A group called the Muslim Brotherhood started in Egypt.
A teacher named Hassan al-Banna began it. They built schools and hospitals. They also helped many people. This group is still around today. Do you like learning about history?
A group called the Muslim Brotherhood started in Egypt.
A teacher named Hassan al-Banna began it. He wanted to help his people.
The group built many things. They made schools and hospitals.
They also helped people learn.
Later, the group joined politics. They wanted to change how Egypt was run. They also wanted the British to leave.
In 2012, a man named Mohamed Morsi was elected. He became the leader of Egypt.
Things changed again after that. The group lost power in Egypt. Many lands now call the group a bad group.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a large group.
It started in Egypt in 1928. A teacher named Hassan al-Banna founded it. He wanted to use Islamic rules to lead life. The group grew very fast. By 1948, it had over 2 million members.
At first, the group did social work. They built schools and hospitals.
They also helped people who could not read. Later, the group joined politics. They wanted the British to leave Egypt. They even had a secret group of fighters.
In 2011, the group gained more power. In 2012, Mohamed Morsi was elected president.
He was the first leader chosen by votes. But in 2013, the military took over. This was called a coup. The group lost its power in Egypt. Now, many countries call the group a terrorist organization. Some say the group is flexible. Others say it wants to rule the world with religious laws.
This map shows lands that ban the group.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a very large group that works across many countries.
It began in the city of Ismailia, Egypt, in March 1928. A teacher and scholar named Hassan al-Banna started it with six other workers. They wanted to use Islamic teachings to guide many parts of life. This included how people treated each other and how they ran a country. The group wanted to follow Sharia law, which is based on the Quran and the Sunna. They believed these rules were given by God to help solve everyday problems.
In the beginning, the group focused on helping people through social work. They built many things like hospitals, pharmacies, and schools. They also taught people who could not read how to learn. As the years went by, the group grew much larger. It went from 800 members in 1936 to 2 million members by 1948. Later, the group moved into politics to fight for change. They wanted to end British rule in Egypt so the country could lead itself. They even formed a group of fighters called the Secret Apparatus to protect their goals.
History shows that the group has faced many hard times and changes. During World War II, the British government kept a close watch on them. They even arrested some leaders to keep control. In 1948, a leader named Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha was killed in an assassination.
Later, a thinker named Sayyid Qutb wrote about how to build a perfect Islamic society. His ideas were very strong and influenced many other groups. While the group used violence in the past, they said they stopped doing that in the 1970s. However, a group called Hamas is an offshoot that still uses violence.
In recent years, the group had a moment of great political power. During the Arab Spring in 2011, the group became legal in Egypt again. In 2012, their candidate Mohamed Morsi won a big election. He became the first president of Egypt chosen by a democratic vote.
This did not last long, though. In 2013, the military took over the government in a coup. Morsi was placed under house arrest, and the group lost its power. Now, many countries, including the United States and Egypt, call the group a terrorist organization.
People who study history have different ways of looking at this group. Some researchers think the group is connected to other violent groups. Others believe the group wants to rule the world using religious laws. Some even think the group has a hidden plan that it keeps secret. Most scholars take a different view and see the group as flexible. They believe the group can change its ways to follow political rules.
This map shows which countries have banned the group from their lands.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization. It functions as a religious, social, and political movement. The group aims to establish a state ruled under a caliphate. This means a government guided by Islamic law, known as Sharia. Sharia is based on the Quran and the Sunna. Members often use the slogan "Islam is the solution" to describe their goals.
In March 1928, Hassan al-Banna founded the group in Ismailia, Egypt. Al-Banna was an Islamic scholar, imam, and schoolteacher. He started the movement with six workers from the Suez Canal Company. The group initially focused on social and religious work. They built hospitals, pharmacies, and schools to help the community. They also taught people who were illiterate. This social work helped the group grow very quickly. It grew from 800 members in 1936 to over 2 million by 1948.
As the movement grew, it moved into the political arena. The Brotherhood wanted to end British colonial rule in Egypt. They also engaged in pro-Arab activism regarding the conflict in Palestine. During the 1930s, the group's weekly publication, al-Nadhir, used aggressive rhetoric against Jewish communities. The group also developed connections with Nazi Germany during the years before World War II. Some sources suggest Germany provided funding to the group as early as 1934. Al-Banna, however, denied ever receiving German money.
During World War II, the group formed an armed wing called the Secret Apparatus. This was a successor to earlier groups called battalions. The Secret Apparatus consisted of highly trained, committed members. They aimed to fight the British and Zionists. They also worked to protect the Brotherhood from the police. In 1948, the group was involved in the assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha.
Later, a prominent thinker named Sayyid Qutb promoted takfirism. This doctrine allows for the stigmatization of other Muslims as infidels.
The group's political influence saw a major shift after the 1967 Six-Day War. Following the Arab defeat by the State of Israel, Islamism began to replace secular Arab nationalism. The movement also received support from Saudi Arabia to counter communism. In the 2010s, the Arab Spring brought the group a period of legality in Egypt. In 2012, Mohamed Morsi won the Egyptian presidential election. He became the first democratically elected president of Egypt.
This period of power ended abruptly in 2013. Massive demonstrations and unrest led to a military coup d'état. The military overthrew Mohamed Morsi and placed him under house arrest. A review found the Brotherhood failed to embrace democratic values while in power. Consequently, Egypt banned the group and declared it a terrorist organization. Other nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, did the same.
Today, the group is considered a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States and Germany.
Academic researchers use four main approaches to study the Muslim Brotherhood. Some scholars link the group to terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda. They argue the group uses non-violence only as a tactic to gain power. Another view sees the group as an unchanging organization seeking a global theocracy. A third approach suggests the group is part of an international conspiracy against the West. However, the most common scholarly view is that the group is pragmatic and flexible. This view suggests the group can adapt to different political rules and respond to population demands.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (10)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.