History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

:This article refers to the Egyptian organisation called the Muslim Brotherhood; for other organisations that use the same name, see the Muslim Brotherhood article.

1939-1954

For details, see the main History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1939-1954) article.

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In response to intense pressure from the Brotherhood's younger members, some historians believe that al-Banna accepted, albeit reluctantly, the creation of its military wing (the "secret apparatus"), but managed to keep it mainly inactive throughout World War II. During the 1940s, the Brotherhood continued to grow rapidly, and is thought to have had over a million members by the end of the decade. After the war, it continued to play a leading role in the nationalist movement, which took on huge proportions. Although the Brotherhood's leaders remained committed to a nonviolent approach, the secret apparatus began to disobey the leadership and carry out terrorist attacks. The organisation's increasing popularity led Egypt's ruling elite (which was still largely under British control) to consider it a threat to their power. As a consequence, al-Banna was assassinated by the police in 1949, and was succeeded by Hassan Isma'il al-Hudaybi, a former judge. Hudaybi attempted to abolish the secret apparatus, but it continued to operate without the leadership's knowledge. The Brotherhood supported the military coup that overthrew the monarchy in 1952, but the junta, though popular at first, was unwilling to share power or lift martial law; it quickly lost its public support, and began to provoke confrontations with the Brotherhood. In 1954, a member of the secret apparatus was accused by the authorities of an assassination attempt on Gamal 'Abd al-Nasser, who then abolished the Brotherhood and imprisoned and tortured thousands of its members.

Related Topics:
World War II - 1940s - Nonviolent - 1949 - 1952 - Junta - Martial law - 1954 - Gamal 'Abd al-Nasser

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