Answering the Call: Popular Islamic Activism in Egypt(Religion and Global Politics)

When revolutionary hero Gamal Abdel Nasser dismantled and suppressed Egypt's largest social movement organization during the 1950s, few could have imagined that the Muslim Brotherhood would not only reemerge, but could one day compete for the presidency in the nation's first ever democratic election. While there is no shortage of analyses of the Muslim Brotherhood's recent political successes and failures, no study has investigated the organization's triumphant return from the dustbin of history. Answering the Call examines the means by which the Muslim Brotherhood was reconstituted during Anwar al-Sadat's presidency. Through analysis of structural, ideological, and social developments during this period in the history of the Islamic movement, a more accurate picture of the so-called "Islamic resurgence" developsone that represents the rebirth of an old idea in a new setting. The Muslim Brotherhood's success in rebuilding its organization rested in large part on its ability to attract a new generation of Islamic activists that had come to transform Egypt's colleges and universities into a hub for religious contention against the state. Led by groups such as al-Gama'ah al-Islamiyyah (The Islamic Society), the student movement exhibited a dynamic and vibrant culture of activism that found inspiration in a multitude of intellectual and organizational sources, of which the Muslim Brotherhood was only one. By the close of the 1970s, however, internal divisions over ideology and strategy led to the rise of factionalism within the student movement. A majority of student leaders opted to expand the scope of their activist mission by joining the Muslim Brotherhood, rejuvenating the struggling organization, and launching a new phase in its history. Answering the Call is an original study of the history of this dynamic and vibrant period of modern Egyptian history, giving readers a fresh understanding of one of Egypt's most pivotal eras.

Table of Contents:
Foreword - Dr. John O. Voll Introduction Chapter One: The Islamic Movement on the Eve of Sadat Chapter Two: The Youth of Islam Chapter Three: Return of the Brothers Chapter Four: Islam on Campus Chapter Five: The Young and the Old Chapter Six: Constructing the Call Conclusion Epilogue Bibliography Notes

About the Author :
Abdullah Al-Arian is Assistant Professor of History, Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

Review :
"This important book explains as no other the durability and adaptability of [the Muslim Brothers]....for all those with an interest in the role of Islam in public life, this book makes a major contribution."--International Journal of Middle East Studies "This book is long overdue....A nuanced, dispassionate study."--Journal of Islamic Studies "Amidst the diatribes against the Brothers, how fortunate it is to have this dispassionate, scholarly explanation of the organization's important contributions and remarkable durability. The Brotherhood invented peaceful ways to act for Islam. This scrupulously researched book analyses how the Brothers' call to Islam and social welfare activism were renewed by absorption of talented Islamic student leaders of the 1970s whose presence helped make possible successful participation in Egypt's brief moment of democratic politics." --Raymond William Baker, author of Islam without Fear: Egypt and the New Islamists "Many of the roots of Islamist resurgence in recent decades can be traced back to activities and ideas developed in Egypt--often on college campuses or among recently released prisoners--four decades ago. This is a story that we know in hazy terms, in part because we view it retrospectively, interested primarily in what it tells us about the roots of groups active today. Al-Arian not only improves on past accounts, giving us the most careful, judicial, and comprehensive history of the re-emergence of Islamic activism in Egypt. He also does so with a prospective eye rather than a retrospective one; he focuses more on da`wa (as many of the activists themselves came to do) rather than on jihad and in the process reconstructs the movements and ideas as they were understood by participants at the time." --Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University "Based on a wide range of sources Answering the Call offers a comprehensive and convincing account of Islamic activism in Egypt during the presidency of Anwar al-Sadat, including previously unstudied student organizations as well as the Muslim Brothers. Emphasizing the wide range of orientations within the Islamic movement and the internal struggles within the Muslim Brotherhood in the course of its reorganization, its analysis is far more sophisticated and nuanced than earlier ill-conceived accounts focused on 'Islamic extremism.'" --Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Stanford University "Al-Arian focuses on the 1970s, when the Islamist movement that played such a major role in Egyptian society and politics over the past century, took shape... he writes prospectively --about what possibilities and choices seemed to exist, what motivated activists, and what leaders debated at that time. Rather than attempt to explain the present by tracing its roots backwards, he probes the situation in the 1970s and works forward. Ironically, it is precisely this aspect of his approach that may help us understand the near-term future." --Nathan J. Brown, Director of Middle East Studies, George Washington University