Study: Salafism a strong influence in Brotherhood

A new study shows a growing Salafist trend within the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamist opposition group. The study, conducted by Hossam Tammam, a journalist and researcher at the futurology department of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, said the group's "inherent Salafism" was recently represented in the organization's imbalanced stances.

Salafist inclinations have caused the group to drift away from the policies it adopted during its foundation, says the study which is titled: ”The Salafization of the Brotherhood: The Group’s Eroding Creed and Rising Salafism.” It argues that the Brotherhood suffered the “strongest internal organizational quake” while running its own leadership elections in late 2009 and early 2010.

The Brotherhood's elections put the group's conservative guard on top.

The group's founder, Hassan al-Banna, sought a different role for Salafism than is now conceived, says the study, which adds that the spirit of Sufism exists in the group's organizational structure.

The Muslim Brotherhood's "Salafization" process has gone through two developments: the changes witnessed during the 1970s and the fallout of the Nasserist era, according to the study.

But the 1980s saw Salafism within the group enter a state of stagnancy due to other issues of greater interest for Egyptians, says the study.