The Brotherhood, a shallow and opportunistic group

Prior to the Brotherhood’s rise to power during the Arab Spring apprising's, many believed that its political inclusion would lead to its democratization and moderation. However, this view appears to have broken on the rocks of reality, and its collapse was the result of a series of the Brotherhood’s ideological, and organizational failures.

The Brotherhood’s rule failed in more than one place. The fateful blow was the fall of the former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s regime after a popular uprising in which the army intervened decisively. The Muslim Brotherhood’s reign faced moral bankruptcy in Tunisia before President Kais Saied dealt it a fatal blow.

The resounding fall of the Brotherhood in Morocco followed a decade-long rule. There is a mix of vested interests and Muslim Brotherhood influence holding the reins of power in Libya. But Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar had stood in the way of the Brotherhood since the beginning. 

Ideological hollowness and opportunism undercut the Brotherhood’s claims to a legitimate “Islamic democratic project,” and the organization’s structural deficits led it to be widely distrusted.

The Brotherhood was shallow and opportunistic. It proved too willing to sacrifice elements of its ideology for short-term political victories. Furthermore, fundamentally antidemocratic components of Brotherhood dogma and the disconnect between the group’s professed ideology and the policy positions it assumed highlighted its incompatibility with modern democratic politics.

Organizationally, the Brotherhood was incapable of adaptation. Its rigid, hierarchical structure prevented it from successfully reacting to rapid societal changes. Its organizational introversion and conspiratorial mind-set also undermined its ability to build a broad network of support.