Abstract
The Middle East has been in the center of international attention for the past couple of years as the region has been embroiled in several conflicts that reshaped the region’s status quo. While a majority of the conflicts reported in the Middle East are caused by armed factions, some of these conflicts were brought by various social movements intending on forcing change to the country. Some of these social movements are brought in by the public themselves; hoping to pressure the government to impose reform. Some of these social movements sometimes meet failures, but there are those which are successful and managed to introduce change and reform. However, in recent years, Islamic movements are also mobilizing the people in order to attain their goals in the country which poses fear for the international community. It is also a question as to how these radical groups are mobilizing the public.
Out of the notable radical Islamic movements in the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood has been known to have immense weight due to its mobilization techniques. While the group is mostly situated in Egypt, the group has managed to mobilize its members to such degree that it was able to penetrate the Egyptian government and gain a huge following. Although efforts have been done to stop this group, the Muslim Brotherhood remains strong. This paper argues that the Muslim Brotherhood’s mobilization strategies focus heavily on resource mobilization in order to achieve their targets in the country. In order to study the nature of Muslim Brotherhood’s mobilization strategies in relation to the Social Movement Theory, this paper will tackle the nature of the social movement theory, the establishment and ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Muslim Brotherhood’s movements upon the succession and leadership of Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s new president after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
Mechanisms of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood According to the Social Mobilization Theory
For many years, the Middle East has been under a state of disarray due to the various conflicts that has shook the region’s status quo. These conflicts were either started by armed factions or social movements hoping to impose their version of change to the country. Looking at the social movements which started several of Middle East’s conflicts, it is notable that they all vary in backgrounds and intentions. Some social movements hoping for change in the Middle East comprised the public, hoping that their movement would usher in change. However, there are also social movements triggered by radical Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt aiming to impose change to attain their goals in the country but how do they get their support? In order to explain the mobilization of such groups in the Middle East, the argument would be explained through the discussion on the nature of the social movement theory, the establishment and ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Muslim Brotherhood’s movements upon the succession and leadership of Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s new president after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. This paper argues that the Muslim Brotherhood’s mobilization strategies focus heavily on resource mobilization in order to achieve their targets in the country.
The concept of “social movements” and the social movement theory was established in the 1990s when reform movements in the United States and Western Europe slowly grew in numbers. According Oliver, Cadena-Roa and Strawn (2003), both regions evolved alongside stable popular democracies which was open to popular mobilization. Since states have varied extensively when it comes to their outlook on popular movements and according to several studies, protest and social movements have played critical roles in shaping the course of democratization in autocratic countries. However, these early research did not take into consideration the extent of countries outside America and Western Europe and influenced their arguments regarding how these social movements influence the course of national policies. Smaller scholars studying the social movements outside America and Western Europe were often ignored when they called for the reassessment of the social movement theory in their countries as the main scholars of the theory only speculated as to how other nations handled their social movements. It was scholars from Latin America which revised the arguments on social movements theory as scholars in the 1980s aimed to study why social movements mattered in the region and how these social movements can be understood such as feminism, gender, and democracy .
Sarihan (2014) points out that the theory of social movements aims to understand and explain why social mobilization grows and what consequences they have for a specific country. Social movements often occur because of the general dissatisfaction of parties regarding a particular class or classes. Discontent can be driven by the target class by their possessions, behavior, value and status in the country. Aside from these four major factors, frustrations tend to grow due to the public’s discontent over the current social order. Of course, dissatisfaction does not necessarily mean it would end to social movements because it is crucial that these individuals recognize this dissatisfaction and share that sentiment. They must also be aware of changing such beliefs and conditions in order to allow the people to come together under that similar dissatisfaction. Several variants of the social mobilization theory had been established to expound on how social movements grow: traditional, resource mobilization, political opportunity and the French school. The traditional application argues that social movements is society’s way of of reacting towards events and it is often poorly organized and without clear image. Resource mobilization stresses that social movements utilize resource availability and opportunities as a means to establish a specific action. This variant of the social movement theory also looks into the role of organizations and leadership in every social movement. Political opportunity theory argues that opportunities are necessary to ensure that a social movement occurs, but in this case, social movements are supported by factions and elite groups. Finally, the French school is reflecting both the traditional approach and the resource mobilization theory in terms of their arguments. However, the French school argues that a social movement is “spontaneous but not amorphous, moral, and rational but not institutional.”
However, the social movement theory also has its drawbacks and does not cover everything about social movements. In the French school variant, it does not take into account the organizational structure of social movements which plays a role on how the movement is done. Resource mobilization, on the other hand, only covers how social movements occur but it does not explain why these social movements occur. This variant of the social movement theory also differs when it comes to how it can explain how these movements are organized and how they succeed or fail. It does not speak about why these movements exist. The political opportunity theory also overlooks the on the importance of emotions of each participant and presume the opportunities that would be open for these movements regardless of the level of participation of all parties. The traditional approach also has lapses as it does not explain how these social movements grow, it only explains why these movements take place .
The radical Islamist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood was originally established in the 14th century in Turkey as a means to abolish all Islamic traditions in Turkey by Mustapha Kemal. According to Lavender (2012), Kemal believed that Islam brought forth the decline of Turkey because the religion restricted development. Many did not accept Kemal’s perception of Islam and rallied against him in 1923. Around the same time as the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood, the ‘al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun’ or the Society of Muslim Brothers was established in 1928 by Hassan al Banna. Al Banna did not agree with the belief that the Caliphate must be removed and that a Muslim community must be created and adheres to the teachings of both the Shari’a and the Qur’an . Al Banna – according to Akhnur (2013) – also believed that Islamization should not be rushed because the individual himself must take in teachings of Islam without fear and voluntarily. Once they accept Islam’s teachings, the individual would now be able to introduce the faith to his family and friends without instigating fear from the community. With the community now open in listening to Islamic ideals, Islamic growth and reform can now grow without worries. Unlike other Islamic groups, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood utilized legal and democratic means to instigate the reform they wanted rather than instigating armed rebellion. The Muslim Brotherhood created political parties and non-government organizations which is recognized by the government. The group also fought for the establishment of democracy in Egypt, but while some of their members were voted in office, they were harassed consistently by the autocratic regime. Regardless of these pressures, the Muslim Brotherhood remained in office to provide for the people .
Hamzawy & Brown (2010) stated that the group has taken several developments in its structure throughout the years in order to blend well with the Egyptian government. Under the Presidency of Anwar al Sadat, for example, the Muslim Brotherhood revised its organizational and recruitment system which the government approved in order to reach out to more people and prevent the use of violence as seen in the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Under this new structure, members are given autonomy and allow them to branch out to other members. Considering that there were groups who were against the structural revision, the Brotherhood still adhered to the ideology that established the organization to retain its values. The Brotherhood grew extensively with the new autonomy and engaged in social activities like activism, social meetings with key professionals and the public, and utilization of social media to entice others in supporting the brotherhood. Around this period, the Brotherhood managed to grow up to 700,000 people despite the government’s refusal in recognizing the group’s status. The organization utilized both the political and social arenas to instigate the reforms they believed is necessary for the establishment of the Muslim community they aspire and at the same time, ensure that the country would continue to prosper and respect human liberties. These advocacies immediately allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to gain more supporters as they believed that these reforms would indeed help the country .
After the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the reestablishment of the civilian government after the transition, the Muslim Brotherhood immediately launched an offensive to ensure that it will continue to survive while the election period is ongoing. According to Tombaugh (2013), the Brotherhood utilized the presence of the people in Tahrir Square to reestablish its goals to the people and gain their supported. Members of the Brotherhood controlled critical chokepoints and access points as they erected stages in these areas, set up various paraphernalia showcasing the Brotherhood’s ideology and goals, and competed with other protest groups to show their support to the revolution . As the election period occur, the group 9 Bedford Row (2015) stated that the Muslim Brotherhood then turned its attention if whether or not they should reconsider establishing a political party to establish their foothold. The Freedom and Justice Party - which was the party Mohammed Morsi represented in the elections - was mostly known as a ‘civil party’ rather than a political party. However, it is still under the Muslim Brotherhood.
Upon its introduction after the 2011 Revolution, the FJP persisted that it is the political wing of the Brotherhood and it also shares the same aspirations as the Muslim Brotherhood. In its joint submission to the Human Rights Council in 2014, the Brotherhood hoped that the FJP would allow the party to at least join the political democratic process legal now that the transition period is ongoing. Considering this aspect, the FJP does not fall under the Guidance Council of the Brotherhood to ensure that it would be able to act autonomously in the political arena. This would also alleviate the doubts of the international community regarding the Islamist ties of the FJP. However, the Brotherhood remained influential in the FJP and instructed its members to only vote for FJP or else they will be expelled from the party. The leadership of the Brotherhood also utilized the FJP as a means to select FJP’s representatives to ensure that the Brotherhood’s aims would continue to once their representatives are elected. As the Brotherhood cannot actively endorse a candidate, the Brotherhood bypassed this by releasing a joint statement stressing that the Guidance Bureau of the Brotherhood and the Executive Office of the FJP will be tackling as to who will run for president in the FJP. The Brotherhood also stressed consistently that they do not wish to get the position of the presidency or any similar position with power to gain prestige and advantages. They only wish to achieve their purpose and aspirations of assisting Egypt towards its development and the growth of the Islamic community. Although there were names released to gain the presidency, it was Mohammed Morsi who gained the protection and support of the brotherhood. Despite his lack of practical political experience and his unfamiliarity to the people, he was able to receive 24.77% of the votes. Since the Brotherhood has long been in the country for 80 years and has a string of leaders around the country, Morsi was able to secure the votes necessary to get him voted. He promised that he will make a government that would be open for all Egyptians and respect the principles of democracy and equality .
Throughout Morsi’s tenure in office as president, the Brotherhood continued to establish its presence in Egypt through its social and political activities. In a social aspect, Fotopoulos (2012) stated that the group continued to provide welfare services and training to the public. Since the group had also introduced liberal economic policies, it has continued to gain the support of the public – especially the elites – because they see the Brotherhood as a key to ensure that Egypt’s potential can be release through its leadership . In a political level, the Brotherhood reestablished the order of the government and consolidated the power of the Brotherhood in Egypt. Morsi released known Islamic extremists and many questioned his choices as it looks like Morsi and the Brotherhood are trying to gain the support of these extremists. Morsi had also stressed that he will pardon all revolutionaries in October 2012 who have been convicted or charged since the time of the revolution.
The Brotherhood then gained complete control of the Constituent Assembly after the resignation of the secularists in November 2012 due to the lack of consensus and collaboration between each party. With the Constituent Assembly, the Brotherhood was able to instigate the radical beliefs and ideologies it wishes for the country. The propaganda machine of the Brotherhood was immediately released when the new constitution developed by the Constituent Assembly under the Brotherhood is established. The propaganda machine was released in order to persuade the voters to vote for this new constitution and they even stressed that rejecting this constitution would delay Egypt’s recovery. The lack of votes would also trigger continuous social and political turmoil in the country. The referendum was done from December 15 to 22, 2012 and at least 63% voters supported the constitution. Although the support was very low given the percentage of voters who joined the referendum, the new constitution was enforced on December 26, 2012 by President Morsi himself. The new legislation highlights that Islamic law would now be the main source for the country’s legislation. The government was also reestablished with Muslim Brotherhood members and eventually, the group took over the media to ensure that its propaganda was transmitted to the country .
Social movements are an important element for any country because these social movements assist or block changes that may be vital to the country’s development. Each nation currently has their own versions of these social movements, and for Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has stood out throughout the country. Based on the underpinnings of the social movement theory, the Muslim Brotherhood used its resources to establish a good front to the people and instigate a social movement to reach their goals for a Muslim community accepted by all. After the revolution, it had entered into politics and continued to offer both social and political resources to the people to remain on the good side of the Egyptians. It has managed to utilize its resources to gain the position it desired to advocate its ideology to the country. Although the presence and continuous influence of the Muslim Brotherhood remains questioned, it is undeniable that this radical Islamic movement has ushered change in the country even at the present time.
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