3 - The Rise of the Vanguard (1981–1991)

Summary

This chapter traces the ascendency of the Brotherhood’s traditional leaders within the Brotherhood after its formal reconstitution in 1982, and the ways in which this development conflicted with the aspirations of an upwardly mobile class of former student activists. Starting with Hosni Mubarak’s early presidency, the chapter shows how the recently graduated student activists came to assume important positions within key institutions of the Egyptian state, and how the senior leaders sought to counter their influence by asserting control over the Brotherhood’s organizational joints – both at home through the ‘Egypt Office’ and internationally through the ‘International Organization’. The chapter ends with the Iraqi attack on Kuwait in August 1990 and the subsequent US-led intervention. This event showed the extent to which the Brotherhood’s stance on international politics meant the temporary demise of the International Organization, which led to a weakening of the organization in Egypt. Based on memories of key Brotherhood leaders, Oral History interviews with organizational members and eyewitnesses, a reading of original texts published by the Brotherhood, prison-writings, pamphlets and magazines, and a survey of the scholarly literature, the chapter traces how, despite emerging internal organizational disagreements, the Brotherhood was able to expand its activities and membership numbers.