What is the Muslim Brotherhood and why is it banned in so many countries

Al Arabiya

23-04-2025

Muslim Brotherhood – the name has often come up in the news, most recently on Wednesday, when Jordan announced it outlawed the religiopolitical organization from the country by placing a complete ban on its publications, any promotion of the group's ideology and confiscating all its assets.
But, what is the Muslim Brotherhood? Here is a brief explanation on the organization's ideology and historic roots.
What is the Muslim Brotherhood?
The MB is a religiopolitical organization founded in 1928 in Egypt by an Islamic scholar and teacher named Hassan al-Banna, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. He envisioned the organization through an Islamic viewpoint and promoted Islamic laws and morals as guidelines for a healthy modern society.
The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and North Africa. While figures remain unconfirmed on the number of members in the organization, it is estimated that at its height in the late 1940s, the group had some 500,000 members, according to Britannica.
Members of the MB reflect a wide range of interpretations of al-Banna's original ideology, with many adopting a more pragmatic approach that emphasizes political participation and collaboration.
Who is the leader of Muslim Brotherhood?
The leader of MB in Egypt is Mohamed Badie, who is currently serving jail time, after he was sentenced in 2017 to multiple life in prison and death sentences for planning violent attacks.
Badie and 37 others were accused of conspiring to stir unrest during protests that followed the July 2013 military overthrow of Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi, who was a part of the Brotherhood.
Is Muslim Brotherhood a violent organization?
Critics of the Brotherhood – banned in most Arab countries – view it as a dangerous terrorist organization that must be dismantled. The group, however, claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist vision through peaceful means.
Originally focused on religious and educational initiatives, the Muslim Brotherhood gained recognition in the 1930s for providing essential social services, leading to rapid membership growth.
By the late 1930s, the organization began adopting a more political stance, opposing Egypt's ruling Wafd party and mobilizing popular protests during World War II. In the early 1940s, the Brotherhood formed an armed wing that was later associated with various acts of violence, including bombings and political assassinations – actions that seemingly slipped beyond the control of its founder, al-Banna.
Is Muslim Brotherhood a political organization?
In Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, formerly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood until it severed ties in 2013, continues to hold significant representation in the national parliament. The organization had been legally operating in Jordan for decades and has wide grass-roots support in major urban areas. There was no immediate comment from the group after being ousted on Wednesday.
In Egypt, the MB entered the political arena after the Arab Spring, fielding a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections. Mohamed Morsi won, becoming Egypt's first democratically elected president, but was overthrown and imprisoned in a 2013 military coup alongside many senior Brotherhood members.
In late 2011, Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party, a movement inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood – won the country's first parliamentary elections following the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Which other nations have banned the Muslim Brotherhood?