Raffaele Crocco will moderate the discussion.
To fully understand the contemporary Arab world, it is essential to grasp the concept of political Islam, whose main movement is the “Muslim Brotherhood.” Founded in 1928 by a charismatic teacher, Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood has always been active in the educational, social, and political spheres, creating networks of counter-power and earning the sympathy of large segments of the population, initially in Egypt and later throughout the Arab and Islamic world, even spreading to Europe and the United States (though in the West it has taken on different characteristics). Paolo Gonzaga examines the history of this movement, which in turn gave rise to numerous other groups and still today embodies a dichotomy between a more radical, conservative wing and a more reformist, pragmatic one. The Muslim Brotherhood remains a broad school of thought and one of the last mass organizations, present in dozens of countries, with governing experiences such as “Hamas” in Gaza on one side and the Tunisian “Nahda” on the other: two experiences that are almost at opposite ends of the spectrum but are rooted in the same ideological and organizational foundations described in the book.
