State and Civil Society as defined by the Muslim Brothers in Europe

Abstract

In the last ten years political Islam, as well as its aims and strategies, has developed into one of the most discussed political issues in Europe. Nevertheless scant attention has been paid to the concrete theoretical concepts lying behind the different political strategies of Islamist groups in Europe. This article intends to offer an insight into the different concepts of state and society defined by the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most influential organizations of political Islam in Europe. The focus of the analysis is on those concepts that have been developed in and for Europe, as well as their relationship to different European discourses concerning the ideas of accommodation of religious practices and identities within the framework of the European secular states. In short, it offers an analysis of state-theoretical concepts of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe as developed in the last ten years and their relationship with the dominant European discourses over state, civil society and democracy.