Hassan al-Banna

Hassan al-Banna was an Egyptian schoolteacher and imam who founded the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential Islamic revivalist organizations in the 20th century. He was born in a rural town in the Nile Delta, where he received a traditional religious education from his father, a mosque imam and a watch repairer. He was influenced by the reformist ideas of Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida, and joined the Society for Moral Behaviour and the Society for Prevention of the Forbidden when he was 12 years old. He studied at the Dar al-Ulum, a teacher-training school in Cairo, and graduated in 1927. He was assigned to teach Arabic in a primary school in Ismailia, near the Suez Canal, where he witnessed the British colonial presence and its impact on the Egyptian society. He was also exposed to the Sufi teachings of the Shadhiliyya order, which he joined in 1923. In 1928, he founded the Society of the Muslim Brothers, or the Muslim Brotherhood, with six workers from a British camp. The society aimed at reviving Islam and reforming the society according to Islamic principles. It also engaged in social welfare, education, and political activism. The Muslim Brotherhood grew rapidly in the 1930s and 1940s, attracting members from various segments of the Egyptian society, and establishing branches in other countries. Al-Banna moved to Cairo in 1932, where he continued his teaching career and his leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. He wrote extensively on Islamic topics, such as jurisprudence, ethics, spirituality, and politics. He advocated for a comprehensive system of life based on the Quran and the Sunnah, and rejected Western materialism, imperialism, and secularism. He called for the Islamization of the state, the economy, and the society, and the establishment of a just and moral order. He also appealed to Egyptian and pan-Arab nationalism, but regarded all Muslims as members of a single nation-community. He supported the Palestinian cause and opposed the Zionist movement. He also denounced the corruption and tyranny of the Egyptian monarchy and the political parties. He sought a tactical alliance with the government, but also faced repression and persecution from the authorities. He and his followers were accused of being involved in several assassinations, such as that of Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Nuqrashi in 1948. Al-Banna himself was assassinated by the government agents in 1949, at the age of 42. His death sparked a wave of sympathy and admiration for him and his movement, and also a radicalization of some of his followers, who adopted a more violent and militant approach. Al-Banna is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of the modern Islamic movement, and his writings and teachings have inspired generations of Muslims around the world.