The Reconfiguration of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

The violent conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian state institutions escalated after Mohamed Morsi and his government were overthrown in July 2013. The crackdown on the movement since then has included the killing of thousands of its supporters, the arrest of tens of thousands of Islamist opponents of the regime, the banning of the movement, its classification as a terrorist organization, and the elimination of its economic and social infrastructure. The Muslim Brotherhood’s desperate state has led to far reaching changes in its structure, ideology, and nature of activity by the movement and its supporters in Egypt. The process of Muslim Brotherhood members slipping into various types of violent action is clear, and it is believed that at least some of the small terrorist cells operating in the Nile Valley region were founded by former Muslim Brotherhood activists. It is also known that a number of former activists have joined the Islamic State branch in the Sinai Peninsula over the past two years….