Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Brotherhood is that country’s oldest Islamist organization and has branches throughout the world. While these branches operate under a variety of names and use a variety of social, political, and occasionally violent methods, they share a commitment to the overarching goal of establishing rule according to sharia. The most notable and lethal Brotherhood offshoot is Hamas, the Palestinian terror group operating out of the Gaza Strip. Some analysts also argue that the Brotherhood has served as the ideological forerunner of modern violent Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Senior Muslim Brotherhood member, former Freedom and Justice Party minister, former secretary-general of Egypt’s Constituent Assembly
Senior member and co-founder of the Freedom and Justice Party
Former head of the Crisis Management Committee in Egypt, Former Chief of Education, Former Member of the Guidance Office
Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is that country’s oldest Islamist organization and has branches throughout the world, its most notable offshoot being the Palestinian terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Before ascending to the highest positions of ISIS and al-Qaeda, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Osama bin Laden, and Ayman al-Zawahiri belonged to a common ideological precursor, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Muslim Brotherhood ideology has directly influenced several notable terrorist leaders and violent extremists groups.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a Qatar-based Islamist theologian and the unofficial chief ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood who has called for the murder of Americans, gay people, and Jews.
Qutbism is believed to be the foundational ideology of today’s most dangerous violent Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Explore this resource to understand the Muslim Brotherhood’s country-specific operations and activities.
In 2017, several Middle East and Gulf countries announced that they were severing ties with Qatar as a result of the country’s support for extremism and terrorism.
Turkey has a long history of harboring terrorist operatives and financiers from various extremist groups, including the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas.
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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