[QODLink]
Al Jazeera World
The Brotherhood and Mubarak
The story of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and its emergence into the political arena after decades of suppression.
Last Modified: 24 May 2012 10:52

For years the Muslim Brotherhood was officially banned by Egypt's government, but following the 2011 revolution, the fall of Hosni Mubarak and the country's first free parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood - with its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party - has emerged as Egypt's most powerful political force.

"When you don't have a platform to express your political views you try to find another way. People had to use mosques, churches and professional syndicates as platforms for political expression. That was the regime's fault."

-Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood

This film traces the Muslim Brotherhood's gradual integration into the Egyptian political system - despite the attempts of Mubarak to suppress the organisation during his 30-year rule.

In a political game of cat-and-mouse, as the Brotherhood's influence grew, Mubarak sought to oppose its rise - even to the point of amending the constitution to ban religious-based political parties.

The continued repression of the opposition was one of the main triggers for the mass anti-government protests by thousands of Egyptians in late January 2011, which led to the revolution that toppled Mubarak - an act that has enabled the Muslim Brotherhood to increase its power and influence inside Egypt's political arena.

 
Al Jazeera World can be seen each week at the following times GMT: Tuesday: 2000; Wednesday: 1200; Thursday: 0100; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 2000; Sunday: 1200; Monday: 0100; Tuesday: 0600.

Click here for more Al Jazeera World.

327

Source:
Al Jazeera
Topics in this article
People
Country
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera's exclusive publishing of a key Guantanamo prison military document lays bare the brutality of force-feeding.
Former military official says poverty and anger in indigenous communities mean conditions for an "insurgency" are ripe.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Series on the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948 that led to dispossession and conflict that still endures.
Featured
Once a bustling haven, Elasha Biyaha has almost become a ghost town as residents flee.
Two years since the start of the uprising, rebels and Assad's forces remain locked in conflict.
Lebanon-based militia is assisting villagers caught up in the conflict.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Extensive coverage of war crimes tribunals and controversial calls for blasphemy laws.
join our mailing list