JAMIYAT AL-SHUBBAN AL-MUSLIMIN

JAMIYAT AL-SHUBBAN AL-MUSLIMIN. A Pan-Islamic Egyptian political association founded in 1927 in Cairo, the Jam`iyat al-Shubban al-Muslimin was apparently modeled in part on the YMCA and is often referred to as the Young Men’s Muslim Association, the Y.M.M.A. It was created in the midst of the social and political turmoil of Egypt following the nationalist revolution of 1919 and was one of a large number of societies and associations, of a variety of political stripes, formed in Egypt in that period. No doubt the most important of these groups was the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) under the leadership of Hasan al-Banna’. Al-Banns’ played an active role in the creation of the Y.M.M.A. and is said to have related the group’s founding to an increasing dissatisfaction among younger Egyptian activists seeking a central role for Islamic ideals in political and social life with a perceived unwillingness of the religious hierarchy of al-Azhar to address contemporary issues (Mitchell, 1969, p. 5). Despite his support for the Y.M.M.A, al-Banns’ never devoted his full attention to the group. Al-BannA’s assassination in 1949 took place outside the headquarters of the Y.M.M.A. Among those involved in the creation of the Y.M.M.A. and in the formulation of its initial policies and activities were `Abd al-Hamid Bey Said, at the time a leading nationalist and member of the Egyptian parliament; Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib, a bookseller and editor of Majallat al -fath, a weekly publication promoting Islamic views that is often associated with the Salafiyah movement; and Yahya Ahmad al-Dardiri, who served as editor and a frequent contributor to the official publication of the Y.M.M.A. Al-Dardiri also published a history of the organization entitled Al-tariq (The Way). Like the Muslim Brotherhood, the Y.M.M.A. set out rather quickly to establish branches in other areas of the Middle East, chiefly in Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. Branches were established in Jerusalem, Acre, Haifa, and Jaffa by the end of 1928 and in Baghdad and Basra by 1929. The group was established initially as a social, cultural, and religious organization seeking to appeal directly to Egypt’s youth. Its headquarters was the center of literary and educational gatherings, and its members were encouraged to set a moral example for their peers. Perhaps inevitably the leaders of the Y.M.M.A. joined in the many political debates of their day. In writings and lectures, al-Dardiri and other spokesmen for the group addressed grievances related to the presence of a large nonMuslim population in Egypt and its influence on Islamic life; they attacked Jewish immigration into Palestine and the activities of Zionist organizations; and they criticized French colonization of Algeria and Morocco. [See also Muslim Brotherhood, article on Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt; and the biography of Bannd’.] BIBLIOGRAPHY Gibb, H. A. R. Whither Islam? London, 1932. Harris, Christina. Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt. The Hague, 1964. Heyworth-Dunne, James. Religious and Political Trends in Modern Egypt. Washington, D.C., 195o. Husayni, Ishaq Musa al-. The Moslem Brethren. F. Brown et al. Beirut, 1956. Mitchell, Richard P. The Society of the Muslim 1969. Translated by John Brothers. London, MATTHEW S. GORDON