The Politics of Islam: The Muslim Brothers and the State in the Arab Gulf (Hardcover)
In this book, Birol Başkan explains the variation in attitudes and approaches towards the Muslim Brotherhood across 5 Gulf States - a disparity that he argues is at the root of the ongoing Gulf crisis that erupted in June 2017. The Muslim Brotherhood - the oldest, largest and most influential
religious movement in the Muslim world - has often faced repression, most notably in its home country of Egypt. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Gulf States offered Brothers fleeing persecution a safe haven. However, this friendly reception has become increasingly hostile in the 21st century. Following a
crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the summer of 2013, many Gulf States followed suit, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both declaring the movement as terrorist in 2014. By contrast, Qatar has continuously offered a positive reception to the Muslim Brothers.
religious movement in the Muslim world - has often faced repression, most notably in its home country of Egypt. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Gulf States offered Brothers fleeing persecution a safe haven. However, this friendly reception has become increasingly hostile in the 21st century. Following a
crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the summer of 2013, many Gulf States followed suit, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both declaring the movement as terrorist in 2014. By contrast, Qatar has continuously offered a positive reception to the Muslim Brothers.
Birol Başkan is Non-Resident Scholar at The Middle East Institute. He received his PhD in political science from Northwestern University in 2006 and taught at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar from 2010-2018, Qatar University from 2007-2010, and the State University of New York-Fredonia in 2006-2007. Baskan is the author of Turkey and Qatar in the Tangled Geopolitics of the Middle East (Palgrave, 2016) and From Religious Empires to Secular States (Routledge, 2014), and co-editor of State-Society Relations in the Arab Gulf States (Gerlach, 2014).