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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Factors behind the political Islamic movement in Egypt
Author:Raouf, Abbas Hamed
Year:1991
Periodical:Journal of Asian and African Studies (Tokyo)
Issue:41
Pages:17-33
Language:English
Geographic term:Egypt
Subject:Islamic movements
Abstract:In the mid-seventies the Islamic political movement in Egypt, represented by two main trends - the moderate veteran organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the militant radical factions of underground organizations with different titles - became extremely active. The movement was created as a result of the interaction of sociocultural and sociopolitical factors deeply rooted in the history of Egypt and stimulant factors derived from the country's political and socioeconomic development in the second half of the twentieth century. Amongst the former are the Egyptian people's firm religious commitment, strengthened by a weak national consciousness, the result of the failure of the idea of territorial nationalism and the fragility of secularization. Moreover, Islam has consistently been used by the State as a political means for rallying mass support and justifying limited political participation, and this has been a crucial facor in sustaining and deepening the influence of Islam. The June 1967 War and the trauma of defeat, President Sadat's miscalculated policy of patronizing fundamentalists, the 'infitah' economic policy initiated in 1974 and the mounting socioeconomic crisis, together with the shortcomings of the Mubarak regime's containment policy designed to rally the support of the masses through patronizing the so-called rational Islamic trend, have all contributed to the creation of a climate conducive to the further growth of Muslim fundamentalism in Egypt. Notes, ref.
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