The Salafi-Brotherhood Feud in Egypt
Khalil al-Anani writes about the tensions between the Salafi Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The ongoing quarrel between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi’s Nour Party comes as no surprise. Indeed, I would have been worried if they didn’t clash, given their increasing politicization and strong tendency to grab as much power as they can.
While many stories and conclusions can be drawn from the clash between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi, the most striking aspect, however, is the obscene language and mutual accusations and allegations between both sides that overwhelmed the local media over the past few days. They reflect what I called elsewhere “desacralization of Islamism,” where Islamists’ indulgence in politics decreases their credibility and appeal. And the more they do, the less they can maintain their symbolic and moral power.
Nevertheless, the crucial question is: Why the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi, the two major Islamist forces in Egypt, have clashed now? Apart from the theological and ideological differences between both currents (which they have deliberately sought to avert after the revolution), the political conflict between Salafi and Brotherhood is an old and rooted one.
It dates back to the end of the 1970s and the outset of the 1980s, when both groups attempted to dominate the public sphere, particularly in mosques, universities, and charity organizations in Egypt by the end of Anwar Sadat’s reign. Moreover, this conflict turned into violent clashes between the followers of both sides in 1980 when the Muslim Brotherhood attempted to prevent Salafists from disseminating their ideology at Alexandria University. Since then the relationship between the Brotherhood and Salafi was never mended or changed to be friendly.
