Muhammad M. El-Hodaiby

Muhammad M. El-Hodaiby is Deputy General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, an Islamic liberation movement. In the following viewpoint, El-Hodaiby maintains that the tenets of Islam uphold justice, human dignity, pluralism, and nonviolence. Misleading Western interpretations of Islamic fundamentalism, he contends, have led many to conclude that Islamic renewal movements are narrow-minded and inherently violent. Islamic teachings, however, eschew violence. Those Muslims who do participate in violence are reacting, in a misguided way, to governmental attempts to suppress Islamic resurgence. In actuality, El-Hodaiby argues, most Islamic revival movements simply wish to help Muslims—many of whom have lived under imperialist domination—return to the principles of true Islam.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How did Western imperialism affect Muslim societies, in El- Hodaiby’s opinion?
2. According...