Exploring Individual Motivation for Social Change : Mobilization of the Muslim Brotherhood's Youth in Prerevolutionary Egypt

Abstract: During the 2010s islamist activism is on the rise across the Middle East and North Africa. In the light of the postrevolutionary elections in Egypt and Tunisia, Islamist parties are sweeping the polls supported by theoverwhelming majority of voters. This dissertation investigates the dynamic of this support for theEgyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The explanation of individual activists’ motivation behind this form ofmiddle-class activism has been investigated by exploring individual beliefs, emotions and identities.Activists’ motivational explanations and representation do not develop in a vacuum, outside of aspecific context. Explaining the configuration of collective action therefore requires an analysis of apattern of social characteristics using a spectrum of social movement theories. The long-termcontentious relationship between the various Egyptian authoritarian regimes and the MuslimBrotherhood produced an Islamist resistance culture with a particular set of incitements for wouldbe activists. Middle-class activists have primarily been motivated by the Brotherhood’s ability toeducate its followers through a multi-stage membership process. During this process youth activistshave acquired a strengthened sense of individual purpose. They also possess organizational skills andhave successfully ascended the social ladder, leading to a feeling of moral superiority and a degreeof personal autonomy even within an authoritarian socio-political context. The social movementorganization serves as a facilitator of structured dissent and its success depends ultimately on itsability to recognize the basic needs of a frustrated population. Sympathizers of a particular socialmovement organization in turn seek realistic forms of dissent which correspond to their system ofvalues and practices.