ABSTRACT
This chapter looks into the role of the networks and alliances that helped form the movement and sustain its presence for several decades. It discusses the role that each of the intellectuals played in Egypt and in Hasan al-Banna's life, and considers other available resources, particularly Saudi support, as well as the position of the movement as a resource incubator. The Wahhabi Brotherhood was characterized by its rather strict puritanical beliefs, looking at the first generation of Muslims as the role model for the present and the future, and in so doing, it took the holy texts literally rather than allowing for flexible ijtihad, or interpretation. Members from the Gulf states were also said to be represented in the Guidance Bureau, but these members and other supporters in the Gulf "were always deployed to collect moneys for the international network of Ikhwan".
