ebooks The Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt: The Rise of an Islamic Mass Movement 1928-1942 by Brynjar Lia in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. I like this bookBy Elsa Wendel AdalberonI think it is well written; well documented and very interesting. The topic is of great importance in today's world; and I think the author has done a very good job in his research as a background for his book. I recommend this book.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Book review in Middle East Quarterly (June 1998)By A Customer"The best known study of Egypt's foremost fundamentalist Islamic movement; Richard Mitchell's Society of the Muslim Brothers (1969) portrayed the organisation as a reactionary response to Westernization mounted by those left in its wake ... Now; however; a thoroughly different (and much improved) interpretation rules; one that sees the Muslim Brothers and like movements as a facet of modernization. Their personell are urbanites dealing with the cutting edge of modern problems; their ideas; methods; and goals all incorporate modern ways; and they show far more willingness to learn from the West than was hitherto realized.In a very impressive research effort into the early years of the Muslim Brothers; Lia (a Norwegian scholar) relies on new sources and deep knowledge of his subject to show convincingly just how well that movement does fit the new interpretation. He establishes that it organized in ways novel for Egypt and mobilized elements of the population hitherto neglected. But its greatest importance lay in developing an answer to the rampant European ideologies of the 1930s: in this; the Muslim Brothers began "a lasting process of renewal .. in which religion was related to the modern age and all aspects of modern life." With justification; Lia concludes that the Muslim Brothers' reinterpretation of Islam will remain 'the most far-reaching Islamic renewal this century' ".Middle East Quarterly June 1998; p.885 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Book review in Jerusalem PostBy A CustomerBook review in Jerusalem Post"Lia's book provides a fresh reassessment of the growth of the Muslim Brothers. He does so by drawing on a wealth of recently discovered documents; including the Society's own internal publications from the 1930s and '40s; British intelligence reports and al-Banna's personal letters.While touching on issues of ideology and anti imperialism; Lia places great emphasis on the Society's structure and its activities within Egypt to explain its early phenomenal growth. Rather than a reaction to modernity; he argues that the Society itself was a modern organization; open to new technologies and ideas. (..)The violence and radicalism within the organization prove to be among the thorniest issues in the book. While the Muslim Brothers provided the organizational model for today's radical Islamic groups; to some extent they also provided the template of violence. Lia argues that the Society; while calling for an all-Islamic "struggle" on various occasions; was not inherently violent. The Muslim Brothers did have a military wing; the so-called Special Section; but this; he says; was a way to channel the radical energies of the more energetic younger members. This element of violence can be traced back to a split within the Muslim Brothers in 1939. As a reaction to al-Banna's accommodationist political activity; a group calling itself the Society of Our Master Muhammad's Youth split off from the main organization. Throughout the next decades; this group would continue to splinter; creating the network of violent Islamic groups which plagued Egypt today (..) Lia argues that the growing radicalism resulted from government efforts to shut these Islamic groups out of the Egyptian political system. Lacking a legitimate outlet for their energies; he argues; these groups can easily turn to the option of terrorism."The Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt 1928-1942" is an important contribution to our understanding. If any complaint can be leveled it is at the circumscription of the book's time frame. Lia limits his study from the beginning of the Society until 1942 (..)Numerous issues of interst arose in the Society's history after this period from the involvement of the Muslim Brothers in the 1948 war against Israel to the 1949 assassination of al-Banna and Nasser's eventual outlawing of the Society. A wider study would further consider the development of violence within the Muslim Brothers and its splinter groups and offshots. One can only hope that Lia has plans for a companion volume"Book review by Shai Tsur in Jerusalem Post December 1998