Muslim brotherhood and their impact on egypt's politics (1928-2015)

Situated in close proximity to Mesopotamia, a geopolitical region where a considerable amount of the Mediterranean, African and world's energy resources exist and home to a number of civilizations, Egypt has been a country where stability can be achieved through oppression, due to the influence of the global superpowers and the dynamic nature of domestic politics. In spite of the authoritarian regime, the Muslim Brotherhood has been influential as a social movement since its foundation in the last century. On the one hand, the movement has gained people's sympathy because of the schools and hospitals they have opened and the charity campaigns they have organized, on the other hand, however, it has always been the victim of political oppression because of its critical attitude towards successive governments. The Muslim Brotherhood has been regarded neither as a non-governmental organisation, nor a political one. However, it has always been on the agenda due to its disciplined membership structure, effective leadership, and activities that have appealed to ordinary people. Present in Egypt's political life since its foundation in 1928, it has been regarded by some as a nongovernmental organisation due to the fact that it doesn't have a political structure, it is nonviolent and it places an emphasis on activities that bring about social benefits. For some, it has been regarded as a highly debated organisation due to the fact that some of its members are are so-called involved in some Egyptian political affairs and their campaign against Israel.And for some, it has been considered as a political actor due to their efforts to influence politics whilst Cemal Abdün Nasir, Enver Sedat, and Hüsnü Mübarek were in office. The Arab Spring that started in 2010 also effected Egypt and people who rallied against the authoritarianism gathered in Tahrir Square. With a view not to be at odds with the authority learned from the experience from the recent history of politics, despite only being observers in the beginning, with their effective contribution, the movement played an important role in the process of overthrowing Hüsnü Mubarek. Now being a primary actor in Egypt's politics with the Arap Spring process and establishing a political party, Muslim Brotherhood first gained the majority in the parliament and then became the ruling party after their member, Muhammed Mursi was elected as the president. However, as a resultof their lack of political experience in failing to bring together the heterogenic structure of Egypt politics towards establishing the democratic future of Egypt along with their inability to come over the effect of the established old political and economic regime bureaucracy, their government came to an end with a military coup in such a short time as one year. In this study, the ideological structure of Muslim Brotherhood, their social and political activities, inner dynamics and their impact on the politics of Egypt since its foundation has been analyzed. The thesis was written as a result of field study of many of local newspapers and the ideas of columnists, and after having examined the local and international academic literature on the topic. Keywords: Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al Banna, Arab Spring, Muhammad Mursi