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"Pargeter is one of the best analysts of Islamic radicalism. This book—detailed, authoritative, sober, perceptive, and meticulously researched—shows why. . . . A must read."—Jason Burke
Although the popular uprisings of 2011 were not driven by Islamist forces, it is the Islamist movements, and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, that have filled the power vacuums that opened up with the collapse of the regimes of the region. How did they do it and how will they manage their new political role?
In this authoritative analysis, Alison Pargeter follows the twists and turns of the Muslim Brotherhood as it battled through the years of oppression under authoritarian regimes to finally become a key and legitimate political actor. From Egypt and Syria to Tunisia and Libya, the Brotherhood and its affiliates are now faced with the complex task of transforming themselves from semi-clandestine opposition movements into legitimate political actors and, in some cases, into ruling powers.
A fully updated paperback edition with two new chapters.
Alison Pargeter is a writer and analyst specializing in the Middle East and North Africa and in Islamist movements in the region and beyond. She has held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and Kings College, London, and is a senior associate at Menas Associates, an international consultancy firm. She is the author of Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi and The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe.
‘Alison Pargeter has established a reputation as one of the best current analysts of Islamic radicalism. This book – detailed, authoritative, sober, perceptive and meticulously researched – shows why. It is an important contribution to our understanding both of the Muslim Brotherhood itself, to the controversies that surround the movement and to the broader phenomenon of political Islam. A must read for scholars, students and anyone interested in the Middle East.’
Jason Burke, author of Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam
‘A tour de force … This well-written and much-needed book by a respected British scholar admirably traces the origins and development, internal debates and frictions, geographical spread – and abiding contradictions – of a movement that, despite its ambiguities and shortcomings, remains very much a force to be reckoned with.’ Alan George, University of Oxford
‘This highly lucid and approachable analysis of the Brotherhood offers a welcome degree of clarity. Alison Pargeter offers a global picture of the trajectories the movement has taken in the Arab world and in Europe. Based on important internal documents, and - crucially - a remarkable array of on-the-record interviews with senior Brotherhood personnel, Pargeter allows the Brothers to do much of the talking.’ Richard Phelps, Perspectives on Terrorism
‘Highly recommended, especially to those who see radical Islam, Jihadism, Wahhabism, Salafism and Islamism as one huge monolith and all equally to be feared’ New Statesman
Chapter One: The Egyptian Ikhwan: The Burden of Tradition (updated up to the eve of the revolution)
Chapter Two: From Diplomacy to Arms and Back to Diplomacy: The Evolution of the Syrian Ikhwan
Chapter Three: The International Tanzeem: Myth or Reality?
Chapter Four: The Ikhwan in Europe
Chapter Five: The Ikhwan and Violence
Chapter Six: The Arab Spring: From Opposition to Power (new chapter)
Conclusion