Sammendrag
In the wake of the Egypt's "January 25th Revolution" this thesis explores the background of some leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood as members of the Islamist student movement al-Jamā´a al-`Islāmiyya. The movement emerged on the Egyptian universities in the 1970s, winning landslide victories in a number of student elections and also gaining increasing influence in society outside campus.
The thesis demonstrates the pivotal role played by the Muslim Brotherhood in regard to changing the minds of the majority of the Islamist students on the issue of violence. Brotherhood members approached central leaders of al-Jamā´a al-`Islāmiyya in the mid 1970s and were able to persuade the students into adopting anti-violent position. The student leaders also ended up joining the Brotherhood, a movement in which they have been important members up until now.
This thesis highlights the potential of change and moderation within Islamist movements inclined to violence.