Abstract
I seek to illustrate in this article the process of democratic learning among Islamists, specifically past and current members of the Muslim Brotherhood [MB], in Egypt between 2011 and 2013. These activists participated in a process of political learning that did not occur along a linear sequence from radical or moderate. I interviewed Islamists who were involved in various political activity through either the Freedom and Justice Party [FJP] or other parties such as Egyptian Current and Strong Egypt. They had acquired political knowledge, namely norms and values, in the context of a collective movement. Previous experiences of political activism also fostered and reinforced certain types of values and behaviour. This article analyses the impact of the norms of public service and cooperation among Islamist activists on the Egyptian political scene. A meaningful cultural repertoire shaped the scope and nature of reformist projects of popular change. In the recent past, the MB was involved in a variety of activities, from contesting elections in the 1980s to marhala amal ma‘a al-mujtama‘ during 2000s, in a demonstrable eschewal of the use of violence. Newly legalised political parties founded by Islamists after 2011 cooperated with different ideological groups and movements.
