The Idea of jihad and Its Evolution: Hasan al-Banna and the Society of the Muslim Brothers

This article aims to present the evolution of jihad in Hasan al-Banna's thought and writings throughout the 1930s, the first decade of the Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt. While in the early years of the Society al-Banna gave jihad a moderate interpretation, the idea assumed a different, more militant one during the latter half of the 1930s. This change corresponded with and reflected a transformation that the Society itself experienced; from a developing socio-religious Society to one that was intertwined with Egyptian politics and won the support of the masses. This analysis revolves around two rasail written by al-Banna during this formative period of his Society - Da'watuna and Risalat al-Jihad.