In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood (Arabic: جماعة الإخوان المسلمين jamāʿat al-ʾiḫwān/al-ikhwan/el-ekhwan al-muslimīn, IPA: [elʔexˈwæːn]) is a Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement,[1][2][3] with adherents estimated to number between 2 and 2.5 million.

[5][6][7] Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, it launched a political party—the Freedom and Justice Party—to contest elections, which it described as having "the same mission and goals, but different roles" than the Brotherhood,[8] and agreeing to honor all Egypt's international agreements.

[13] In September 2013, an Egyptian court banned the Brotherhood and its associations,[14] and ordered that its assets be seized;[15] and in December the military-backed interim government declared the movement a terrorist group following the bombing of security directorate building in Mansoura.

[17] The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher, who preached implementing traditional Islamic Sharia law in all aspects of life, from everyday problems to the organization of the government.

(Sources disagree as to whether the Brotherhood was hostile to independent working-class and popular organisations,[18] or supported efforts to create trades unions and unemployment benefits.

It engaged in espionage and sabotage, as well as support for terrorist activities orchestrated by Haj Amin al-Husseini in British Mandate Palestine, and up to and during World War II some association with Britain's enemy, the German Nazis,[20] dissemination of anti-Jewish, and anti-Western propaganda.

In 1952, members of the Muslim Brotherhood were accused of taking part in an event that marked the end of Egypt's "liberal, progressive, cosmopolitan" era – an arson fire that destroyed some "750 buildings" in downtown Cairo – mainly night clubs, theatres, hotels, and restaurants frequented by British and other foreigners.

[38] According to another observer: after a number of conciliatory engagements and interactions with the West", the Brotherhood retreated into its comfort zone of inflammatory rhetoric intended for local consumption: all suicide bombers are `martyrs`; `Israel` regularly became `the Jews`; even its theological discourse became more confrontational and oriented to social conservatism.

[41] In the first couple of years after the revolution, critics speculated about both secret collusion between the Brotherhood and the powerful (secular oriented) military,[40][49][50] and a looming showdown between the two.

[56] Egyptian author Ezzedine C. Fishere worried that the Brotherhood had managed to alienate its revolutionary and democratic partners and to scare important segments of society, especially women and Christians.

[42] These issues[64]—and concerns over the prosecutions of journalists, the unleashing of pro-Brotherhood gangs on nonviolent demonstrators; the continuation of military trials; and new laws that permitted detention without judicial review for up to 30 days,[65] and impunity given to Islamist radical attacks on Christians and other minorities[43]—brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets starting in November 2012.

[68] By April 2013, Egypt had "become increasingly divided" between President Mohamed Morsi and "Islamist allies" and an opposition of "moderate Muslims, Christians and liberals".

[73][74] On 3 July, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi responded to the demands of the protesters in Tahrir Square during the 30 June demonstrations and after discussing the issue with the main political parties and religious leaders of the country removed President Mohamed Morsi and suspended the constitution.

[85] It "no longer leads the anti-government movement" and has even lost its "religious credibility", such that "at mosques, even staunch opponents of the coup told me that they wouldn't vote for the Brotherhood again".

When Islamists broke through security barriers to join the Brotherhood at Nahda and Rab'a squares, "ideas flowed freely and bonds were created", with the Salafists influencing MB more than vice versa.

At the same time as the split,[95] a statement titled Nidaa al-Kinana (Egypt Call) signed by 159 international MB and Egyptian Salafist Islamic scholars and endorsed by the Brotherhood was released.

[98] In June 2015, the "Revolutionary Punishment" movement celebrated six months of attacks, including the killing of 157 and wounding of 452 security personal, the destruction of 162 military cars and 53 buildings.

In the 'Issues and Problems' chapter of the platform, it declared that a woman was not suited to be president because the post's religious and military duties 'conflict with her nature, social and other humanitarian roles'.

[106] For some, this is a question of using violence or not: a Western author, (Eric Trager), interviewing 30 current and former members of the Brotherhood in 2011 and found that the Brethren he talked to emphasised "important exceptions" to the position of non-violence, namely conflicts in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq, and Palestine.

[2] Trager quotes the former Supreme Guide Mohammed Mahdi Akef as telling him We believe that Zionism, the United States, and England are gangs that kill children and women and men and destroy houses and fields.

[109] On 13 March 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood released a statement opposing the UN declaration 'End Violence against Women' on the grounds that it would "undermine Islamic ethics and destroy the family", and "would lead to complete disintegration of society".

[110][111] In the book Secret of the Temple, written by Tharwat al-Khirbawy, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, Khirbawy "explores the ideology of Mursi and the small group of leaders at the top of the movement, examining their devotion to Sayyid Qutb, a radical ideologue executed in 1966 for plotting to kill president Gamal Abdel Nasser".

[112] During the reign of President Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood experienced good relations with Iran, in which the IRGC was approached to establish a similar version in Egypt.

[114] In April 2021, a Muslim Brotherhood delegation led by Hammam Ali Youssef met Temel Karamollaoğlu, leader of Saadet Partisi,[115] during a period of diplomatic contacts between Turkey and Egypt, after breaking off relations since 2013.

[116] Talking to television channel France 24 shortly before he was elected president, Mohammed Morsi stated: "The majority of the people are Muslims and the non-Muslims, our brothers, are citizens with full responsibilities and rights and there is no difference between them.

The Facebook page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was "rife with false accusations meant to foment hatred against Copts", according to journalist Kirsten Powers.

[122][124]The Brotherhood applies a highly selective membership process which gives its "internal cohesiveness and ideological rigidity" and is unique among Egyptian political/social organizations in its "breadth" and "depth" of networks.

[2] The long (typically at least four and a half years) and closely monitored membership process is thought to have prevented infiltration by state security during the presidencies of Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak.

[133] According to Kareem Fahim, following the 2013 crackdown members have started to abandon "activities like preaching and social work" as they focus on "resistance to the military-backed government".

[134] According to Amal Abdelkarim, head of the FJP women's section in the governorate of Giza, the sisters became more active during Nasser years because that is when they helped by interacting with society, attending charities and going to mosques.