FDD
Meet the Muslim Brotherhood
Clifford May
November 5, 2025

…In 1928, Hassan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Western scholars and policymakers were uninterested, regarding it as nothing more than a religious-social welfare organization and therefore no threat to free nations. For nearly a century, that view has persisted despite accumulating evidence to the contrary. Now, finally, clearer perceptions are emerging…First, to comprehend what motivated al-Banna, you need to consider what happened in 1922: The Ottoman Empire, having made the mistake of siding with Germany in World War I, collapsed when Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, abolished the Ottoman Sultanate. The Ottoman Caliphate, a religious institution associated with the Sultanate, was abolished two years later as part of Ataturk’s secular reforms. To Mr. al-Banna, there could be no greater tragedy and humiliation. READ MORE

FDD Patient Extremism: The Many Faces of the Muslim Brotherhood In the 1988 charter that announced its existence, Hamas introduced itself as “one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine.” The charter then informs the reader that the Brotherhood “is a universal organization that constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times.”¹ That is no idle boast. The Brotherhood has scores of national branches across the globe. Among those branches, Hamas stands out for its unbroken record of violence and its readiness to massacre men, women, and children, as it did in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Yet the ideas that animate Hamas are not unique; they are part of the Brotherhood’s common heritage. These ideas have also spread far beyond the Brotherhood, animating al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and many other lethal organizations.