The power-hungry Muslim Brotherhood

The root cause of radicalism and extremism is the politicization of religion by certain sects. It is extremely urgent to eliminate destructive hard-line ideologies and literature as Egypt did earlier, and Saudi is doing under the MBS leadership.

The Muslim Brotherhood by Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutub of Egypt has sent turbulent waves over the globe with the development of extremist thoughts within the context of Islamic political and social ideologies.

With the emergence of Muslim Brotherhood, the world has stood on tenterhooks due to the group's radically wrong interpretations of Islam in the 18th to 20th centuries. They are power-hungry hardliners who always seek to inflict division and destruction to suit their ambitions.

The Muslim Brotherhood was birthed on 22 March 1928 in Ismailia, Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher and imam, along with six workers of the Suez Canal Company. It turned out to be the most influential Islamist organization in the world, mixing religious teaching with political activism and social welfare programs.

While Al-Banna himself did not explicitly endorse violence, he promoted the fanaticism and politicization of some members of the Muslim Brotherhood. His books such as Five Tracts of Ḥasan Al-Bannā, Concept of Allah In The Islamic Creed, and other books promoted Islamic activism. His vision of an Islamic state influenced later generations of Islamists who believed in using violence as a means to achieve their goals.

Deeply influenced by Hassan al-Banna, and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Sayyid Qutub, an Egyptian author, Islamic scholar, revolutionary, poet, and a leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood became prominent in the 1950s and 1960s.

Sayyid Qutub's ideas have influenced numerous extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda which created Osama bin Laden, who was behind the 9/11 terrorist attack in the USA.

Qutub promoted the concept of violent and aggressive jihad. His book, Milestones stirred up the ideological inspiration for a series of violent Islamist organizations. He called for a profound transformation of Muslim societies by promoting a strict interpretation of Sharia law.

He believed in armed jihad not only against oppressive rulers but also against those he considered to be in a state of jahiliyyah (ignorance) within Muslim-majority countries. He was hanged in 1966 after being convicted of plotting the assassination of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.