The Islamic Movement in Egypt Perceptions of International Relations 1967-81 by Walid M. Abdelnasser. London: Kegan Paul International, 1994, 308 pp.

Abstract

The author of this book is a member of the Egyptian diplomatic service
with a Ph.D. from the University of Geneva. This study employs carefully
defined concepts, the most important one being Islamism as the politicization
of Islamic symbols. In addition, however, he defines the boundary
between the internal world of perceptions and the external world that is
being perceived as the ummah. In so doing, the author logically raises the
question of the universalism of Islam and the particularism of Egyptian
nationalist foreign policy perceptions. It is this carefulness that allows the
author to tell the story of Islamic ideological perceptions objectively and
without raising controversies of theological interpretation.
The book begins with a historical treatment of the Islamic perception
of international relations from the foreign policy of the Prophet Muhammad
to the formulations of al-Afghani, 'Abduh, and Ri<;ia. He includes in
this survey the organizational development and points of view of the allkhwan
al-Muslimm, the al-Jama'at al-Isla.m1yah, and the clandestine
organizations, (e.g., Shabab Mul:tammad, al-Takfir wa al-Hijrah, and alJihad).
He then goes on to identify the positions of these organizations on
the internal issues of the Muslim world, e.g., the Iranian revolution, the
Muslim world in general, and the attitude toward particular Muslim countries.
On the question of the Iranian revolution, the Ikhwan initially supported
it but, as the Iranians attacked it and its leader, al-Tilmasiin1, this
support cooled. The Ikhwan had less concern with the Shi'ism of the
Iranian revolution than did the remaining more extreme groups in Egypt.
These supported the revolution but had doubts about its Shi'ism.
The "external" issue of the Israeli Zionist threat also provides evidence
of relative moderation by the lkhwan. It initially opposed the Egyptian­
Israeli peace but then tacitly came to accept it. It also was totally opposed
to the normalization of relations with Israel. As the author notes, this position
was very much in conformity with Egyptian public sentiment. The
other groups, on the other hand, remained adamantly opposed.
In general, the Egyptian Muslim organizational point of view of
foreign policy naturally responded to international forces. Thus, they
were uniformly opposed to communism and especially the Soviet invasion ...