Aufstieg und Fall der ägyptischen Muslimbruderschaft 2011-2013

Abstracts

Sisi's Strong State - From Revolution to Repression in Egypt (Markus Bickel)

Markus Bickel describes the fall of Egypt's revolution after the coup d'état of then army chief Abd al Fattah al-Sisi in July 2013. All the hopes for a peaceful democratic change which liberal and Islamist actors who stood behind the uprising against Hosni Mubarak held, have been shattered since then - with tens of thousands kept in Egyptian prisons and hundreds more shot by police and army forces all across the country. With local franchises of the "Islamic State" (IS) spreading to the Sinaipeninsula and major cities such as Alexandria and Cairo, President Sisi has so far succeeded in winning the West for his self-declared war against all shades of the Islamist scene - making no distinction between peaceful members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Jihadi groups. Without social progress his model of stability without transparency nor participatory elements to pacify the opposition his autocratic rulership is doomed to fail.

Violence against Islamists: The Case of the Muslim Brotherhood (Martina Schmidl)

This paper deals with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in its violent interaction with outside agents. In this context, violence by, but also against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is under scrutiny. While the focus of the investigation lies on a detailed treatment of the events leading up to and following the Arab Spring in Egypt in 2011 until the spring of 2014, historical developments since the founding of the organisation in 1928 are also summarised - though less extensively - to provide ample context for attitudes on and the implementation of violence. Historically speaking, violence has mostly been connected to political activities of the organisation, which is why this study focuses on this aspect of the brotherhood. Its attitude towards violence is not only investigated in practical, historical terms, but also in the treatment of violence by important thinkers of the movement - as well as discrepancies between the two. In this context, opinions of leaders of the brotherhood on violence are given, with emphasis placed on the attitudes of Hasan al-Banna and Saiyid Qutb.1

From Islamophobia to Islamistophobia: Framing Islamic Movements in Egyptian Newspapers after the January 25th Revolution (Aisha Essam El-Haddad)

This study examined how Egyptian newspapers framed Egyptian Islamic movements in the two years following the January 25, 2011 revolution. A content analysis was conducted on four newspapers including the state-owned Al-Ahram and three private newspapers representing different levels of professionalism: Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Youm Al-Sabea' and Al-Dostor. The total sample consisted of 197 front-page news articles. Results indicated that Egyptian newspapers predominantly associated Islamism with negative values. Among the top five frames that dominated Egyptian newspapers coverage of Islamists - "antidemocracy", "politically organized",v"violence", "polarization", and "anti-revolution" - four were negative. The study found framing differences across Islamic groups, especially between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi Al-Noor party. Negative framing was more common in private newspapers scoring lower on professional and ethical standards. Results suggest that Islamists were already framed negatively before they reached power, and when their political roles changed framing became more negative. The study provides a reference point for future comparisons with the framing of Islamic movements in Egypt following the removal of President Mohammed Morsi on July 3, 2013.