The Muslim Brotherhood The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most infl uential Islamist organisations in the world today. Based in Egypt, its network includes branches in many countries of the Near and Middle East. Although the organisation has been linked to political violence in the past, it now proposes a politically moderate ideology. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood during the years of al-Hudaybi’s leadership, and how he sought to steer the organisation away from the radical wing, inspired by Sayyid Qutb, into the more moderate Islamist organisation it is today. It is his legacy which eventually fostered the development of non-violent political ideas. During the years of persecution, 1954 to 1971, radical and moderate Islamist ideas emerged within the Brotherhood’s midst. Sayyid Qutb’s ideas inspired a radical wing evolved which subsequently fed into radical Islamist networks as we know them today. Yet, it was during the same period that al-Hudaybi and his followers proposed a moderate political interpretation, which was adopted by the Brotherhood and which forms its ideological basis today. Barbara H.E. Zollner is presently a Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Birkbeck College. She is also engaged as a BRISMES Network Coordinator on Faith, Society and Politics. Routledge Studies in Political Islam The Flourishing of Islamic Reformism in Iran Political Islamic groups in Iran (1941–61) Seyed Mohammad Ali Taghavi The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb The theory of Jahiliyyah Sayed Khatab The Power of Sovereignty The political and ideological philosophy of Sayyid Qutb Sayed Khatab Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia The quest for political change and reform Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi Democracy in Islam Sayed Khatab and Gray D. Bouma The Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Hudaybi and ideology Barbara H.E. Zollner The Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Hudaybi and ideology Barbara H. E. Zollner First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2009 Barbara Zollner All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-88843-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN 13: 978-0-415-43557-4 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-203-88843-8 (ebk) In memory of my father, Alfred Zollner. Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 The Muslim Brotherhood during the years 1949–73 9 1.1 The Brotherhood in disarray: the legacy of Hasan al-Banna’ 9 1.2 The struggle for new leadership: al-Hudaybi and his competitors 16 1.3 The Brotherhood and the Revolution: cooperation, contention, clash 25 1.4 The time of persecution: dissolved but not dispelled 36 2 The discourse of the prison years: radical ideas and moderate 50 responses 2.1 The discourse of the prison years: radical ideas and moderate responses 50 2.2 Qutbists and their world-view 55 3 Preachers not Judges 64 3.1 Text, composition and authorship 64 3.2 The Ultimate Question: Muslim or Kafi r? 71 3.3 Sin and crime 86 3.4 Shari<a – divine law or human construct? 97 3.5 The theology of an Islamic government 106 3.6 Obedience or opposition? 129 Conclusion 146 Notes 152 Bibliography 185 Index 199 Acknowledgements The core of this book was initially submitted as a PhD thesis in Near and Middle East Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. I remember my time as student there with fondness and enthusiasm, but also one of great challenges and hard work. My supervisor, Dr Kate Zebiri, helped me on this journey and deserves to be mentioned fi rst. I also want to thank fellow stu- dents and colleagues, some of whom became life-long friends. Amongst them are Dr Judith Fox, Dr Richard Fox and Dr Paul Tremlett. During the writing process I had the opprotunity to go on fi eldwork. My time in Egypt would not have been as successful if Brother Dr Kamal El-Helbawi had not helped to arrange meetings and interviews. After submitting the thesis, I had some time for more research and to rethink some of my arguments. It was during this time that Dr Ahmad Achtar, my former colleague at Birkbeck College and one of my closest friends, helped me with his amazing knowledge of books and sources. I thank him and his wife, Dr Nouha Khalifa, for the many coffees and chats. In the same vein, I want to mention Dr Reza Hajatpour, who has been an amazing friend for the past 20 years. I would not have started studying Islamic Studies if it had not been for him. Special thanks also to Anne Corkery for reading through drafts again and again; I probably would not have been able to meet deadlines if it were not for her accuracy and support. My thanks also to Professor Gwen Griffi th-Dickson for being a mentor, colleague and friend. I hope we will work on many good projects in the future. Above all, I must thank Stefanie Lang, who listened to me, helped me to organise myself and urged me on whenever I was about to give up.