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The Society of the Muslim Brothers (often simply الإخوان Al-Ikhwān, The Brotherhood or MB) is an Islamist transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. The group is the world's oldest and largest Islamic political group, and the "world's most influential Islamist movement." It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and Sufi schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna.
The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state". Since its inception in 1928 the movement has officially opposed violent means to achieve its goals, with some exceptions such as in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or to overthrow secular Ba'athist dictators in Syria where they were routinely massacred (see Hama massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre). Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, says "Unlike the jihadis, it does not believe it is at war with the West. It is conservative and non-violent," and "untested in government and poorly understood - especially in the West. This position has been questioned, particularly by the Nationalist Secularist NDP Egyptian government currently headed by Hosni Mubarak, which accused the group of a campaign of killings in Egypt after World War II to oppose British rule.
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