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The Fourth Ordeal: A History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, 1968-2018

Published in 2021 by Cambridge University Press. © Victor J. Willi 2021

Summary

The Fourth Ordeal tells the history of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from the late 1960s until 2018. Based on over one-hundred and forty first-hand Oral History interviews with leaders, rank-and-file members and dissidents, as well as a wide range of original written sources, the story traces the Brotherhood’s re-emergence and rise following the collapse of Nasser’s Arab nationalism, all the way to its short-lived experiment with power and the subsequent period of imprisonment, persecution and exile. Unique in terms of its source base, this book provides readers with unprecedented insight into the Brotherhood’s internal politics during 50 years of its history.

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Praise for The Fouth Ordeal

Hazem Kandil

Cambridge University
"This superb oral history offers a forensic analysis of the Brotherhood’s far-from-inevitable rise and fall from power in Egypt. Brothers are presented neither as victims nor villains, rather as social actors forced to make difficult choices in unprecedented circum-stances. With enviable scholarly impartiality, The Fourth Ordeal is history at its best."

Eugene Rogan

University of Oxford
"A compelling and dramatic account of the rise of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood from suppressed oppo-sition movement to the pinnacle of presidential power, only to be over-in 2013 and banned as a terrorist organization. An outstanding book, drawing on extensive interviews of Muslim Brothers and their opponents, Victor J. Willi tells the story of the Brotherhood in their own words and as he himself witnessed events in the 2010s. The best book available on the most influential Islamist movement in the world."

Brynjar Lia

University of Oslo
"A highly readable account of the Muslim Brotherhood’s modern history, based on a well of primary sources and interviews. Focusing on factional struggles between old-school leaders and younger reformists, the book offers an insightful interpretation of the background to the failed Morsi presidency and the movement’s sup-pression in 2013."

The Fourth Ordeal in the News

  • "Why the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power in Egypt failed"  by Andrew Hammond in Middle East Eye, January 2021 (read here)
  • "The Egyptian Uprising through the Lens of the Muslim Brotherhood"  by Andrew Hammond in Maydan , January 2021 (read here)

Argument of The Fourth Ordeal

The Fourth Ordeal looks at the internal rivalry between two political factions within the Muslim Brotherhood, each of which had a specific idea about the kind of organization the Brotherhood should be. Throughout the 50-year period, these factions competed against each other over hegemony and resources, basing their legitimacy on contrasting intellectual traditions, political cultures and value system. The adherents of Sayyid Qutb prioritized a closed, pyramid-shaped and exclusive organizational design, while the disciples of the third General Guide of the Brotherhood, ‘Omar al-Tilmisani, aspired to an organization that should be open to outsiders and where internal progression would be based on meritocracy, transparency and democratic governance. The book argues that it was due to the inability of these two factions to resolve their differences and unite behind a common vision that Brotherhood’s fall from power can best be explained.
The Fourth Ordeal is based on more than 140 Oral History interviews with current and former Brotherhood members across all organizational levels, which were conducted between May 2012 and January 2019 in Cairo, Alexandria, Doha, Istanbul, Ankara, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Berlin, Munich, Geneva and other places. The book uses the life trajectories and personal experiences of these individuals within the larger context of national and international politics, providing readers with an original historical account of the Brotherhood’s history during 50 years. An extensive overview of the source base can be found on the online archive www.thefourthordeal.com.