Muslim Brotherhood

The Society of the Muslim Brothers (Arabic: جماعة الإخوان المسلمين, romanized: Jamāʿat al-Ikhwān al-Muslimīn), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood (الإخوان المسلمون, al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn), is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings spread far beyond Egypt, influencing various Islamist movements from charitable organizations to political parties.

Initially, as a pan-Islamist, religious, and social movement, its members preached Islam in Egypt, taught the illiterate, and set up hospitals and business enterprises. The group later advanced into the political arena, aiming to end British colonial rule in Egypt. The movement's self-stated aim is the establishment of a state ruled by Sharia under a caliphate, with one of its most well-known slogans being "Islam is the solution". The group combines political activism with Islamic charity work.

The group spread to other Muslim countries but still has one of its largest organizations in Egypt, despite a succession of government crackdowns since 1948. It remained a fringe group in the politics of the Arab world until the 1967 Six-Day War, when Islamism replaced popular secular Arab nationalism after a resounding Arab defeat by the State of Israel. The movement was also supported by Saudi Arabia, with which it shared mutual enemies like communism.

The Arab Spring initially brought the group legalization and substantial political power, but that expansion had suffered reversals by 2013.