ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of Egypt’s 25 January 2011 revolution and the years since, the country has witnessed a rise in fear of al-Ikhwan, or the Muslim Brotherhood. The current Egyptian government and its allies in the media and religious institutions have generated a fear of Islamists, particularly al-Ikhwan. Their fear-mongering narrative has often taken on Islamophobic language, policies and actions familiar to the West, which has contributed to the rise of Islamophobia driven by widespread anti-Ikhwan sentiment. This sentiment has fuelled Egypt’s ‘War on Terror’ – an expansive crusade against not just the specific terrorist groups attacking Egyptian soldiers in Sinai, but a broader assault on al-Ikhwan and other secular opposition and revolutionary groups. In fact, since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power, this War on Terror has overwhelmingly focused on al-Ikhwan, aiming to ‘otherize’ and ostracize its members, while being used as a pretext to silence revolutionary voices and vigorously ‘de-revolutionize’ Egypt. The erstwhile spirit for democratic reform has been replaced with a hegemonic cultural nationalism.
