The Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-i Islami in Europe. Post-Islamism or Soft-Power Islamism?
This public lecture is now available as MP3 (please listen to the file above in two parts).
Hasan al-Banna, who founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 1928, and Abul A‘la Mawdudi, who founded the Jamaat-i Islami in British India in 1941, are usually dubbed Islamists because their aim was to establish an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. However, to many observers, the various Arab and South Asian branches of these movements today seem to be pursuing more limited national goals and to have adopted a pragmatic approach, embracing pluralism and parliamentary democracy. The lecture will focus on individuals and organisations in Europe suspected of having links to the Brotherhood or the Jamaat, with a view to determining whether there exists a global Islamic movement with a clear strategy and long-term goals.
Neal Robinson is Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at ANU. He was born and bred in the UK but has also lived and worked in France, Belgium and South Korea. Although best known for his writings on the Qur’an, he has a long-standing interest in Islam in Europe. He has published essays and articles on the European fascination with Islam; the Rushdie affair; English translations of the Qur’an; Muslims in France; the Addawa Mosque in Paris; Roger Garaudy, the high-profile French Communist convert to Islam; and Mohammed Arkoun, a leading Franco-Algerian Muslim intellectual.
To view the flyer for this event please see: The Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-i Islami in Europe. Post-Islamism or Soft-Power Islamism?
