The Muslim Brotherhood is tearing itself apart

WHEN HASSAN AL-BANNA founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt nearly a century ago he implored his followers to seek “self-sacrifice, not personal advantage”. Today, though, they are struggling to comply. The oldest and once-powerful Islamist movement has been tearing itself apart. Leaders in Istanbul and London exchange insults, accuse each other of corruption or, worse, serving foreign spy agencies. “Instead of sacrificing themselves they are sacrificing the movement,” says Osama Gaweesh, a former Brother who lives in Britain.There have been arguments within the Brotherhood over strategy and tactics ever since its creation. But the discord worsened after Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, then a general, toppled Egypt’s first democratically elected government, led by the Brotherhood, in 2013. Mr Sisi, who is now president, imprisoned many of the group’s members. Others went into hiding or fled abroad. Disagreements sprang up over how to respond to the repression. An “old guard” prioritised the Brotherhood’s survival and advocated a pragmatic approach in dealing with the Egyptian state. Others favoured a more confrontational stance. Some members turned to violence.