Naomí Ramírez Díaz. The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria: The Democratic Option of Islamism. New York: Routledge, 2018 (original) (raw)

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood: Between the Burden of History and the Prospect of Political Change

Bilgi Journal, 2012

Political Islam has undergone important changes since the beginning of last century and, more specifically since the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979 and later on, after the 9/11 attacks in New York. It is the aim of this text to overview the evolution of one of the less known, yet crucial movements in the history of Islamism, that is, the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. Its capacity to adapt to changing circumstances is certainly one of their most outstanding features: from democratic participation, to radicalization, going through a process of revision after being expelled from Syria to end up at the front line of current political opposition in that country when many thought they had lost the battle and would only be allowed in the country once the regime decided it suited its aims. They recently showed a new stage in their evolution that opens the debate whether they are only pursuing certain objectives or they are indeed committed to democracy. Whatever the answer, their will to become political brokers in Syria is clear.

The Strategy and Goals of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian Revolution

Preludes to the Islamic State: Contextualizing the Rise of Extremism in the Syrian Uprising, 2014

In March 2011, a popular uprising in Syria – following the lead of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain – challenged the stability of the apparently unshakable Assad regime that had ruled Syria for the previous four decades. During that time, the absolute power of the security services, the high echelons of the Army and the core of the regime had only been challenged once. That was during the so-called Muslim Brotherhood uprising between 1976 and 1982, the study of which is beyond the scope of this writing, but which resulted in the ousting of the Brotherhood in Syria and the near elimination of their political and social role in the country. However, the beginning of the revolution in Syria in 2011 brought the Brotherhood back to the political scene, where they have played a very important role, various aspects of which are examined in this paper, which deals with the period from 2011 to mid-2013 although a short historical introduction to the past decade is provided for contextualisation purposes. Building on the analysis of this short period, it is the aim of this study to describe the strategy used by the Muslim Brotherhood to become a prominent political actor and the representative of the mainstream Islamic current in Syria, as well as stating their degree of success in achieving that. Due to the immediacy of the data and the ongoing changes to the political and strategic equation, this study is mostly based on primary sources such as interviews and direct testimonies as well as press releases and articles in the Brotherhood’s main official mouthpiece.

Evolution through Revolution? : the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian Uprising

2017

Syria’s peaceful uprising turned into an armed conflict with Assad’s lethal response to demonstrations demanding dignity and freedom. Looking for an oppositional Syrian political power who might have influenced dynamics on the ground, light was shed on the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (SMB). As dictatorships toppled in 2011 in the region and were replaced by MB-related parties such as in Egypt and Tunisia, the interest into the previously exiled SMB increased as a Syrian alternative. Research in this area was predominantly concerned with SMB’s history, and did not examine how the SMB’s shaped the ongoing events in Syria, and how in return, the conflict shaped the SMB. This thesis analyses, mainly through exclusive interviews, the SMB’s evolution as a prominent Syrian opposition group both on the domestic and international level. Findings show a shift in priorities within the organization from the hierarchal system to a wide-spectrum approach through various charitable, social and polit...