Egypt's Atrophy Could Revive the Brotherhood

The unprecedented political, economic, and social crises in Egypt may trigger a resurgence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has historically filled gaps the state cannot meet.

On the morning of 4 March, the State Security Criminal Court in Egypt sentenced the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide Mohammed Badie to death, along with seven of the outlawed group's leaders (Mahmoud Ezzat, Mohamed el-Beltagy, Amr Zaki, Osama Yassin, Safwa Hegazy, Assem Abdel Maged, and Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud) for organizing acts of violence eleven years ago in the so-called 'Platform Events' case.

The case traces back to 2013, days after the Egyptian military ousted the late Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Mursi in a Saudi–UAE-backed coup.

Technically, this ruling marked 80-year-old Badie's third encounter with a death sentence following the infamous "Rabaa Operations Room" case in 2015.

Yet, beyond notions of 'justice,' a deeper narrative unfurls – one laden with political gravitas. The court's ruling wasn't solely about holding individuals accountable for past transgressions; it was a strategic move by the Egyptian state.

Ticking time bomb

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is fearful of the impending social upheaval anticipated as a result of the state's faltering economy, flawed fiscal policies, decline in Arab world clout, and Egypt's impotence in the face of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Gaza – all ingredients for a potential powder keg primed to detonate.

Commentators suggest the next explosion could be of an unprecedented scale, eclipsing the Bread Intifada of 1977 and the 25 January revolution of 2011.

He recalled the role of the Brotherhood in the 1948 War, and then the effects of the Nakba on Egypt and the policies of the state, aimed at eradicating the popular Islamic social and political movement since the fifties:

....If the government fails to tread carefully in domestic affairs – particularly with the backdrop of Israel's genocidal assault on Muslims right on Egypt's border – the Brotherhood could re-emerge from the shadows, colliding head-on with the state once again.

🔗Source: The Cradle

Related: 3/19 — Egypt Saw Gas Trade with Israel Soar in 2023

2/18 — Egypt Building Walled Camp in Sinai Desert to Absorb Palestinian Refugees from Gaza

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