211/eric-trager/the-unbreakable-muslim-brotherhood.

Despite the group’s professed claim of adherence to nonviolence, the Brotherhood in Egypt has a history of engaging in violent activities. In 1940, the Egyptian Brotherhood launched an underground military wing called the Nizam al-Khass—the “secret apparatus”—largely in response to the failure of the Arab uprising in Palestine (1936-1939).Omar Ashour, “Myths and realities: The Muslim Brothers and armed activism,” Al Jazeera, August 12, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/08/myths-realities-muslim-brothers--20148129319751298.html. Its members carried out numerous bombing operations and assassinations, including the 1948 murder of then-Prime Minister of Egypt Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha, who had recently banned the Brotherhood.“Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html; “Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Official Claims Group Has Revived Paramilitary Wing,” The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Watch, August 21, 2008, http://www.globalmbwatch.com/2008/08/21/egyptian-muslim-brotherhood-official-claims-group-has-revived-its-paramilitary-wing/. Hassan al-Banna was assassinated one year later in what was believed to be a revenge assassination by a member of Egypt’s secret service.John Mintz and Douglas Farah, “In Search of Friends Among the Foes: U.S. Hopes to Work with Diverse Group,” Washington Post, September 11, 2004, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12823-2004Sep10.html;
Lorenzo Vidino, The New Muslim Brotherhood In The West (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010), 168. The group continued to engage in violent activities after Banna’s death. In October 1954, a member of the Brotherhood’s secret apparatus attempted to assassinate then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser. In retaliation, Nasser renewed the ban against the Brotherhood, executed several of its leaders, and jailed thousands of Brotherhood supporters.“Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html.

In the 1950s and ’60s, the Brotherhood grew more radical amid clashes with state authorities. During this time, imprisoned Brotherhood theologian Sayyid Qutb wrote a number of influential works advocating jihad. In his book Milestones, Qutb re-popularized the Islamic concept of takfir, which permits the labeling of fellow Muslims as apostates, thus justifying their persecution and murder.Alastair Finlan, The Test of Terrorism: Responding to Political Violence in the Twenty-First Century, (London: Routledge: 2015). By legitimizing and indeed imploring takfir, Qutb essentially provided a legal loophole sanctioning Islamists to wage jihad against state officials and ordinary civilians. Though Nasser legalized the Brotherhood in 1964,David Bukay, From Muhammad to Bin Laden: Religious and Ideological Sources of the Homicide Bombers Phenomenon, (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers: 2008), 207. he cracked down on the Brotherhood in 1965, throwing many of its leaders, including Qutb, into prison.Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 36; Johannes J. G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, (New York: Cornell University Press, 1997), 50; Stephen E. Atkins, Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups, (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press: 2004), 261. Qutb was executed by hanging in 1966. His theories are believed to have inspired the leaders of subsequent Islamist terror groups including al-Qaeda and ISIS.Youssef Aboul-Enein, “Learning from Adel Hammouda’s Work on Militant Islamist Movements,” Combatting Terrorism Center, September 15, 2008, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/learning-from-adel-hammouda%E2%80%99s-work-on-militant-islamist-movements;
Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower, (New York: Random House, 2011), 34-35; Dale C. Eikmeier, “Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism,” Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, Spring 2007, 89, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a485995.pdf.

Following the death of Nasser in 1970, the Brotherhood assumed a greater role in Egyptian society and officially renounced violence.“Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html; Zachary Laub, “Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood,” Council on Foreign Relations, last modified January 15, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/egypt/egypts-muslim-brotherhood/p23991. Nasser’s successor, Anwar Sadat, initially cooperated with Brotherhood leaders in order to unite against his opponents, but the relationship soon ended due to differences in ideology.“Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera, February 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201126101349142168.html; “Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” BBC News, December 25, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12313405. During the 1980s, the Brotherhood attempted to infiltrate the political mainstream by forming alliances with a number of parties, including the nationalist liberal Wafd party, the Socialist Liberal Party, and the Socialist Labour Party.“Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” BBC News, December 25, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12313405. Alliances with these parties enabled Brotherhood members to run for parliament on those parties’ tickets. In the mid-2000s, Brotherhood members won 20 percent of the seats in Egypt’s People’s Assembly party.“Profile: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” BBC News, last modified December 25, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12313405;
Jason Brownlee, “The decline of pluralism in Mubarak's Egypt,” Journal of Democracy 13, no. 4 (2002): 6-14, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason_Brownlee2/publication/236831112_The_Decline_of_Pluralism_in_Mubarak's_Egypt/links/5416f9230cf2bb7347db83e6.pdf.

As the Arab Spring came to a head in 2011, the Brotherhood’s resilience and robust infrastructure left it well positioned to capitalize in Egypt’s new political landscape. The Brotherhood was officially legalized in early 2011,“'Shariah in Egypt is enough for us,' Muslim Brotherhood leader says,” Hurriyet Daily News, May 23, 2011, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=8220shari8217a-law-in-egypt-is-enough-for-us8221-tells-a-muslim-brotherhood-leader-2011-05-23. forming the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in June of that year.Said Shehata, “Profile: Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party,” BBC News, November 25, 2011, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15899548. The FJP ran senior Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi on its party ticket, and Morsi was elected president of Egypt in June 2012.“Muslim Brotherhood-backed candidate Morsi wins Egyptian presidential election,” Fox News, June 24, 2012, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06/24/egypt-braces-for-announcement-president/.

Starting in November 2012, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians joined the Tamarod grassroots movement in protest against the actions of Morsi and his government, including the practice of attacking demonstrators and prosecuting journalists.Stephanie McCrummen and Abigail Hauslohner, “Egyptians take anti-Morsi protests to presidential palace,” Washington Post, December 4 2012, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egyptians-take-anti-morsi-protests-to-presidential-palace/2012/12/04/b16a2cfa-3e40-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html;
Patrick Kingsley, “Protesters across Egypt call for Mohamed Morsi to go,” Guardian (London), June 30, 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/30/mohamed-morsi-egypt-protests;
“Profile: Egypt's Tamarod protest movement,” BBC News, July 1, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23131953. On November 22, 2012, Morsi granted himself unlimited powers in a new constitutional declaration, announcing his right to take “any measures he sees fit in order to preserve and safeguard the revolution, national unity or national security,” according to a translation of Morsi’s constitutional declaration by Egypt Independent.“Morsy issues new constitutional declaration,” Egypt Independent (Cairo), November 22, 2012, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/morsy-issues-new-constitutional-declaration. One week later, Morsi called for a referendum on the draft constitution, prompting fears of an Islamist overhaul of the constitution.Stephanie McCrummen, “Morsi sets date for referendum on charter as his Islamist supporters rally in Cairo,” Washington Post, December 1, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-cairo-rival-protests-over-the-path-forward/2012/12/01/73bb2f1e-3bd7-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html.

The Egyptian military ousted Morsi in July 2013 and suspended the constitution, placing Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders in military custody.David. D Kirkpatrick, “Army Ousts Egypt’s President; Morsi Is Taken Into Military Custody,” New York Times, July 3, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/world/middleeast/egypt.html?_r=0; Abigail Hauslohner, William Booth, and Sharaf al-Hourani, “Egyptian military ousts Morsi, suspends constitution,” Washington Post, July 3, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/egypts-morsi-defiant-under-pressure-as-deadline-looms/2013/07/03/28fda81c-e39d-11e2-80eb-3145e2994a55_story.html. Seven months of violence ensued, primarily between authorities and Islamist protesters, resulting in the deaths of over 2,500 civilians and nearly 60 police officers.Michele Dunne and Scott Williamson, “Egypt’s Instability by the Numbers,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, accessed May 12, 2016, http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/03/24/egypt-s-unprecedented-instability-by-numbers/.

On December 24, 2013, suspected Brotherhood members carried out a bombing attack on police headquarters north of Cairo, killing 15 people and wounding over 100.Kareem Fahim and Mayy El Sheikh, “Egyptian Officials Point at Islamist Group After Blast at Police Building,” New York Times, December 24, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/world/middleeast/egypt-car-bomb.html. The government held the Brotherhood responsible for the attack, formally designating the group as a terrorist organization on December 25, 2013.Kareem Fahim, “Egypt, Dealing a Blow to the Muslim Brotherhood, Deems It a Terrorist Group,” New York Times, December 25, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/26/world/middleeast/egypt-calls-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-group.html. In response, the group denounced “all violence” and reiterated its “commitment to peaceful protest,” according to the Brotherhood’s official website.“Muslim Brotherhood, Freedom and Justice Party Leaders Condemn All Violence,” Ikhwan Web Homepage, Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English web site, December 24, 2013, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=31480.

Since Morsi’s ouster, a rift has grown between the Brotherhood’s older and younger members. In the months following Morsi’s disposal in July 2013, the Brotherhood’s youth reportedly became impatient with the older members’ gradualist approach, and began calling for revolutionary and violent tactics against Egyptian authorities.Eric Trager and Marina Shalabi, “Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Gets a Facelift,” Foreign Affairs, May 20, 2015, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2015-05-20/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-gets-facelift. Younger members began to carry out a low-level insurgency, and created Facebook pages calling for the burning of police vehicles and the use of Molotov cocktails against authorities.Eric Trager, “Egypt's Invisible Insurgency,” New Republic, March 19, 2014, https://newrepublic.com/article/117072/egypts-young-islamists-use-facebook-organize-violence. In January 2014, a message posted on the Brotherhood’s Arabic-language website—most likely by members of the younger strain—indicated a sharp reversal of the group’s commitment to non-violence: “We are at the beginning of a new phase where we summon our strength and evoke the meaning of jihad. [We] prepare ourselves…for relentless jihad where we ask for martyrdom.”Abdelrahman Ayyash, “The Brotherhood’s Post-Pacifist Approach,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 9, 2015, http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/?fa=60665.

In response to the mounting jihadist rhetoric and small-scale violent attacks on the ground perpetrated by the younger members, the older generation—which urges a patient approach—has reportedly become more deferential to its younger members out of fear of losing support for the movement.Nathan J. Brown and Michele Dunne, “Unprecedented Pressures, Uncharted Course for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 29, 2015, http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/07/29/unprecedented-pressures-uncharted-course-for-egypt-s-muslim-brotherhood/ie2g.

In February 2014, the Brotherhood held internal elections, replacing 65 percent of its older leaders overwhelmingly with younger, more revolutionary individuals. The elections led to the formation of the Crisis Management Committee—headed by Brotherhood member Mohamed Taha Wahdan—tasked with managing events on the ground in Egypt. Wahdan, loyal to the younger revolutionaries, is believed to largely oversee the Brotherhood’s rank and file in Egypt.Abdelrahman Ayyash and Victor J. Willi, “The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in 2016
Scenarios and Recommendations,” German Council on Foreign Relations, March 2016, 2, https://dgap.org/en/article/getFullPDF/27762. In April 2015, the Brotherhood created the Office for Egyptians Abroad—under the chairmanship of Brotherhood member Ahmed Abdel-Rahman—to organize the Brotherhood’s leaders in exile and strengthen the struggle against President Sisi’s military government. In a televised interview with Al Jazeera, Abdel-Rahman declared, “There will not be a political solution [with Sisi’s government] before the demands of the revolutionaries [Egyptian Brothers] on the ground are met…We will continue our revolution until victory.”Eric Trager and Marina Shalabi, “Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Gets a Facelift,” Foreign Affairs, May 20, 2015, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2015-05-20/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-gets-facelift; “أول ظهور إعلامي لرئيس مكتب اخوان مصر بالخارج,” YouTube video, 49:27, Posted by “مكتب اخوان مصر بالخارج,” April 22, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrCXjh8GoSM.

In 2016, a militant group called Hasm emerged in Egypt.Michael Horton, “Is the Hasm Movement the Future of Militancy in Egypt?” Jamestown Foundation, September 22, 2017, https://jamestown.org/program/is-the-hasm-movement-the-future-of-militancy-in-egypt/. The group has mostly focused on carrying out several assassinations and assassination attempts targeting Egyptian authorities and security officials. Media sources have speculated that Hasm is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, given that its activities have targeted individuals who have specifically acted against the Brotherhood in the past. For example, in November 2016, the group attempted to assassinate Ahmad Abu al-Fotouh, a judge in Morsi’s 2015 trial.Ahmad Abd Alhaleim, “Hasm claim embassy bombing in Cairo, may be looking to expand,” Al-Monitor, October 15, 2017, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/egypt-hasm-movement-attacks-local-figures-myanmar-embassy.html. Egyptian authorities allege that Hasm is the militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and is being aided by leaders of the Brotherhood.Ahmad Abd Alhaleim, “Hasm claim embassy bombing in Cairo, may be looking to expand,” Al-Monitor, October 15, 2017, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/egypt-hasm-movement-attacks-local-figures-myanmar-embassy.html. The Brotherhood has denied any link to the group.“Egypt launches major assault on militants ahead of election,” Reuters, February 9, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-security/egypt-launches-major-assault-on-militants-ahead-of-election-idUSKBN1FT0SB?il=0. Hasm members have reportedly confessed to Egyptian authorities to receiving weapons and explosives training from the Brotherhood. In September 2018, Hasm spokesman Khaled Seifeddine denied any affiliation with the Brotherhood. He further claimed that the Brotherhood had failed in Egypt and had failed to resonate with the Egyptian people.Walid Abdulrahman, “Hasm Admits Muslim Brotherhood's Failure in Egypt,” Ashar Al-Awsat (London), September 7, 2018, https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1387946/hasm-admits-muslim-brotherhoods-failure-egypt.

In June 2017, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in response to that country’s ongoing support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist and terrorist groups.Patrick Wintour, “Gulf Plunged into Diplomatic Crisis as Countries Cut Ties with Qatar,” Guardian (London), Jne 5, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/05/saudi-arabia-and-bahrain-break-diplomatic-ties-with-qatar-over-terrorism.

Today, the Brotherhood’s leaders—both on the ground in Egypt and in exile—seek to regroup and reorganize.Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html. Egypt’s government continues to sentence Brotherhood members to death, maintaining a firm suppression of the 90-year-old Islamist organization.“Muslim Brotherhood: Death Sentences, Executions Will Not Intimidate Us,” Ikhwan Web Homepage, Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English web site, May 13, 2016, http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=32538. In August 2020, Egyptian authorities arrested the Brotherhood’s acting supreme guide, Mahmoud Ezzat.“Acting leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood arrested in Cairo,” Reuters, August 28, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-politics/acting-leader-of-egypts-muslim-brotherhood-arrested-in-cairo-idUSKBN25O1C3. Ezzat had been the group’s acting supreme guide since the 2013 arrest of Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie. The imprisonment of both the Brotherhood’s supreme guide and acting supreme guide brings into question the Brotherhood’s future.“Egypt’s Brotherhood Names New Acting Supreme Guide,” Ahram Online, August 20, 2013, http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/0/79499/Egypt/0/Egypts-Brotherhood-names-new-acting-supreme-guide.aspx.