Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:16:47.265Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Devout Neoliberalism?! Explaining Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood's Socio-economic Perspective and Policies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2020

Khalil al-Anani Open the ORCID record for Khalil al-Anani [Opens in a new window]
Khalil al-Anani*
Affiliation:
Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Khalil al-Anani, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha, Qatar. E-mail: khalil.alanani@dohainstitute.edu.qa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How can we explain the neoliberal orientation of Islamist movements in the Middle East? This paper attempts to answer this question by exploring the case of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. It analyzes in depth the Brotherhood's socio-economic vision and policies when it was in power between 2012 and 2013. It argues that the Brotherhood adopted a market-oriented vision, which encouraged the private sector, liberalized the economy, and appealed to foreign investments. As a socio-political movement, the Brotherhood attempted to strike a balance between its constituency, which is rooted in the lower, middle, and upper-middle classes, and its commitment to neoliberal policies. However, this paradoxical balance burdened the movement and affected its popularity. The article also contends that the Brotherhood's neoliberal leanings can be explained by three key factors: the movement's pragmatism, its “devout” bourgeoisie, and the appeal for international acceptance and recognition.

Type
Article
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 748 - 767
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abdelrahman, Maha. 2012. “A Hierarchy of Struggles? The ‘Economic’ and the ‘Political’ in Egypt's Revolution.” Review of African Political Economy 39 (134): 614–628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abulmagd, Zeinab. 2012. “The Brotherhood's businessmen.” Egypt Independent. Available at: https://goo.gl/ZBb1qe (Accessed on December 20, 2017).Google Scholar
Achcar, Gilbert. 2013. The People Want. Los Angeles: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Al-Anani, Khalil. 2007. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Gerontocracy Fighting Against Time. Cairo: Shorouk Press.Google Scholar
Al-Anani, Khalil. 2012. “Islamist Parties Post Arab Spring.” Mediterranean Politics 17(3):466–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Al-Anani, Khalil. 2016. Inside the Muslim Brotherhood: Religion, Identity, and Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Al-Banna, Hasan. 1999. “Tracts of Imam Hasan al-Banna” [Majmu'at Rasa'il Al-Imam Al-Shahid Hasan Al-Banna]. Cairo: Dar Al-Daw'a.Google Scholar
Al-Banna, Gamal. 2005. Our Position from Secularism, Socialism, and Nationalism. Dar Al-Fikr Al-Islami.Google Scholar
Al-Jazeera, . 2004. “The Muslim Brotherhood's Initiative for Internal Reform in Egypt.” Available at: https://goo.gl/gKzo8r (Accessed on January 15, 2017).Google Scholar
Al-Majalla, , 2010. “Al-Banna Started with Private School, Nada Transformed it into international by Al-Taqwa Bank, and Al-Shater led it into billions age.” Available at: https://goo.gl/jHCBpi (Accessed on January 15, 2017).Google Scholar
Al-Siba'i, Mustafa. 1960. ishtrakiyat al-islam (Islamic Socialism). Cairo: The National House for Printing and Publication.Google Scholar
Al-Youm, Al-Masry. 2012. “Brotherhood asks Al-Azhar to issue fatwa on IMF loan.” Available at: https://goo.gl/MeRJjc (Accessed on February 15, 2018).Google Scholar
Al Desoukie, Omina. 2012. “Al-Shater's economic policies may attract US support, say experts.” Daily News Egypt. Available at: https://goo.gl/icKNYs (Accessed on February 12, 2018).Google Scholar
Allinson, Jamie. 2015. “Class Forces, Transition and the Arab Uprisings: A Comparison of Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.” Democratization 22(2):294–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appadurai, Arjun. 1996. Modernity Al Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minnesota: Minnesota University Press.Google Scholar
Atia, Mona. 2012. “‘A Way to Paradise’: Pious Neoliberalism, Islam, and Faith-Based Development.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 102 (X): 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atia, Mona. 2013. Building a House in Heaven: Pious Neoliberalism and Islamic Charity in Egypt. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Awad, Marwa. 2011. “Egypt Brotherhood Businessman: Manufacturing is Key.” Available at: https://goo.gl/rzoTXL (Accessed on January 20, 2018).Google Scholar
Awad, Marwa. 2012. “Islamist Businessmen Challenge Egypt's Old Money.” Available at: https://goo.gl/Vh4bP8 (Accessed on February 25, 2018).Google Scholar
Bardsley, Daniel. 2012. “Egypt's Morsi Visits China in Investment Bid.” The National. Available at: https://goo.gl/kqz7od (Accessed on February 26, 2018).Google Scholar
Bayat, Asef. 2007. Making Islam Democratic. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayoumi, Alaa. 2013. “Egypt's Faltering Economy.” Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/06/2013615122844106819.htmlGoogle Scholar
Bogaert, Konraad. 2013. “Contextualizing the Arab Revolts: The Politics behind Three Decades of Neoliberalism in the Arab World.” Middle East Critique 22 (3): 213–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooke, Steven. 2017. “From Medicine to Mobilization: Social Service Provision and the Islamist Reputational Advantage.” Perspectives on Politics 15 (1): 42–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browers, Michaelle. 2009. Political Ideology in the Arab World: Accommodation and Transformation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, Janine. 2004. Islam, Charity, and Activism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Daragahi, Brozou. 2012. “Egypt Formally Request $4.8bn IMF Loan.” Financial Times. Available at: https://goo.gl/b7rM3b (Accessed on February 15, 2018).Google Scholar
El-Ghazali, Mohammed. 2005. Islam and Socialist Approaches. Cairo: Dar al-Shorouk.Google Scholar
El-Mahdi, Rabab. 2009. “The Democracy Movement: Cycles of Protest”. In Egypt: The Movement of Change, eds. El-Mahdi, Rabab and Marfleet, Philip. London: Zed Press, 87–102.Google Scholar
El-said, Hamed, and Harrigan, Jane. 2014. “Economic Reform, Social Welfare, and Instability: Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, 1983–2004.” Middle East Journal 68(1):99–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fam, Mariam, and Reed, Stanely. 2011. “Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Embraces Business.” Bloomberg. Available at: https://goo.gl/yV6ZiQ (Accessed on February 2, 2018).Google Scholar
Gamal, Wael. 2019 “Lost Capital: The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Neoliberal Transformation,” Carnegie Middle East Center. Available at: https://carnegieendowment.org/files/2-1-19_Gamal_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdfGoogle Scholar
Görmüş, Evrim. 2016. “The Economic Ideology of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood: The Changing Discourses and Practices.” Journal of Emerging Economies and Islamic Research 4 (3): 60–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guazzone, Laura, and Pioppi, Daniela. 2009. The Arab State and Neoliberal Globalization: The Restructuring of State Power in the Middle East. Reading: Ithaca Press.Google Scholar
Gumuscu, Sebnem. 2010. “Class, Status, and Party: The Changing Face of Political Islam in Turkey and Egypt.” Comparative Political Studies 43 (7): 835–861.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Habibi, Nader. 2012. “The Economic Agendas and Expected Economic Policies of Islamists in Egypt and Tunisia. Crown Center for Middle East Studies.” Middle East Brief, No. 76.Google Scholar
Haenni, Patrick. 2005. L'Islam de marché : L'autre révolution conservatrice. Paris: Seuil Editio.Google Scholar
Handoussa, Heba. 1997. Economic Transition in the Middle East: Global Challenges and Adjustment Strategies. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.Google Scholar
Hanieh, Adam. 2015. “Shifting Priorities or Business as Usual? Continuity and Change in the Post-2011 IMF and World Bank Engagement with Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 42 (1): 119–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, Susan. 2012. “The Economic Vision of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Millionaires.” Bloomberg. Available at: https://goo.gl/f8aeAS (Accessed on March 5, 2018).Google Scholar
Harvey, David. 2005. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ikhwanonline. 2008. “A Statement from the Muslim Brotherhood on High Prices and Social Injustice).” http://www.ikhwanonline.com/official_statements/33657/Default.aspx (Accessed on August 29, 2018).Google Scholar
Ikhwanwiki. n.d. “Platform of the Muslim Brotherhood's Party.” Available at: https://goo.gl/RDkf5d (Accessed on January 24, 2017).Google Scholar
IMF. 2012. “IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement with Egypt on a US$4.8 Billion Stand-By Arrangement,” IMF, International Financial Statistics.Google Scholar
Joya, Angela. 2011. “The Egyptian Revolution: Crisis of Neoliberalism and the Potential for Democratic Politics.” Review of African Political Economy 38 (129): 367–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joya, Angela. 2017. “Neoliberalism, the State and Economic Policy Outcomes in the Post-Arab Uprisings: The Case of Egypt.” Mediterranean Politics 22 (3): 339–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khattab, Abdallah Shehata. 2012. “Macroeconomic Challenges in Egypt after Revolution: Do Islamic Parties Have a Vision? IMED.” https://goo.gl/D6EsZW (Accessed on February 5, 2018).Google Scholar
Kuran, Timur. 2004. Islam and Mammon: The Economic Predicaments of Islamism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Rebecca, and Sharp, Jeremy. 2013. “Egypt and the IMF: Overview and Issues for Congress.” Congressional Research Service, 7–5700Google Scholar
Roll, Stephan. 2010. “Finance Matters: The Influence of Financial Sector Reforms on the Development of the Entrepreneurial Elite in Egypt.” Mediterranean Politics 15(3):349–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saad-Filho, Alfredo, and Johnston, Deborah. 2005. Neoliberalism: A Critical Reader. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Sika, Nadine. 2012. “Dynamics of a Stagnant Religious Discourse and the Rise of New Secular Movements in Egypt.” In Korany, Bahgat and El-Mahdi, Rabab, eds. Arab Spring in Egypt: Revolution and Beyond. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, pp.63-82.Google Scholar
Tuğal, Cihan. 2009. Passive Revolution: Absorbing the Islamic Challenge to Capitalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuğal, Cihan 2012. “Fight or Acquiesce? Religion and Political Process in Turkey's and Egypt's Neoliberalizations.” Development and Change 43(1):23–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Utvik, Bjørn Olav. 2006. The Pious Road to Development: Islamist Economics in Egypt. London: C. Hurst & Co.Google Scholar
Wickham, Carrie Rosefesky. 2013. Muslim Brotherhood: An Evolution of Islamist Movement. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wight, John. 2013. “The Role of IMF in Morsi's Downfall.” Available at: https://goo.gl/iax1Yd (Accessed on February 15, 2018).Google Scholar
Yalmiz, Ihsan. 2011. “Beyond Post-Islamism: Transformation of Turkish Islamism Toward ‘Civil Islam’ and Its Potential Influence in the Muslim World.” European Journal of Economic and Political Studies 4 (1): 245–280.Google Scholar
Younis, Mohamed. 2012 “Egyptians to Government: Focus on Jobs.” Available at: https://news.gallup.com/poll/155732/Egyptians-Government-Focus-Jobs.aspx?g_source=link_NEWSV9&g_medium=tile_5&g_campaign=item_163796&g_content=Egyptians%2520to%2520Government%3a%2520Focus%2520on%2520JobsGoogle Scholar
Zayed, Al-Saiyyid. 2008. “El-Ghazali: The Brotherhood Has an Economic Vision but the Problem Lies in the Implementation.” Alfajr News. Available at: https://www.turess.com/alfajrnews/7567 (Accessed on February 15, 2018).Google Scholar