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Islamic Studies Hasan al-Banna
by
Abdullah Al-Arian

Introduction

One of the most significant Islamic figures of the 20th century, Hasan al-Banna was born in 1906 in the town of Mahmudiyah in Egypt. The son of a local religious leader, al-Banna attended Dar al-ʿUlum, Egypt's first modern institute of higher learning, where he was trained as a teacher. In 1928, he founded the Society of the Muslim Brothers (al-ikhwan al-muslimun), considered the oldest organization of Political Islam. Until his death in 1949 at the hands of Egyptian security agents, al-Banna served as the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. Under his strong, charismatic leadership, it became the most significant social movement in Egypt, amassing a following of over one million people and establishing itself as a major force in national politics. Al-Banna's influence extended beyond Egypt, as the Muslim Brotherhood expanded to other countries in the Middle East and served as a model for the rise of religious movements across the Muslim world.

Biographical Works

Scholarship on this important figure in the history of the modern Islamic movement has been generally linked to broader studies of the organization he founded. Nonetheless, there are some works that focus particularly on Hasan al-Banna. Most of these are memoirs of early members and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who spent many years alongside al-Banna as he traveled the country to found local chapters and engaged the political establishment in Cairo. ʿAssaf 1993 and Sisi 1978 are examples of this literature.

On Ideology

Other Muslim Brotherhood figures, including Al-Qaradawi 1979 and Ghanim 1992 examine al-Banna's intellectual contributions. There are few works on Hasan al-Banna outside of the Muslim Brotherhood literature. A noted exception is Rifʿat 1977, which offers a leftist critique of al-Banna.

Works By Hasan Al-Banna

As an activist intellectual and founder of the most prominent Islamic movement of the 20th century, Hasan al-Banna was not a prolific author. He relied largely on a combination of teaching classes of followers, frequent speaking appearances, publishing occasional articles in Muslim Brotherhood periodicals, and writing letters to organization chapters. Following al-Banna's death, these speeches and writings were compiled in several collections, some focused on particular themes, as in al-Banna 1990, and more comprehensive works that contain all of his writings, as in al-Banna 1965. These publications circulated in various forms among the Muslim Brotherhood faithful, often reprinted in later periodicals such as the monthly al-Daʿwa magazine.

English Translations

There are few freestanding English translations of Hasan al-Banna's writings. One collection of some of his most important articles, al-Banna 1978, is out of print. Others, including al-Banna 1981, are offered by small publishers and often suffer from editing and translation problems. Some selections by al-Banna are also found in compilations on Islamic intellectuals, most notably Khater (al-Banna 2003) and Esposito and Donohue (al-Banna 2006).

  • al-Banna, Hasan. Five Tracts of Hasan al-Bannāʾ (1906–1949): A Selection from the Majmūʿat rasāʾil al-Imām al-Shahīd Hasan al-Bannāʾ. Translated by Charles Wendell. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.

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    A translation of the some of al-Banna's most important writings. Now out of print, it is available in many library collections.

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  • al-Banna, Hasan. Memoirs of Hasan al-Banna Shaheed. Translated by M. N. Shaikh. Karachi, Pakistan: International Islamic Publishers, 1981.

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    A compilation of later articles by al-Banna in which he recounts the early years of Islamic activism.

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  • al-Banna, Hasan. “Hasan al-Banna Proclaims Egyptian Nationalism and the Religious Basis for an Islamic State.” In Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East. Edited by Akram Fouad Khater. Boston: Wadsworth Publishing, 2003.

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    Excerpt from al-Banna's writings on the Muslim Brotherhood's political program.

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  • al-Banna, Hasan. “The New Renaissance.” In Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives. 2d ed. Edited by John L. Esposito and John Donohue. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

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    A brief exposition of the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology.

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The Early Muslim Brotherhood: Egyptian Studies

In his role as founder and charismatic leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna's life of activism frequently plays a central role in studies of the organization. Though they are broader in scope, these works shed light on al-Banna's motivations, aims, and contributions to the Islamic movement. Abd al-Halim 1979, a three-volume work, chronicles the early years of the Muslim Brotherhood. The author is both an intellectual and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and his work is both scholarly and deeply personal, as he witnessed some of the most critical moments of the organization's early history alongside al-Banna. Hawwa 1983 is a translation of an important founding document of the Muslim Brotherhood, and this provides a direct example of the mark al-Banna left on the organization. Meanwhile, al-Bishri 1972 and Bayyumi 1991 include an analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood's (and by extension, al-Banna's) role in the wider Egyptian political landscape of the pre-revolutionary period.

  • Abd al-Halim, Mahmud. Al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn Aḥdath Ṣanaʿat al-Tārīkh: Ruʾyah min al-Dākhil. Vols. 1–3. Alexandria, Egypt: Dar al-Daʿwah, 1979.

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    A firsthand account that chronicles the early years of the Muslim Brotherhood, written by a member of al-Banna's inner circle. In Arabic.

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  • Bayyumi, Zakariah Sulaiman. Al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn wa al-Jamāʿāt al-Islāmiyah fī al-Ḥayāt al-Siyāsīyah al-Miṣrīyah, 1928–1948. 2d ed. Cairo: Maktabat al-Wahbah, 1991.

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    A study of the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in pre-revolutionary Egyptian politics. In Arabic.

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  • al-Bishri, Tariq. Al-Ḥaraka al-Siyāsiyya fī Miṣr: 1945–1952. Cairo: Dar al-Tawziʿ wa-al-Nashr al-Islamiyyah, 1972.

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    A leading Egyptian intellectual examines political movements during the period 1945–1952, including the Muslim Brotherhood. In Arabic.

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  • Hawwa, Saeed. The Muslim Brotherhood: Objective, Stages, Method. Translated by Abdul Karim Shaikh. Delhi: Hindustan Publications, 1983.

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    A translation of an early document by a Muslim Brotherhood leader that lays out the organization's mission.

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The Early Muslim Brotherhood: Western Studies

Western scholarship on the Muslim Brotherhood's early period also sheds light on the central role played by its leaders. Mitchell 1969 and Lia 1998, emphasize al-Banna's charismatic authority and his impact on the direction and decisions of the Muslim Brotherhood in its interaction with Egypt's political establishment. Earlier studies of Egypt, such as Heyworth-Dunne 1950 and Harris 1964, examine the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the larger spectrum of social and political movements in pre-revolutionary Egypt. These works demonstrate al-Banna's role in defining the movement's goals and carving out a place for it in a crowded field of political activism. Finally, another category of literature examines important trends in the so-called Islamic revival. Many of these works attempt to place al-Banna and his movement within the larger historical context of Islamic thought and activism, including Gibb 1947, Hourani 1962, and Ramadan 1998.

  • Gibb, H. A. R. Modern Trends in Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1947.

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    A general study of early 20th-century Islamic movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

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  • Harris, Christina Phelps. Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt: The Role of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Hague: Mouton, 1964.

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    Examines the Muslim Brotherhood's perspective on Egypt's 1952 revolution in light of the group's pre-revolutionary social and political activism.

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  • Heyworth-Dunne, James. Religious and Political Trends in Modern Egypt. Washington, DC: McGregor & Werner, 1950.

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    An examination of the growing importance of the Muslim Brotherhood in pre-revolutionary Egyptian politics.

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  • Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798–1939. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.

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    Though it addresses the modern history of Islamic thought more broadly, this study is of critical importance to the understanding of al-Banna's intellectual foundation. It provides the context to the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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  • Lia, Brynjar. The Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt: The Rise of an Islamic Mass Movement, 1928–1942. Reading, UK: Ithaca Press, 1998.

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    A study of the early years of the Muslim Brotherhood. Makes use of private documents collection from the al-Banna family.

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  • Mitchell, Richard P. The Society of the Muslim Brothers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.

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    The seminal study of the early Muslim Brotherhood. Examines the organization's history, structure, and ideology from its founding through its suppression in 1954.

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  • Ramadan, Tariq. Aux sources du renouveau m usulman: D'al-Afghāni à Hassan al-Bannā un siécle de réformisme islamique. Paris: Bayard Editions/Centurion, 1998.

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    A study of the major figures of Islamic revival in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In French.

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LAST MODIFIED: 12/14/2009

DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195390155-0006

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