Brotherhood likely to change tactics in post-coronavirus period

Doaa Emam

The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood find no problem in changing their skin to suit changes happening around them.

The leaders of the group are now making changes to keep up with the coronavirus outbreak around the world. They hope by doing this they can preserve their popularity among youth and attract new supporters.

Ibrahim al-Zaafarani, a former senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said Islamist groups, in general, retreated to the margins in the past period.

All attempts for reforming these groups had failed, he said.

He added that the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, in particular, turned down proposals for change and reform and preferred to keep their organization as is.

The coronavirus pandemic is changing the world dramatically, al-Zaafarani said. Islamist movements will most likely be part of this change.

He said these movements could benefit from this change if they deal properly with it.

Al-Zaafarani noted that the Muslim Brotherhood is in a state of clinical death. This group, he added, needs to redefine its relations with society and the state so that it can live peacefully with everybody.

He said the literature of the Muslim Brotherhood makes it almost impossible for the Islamist group to co-exist with any government anywhere.

This group, he added, needs to change its slogans and ideals, including ones calling for the reinstitution of the Islamic caliphate, and replace them with social freedom.

This resurgence can be led by the Brotherhood’s junior members who are connected with the world in a better way and are well educated, al-Zaafarani said.

He added that the Muslim Brotherhood needed to break away from its past and start a new chapter.