The Islamization Of The Egyptian Student Movement In Sadat Era And Its Influence

The 1970 s was a critical period of political transition in Egypt,with Sadat implementing limited pluralism in party politics and the “Open Policy” in economy,breaking the diplomatic deadlock and becoming a pro-western country.The rapid transformation of political life has greatly influenced the growth and development of a generation of young people.In 1973,by using Cairo University as the base,Islamic students gradually established a highly disciplined and well-organized Islamic student organization(Jama'at-i-Islami)covering all major universities in the country.Islamic students received a lot of money from the Gulf countries and provided a series of services on campus for students inside the organization.They hold large-scale summer camps every year,focusing on religious education and spreading the idea of Islamic modernism.Since the mid-1970 s,Islamic students had frequently contacted with the restructured Muslim Brotherhood to participate in Islamic social activities.By the end of the 1970 s,radical students on campuses became one of the main opposition forces towards Sadat's regime.Facing the government's various interferences and constant control over student activities on campuses,Islamic students turned to participate in the Islamic movements in public.There are many reasons why the Islamic student movement on campuses was active.The beneficiaries of political and economic reform under the leadership of the government were not the poor students who were generally in the middle and lower classes.The acceptance of higher education did not enable them to move upward in society,but deepened their separation from secular regimes.The embarrassment of real life prompted more and more young people to join Islamic groups on campuses or in society to express their opposition to the government and safeguard their rights and interests.The political transformation pursued by Sadat did not bring benefits to the Egyptian youth at the bottom of society.The implementation of the economic open policy,guided by market demand,requires higher employment for graduates.Second,the government did not perfect the reform of higher education or balance the unequal distribution of educational opportunities,therefore,young people in the middle and lower classes with few market advantages and mature social relations had to wait for the government to arrange for employment as usual.The rapid expansion of the universities led to more graduates facing less opportunities with the treatment of the national civil servants deteriorated significantly and the unemployment of graduates intensified.There is a huge gap between the career aspirations of college students and their actual employment incomes.Finally,Sadat pursued a multi-party reform but the ruling party was reluctant to share its vested interests with young people,while the legitimate opposition parties were weaker and could not effectively represent young people.The establishment and early development of Islamic student organizations were supported by the Sadat government.In the late 1970 s,with the open policy promoted by the secular government,a series of serious social problems occurred : The polarization between the rich and the poor was severe;the class contradictions were sharp,and the unemployment of college graduates was worse.Islamic students began to oppose the internal and external policies of the secular government in public.Accordingly,the government began to curb the development of political liberalization on campuses.In 1977,a large-scale of civil unrest happened in Egypt.Sadat began to tighten the process of political democratization and gradually controlled the student movement on campuses.Islamic students started to walk out of the campus and participate in Islamic activities in the social fie ld.The Gamat organization gradually split inside and the students chose two different Islamic roads.Some young people advocated Qutbu's extreme violent thoughts,formingor participating in Islamic extremist organizations in society and promote violent overthrow of secular regime.In the contact with the Muslim Brotherhood,the other part of the students gradually accepted the path of moderate Islamic reformism.After graduation,the se students joined the Brotherhood to continue the Islamic mission.In the 1970 s,the Islamic student movement on the campuses left a deep imprint on young people,directly affecting the religious confrontation in the Egyptian political area for more than 30 years afterwards.Islamic students joined the Brotherhood and provided fresh blood into the Brotherhood.Under Mubarak's more loosing policy,the Brotherhood would gradually infiltrate into civil society and win the election of major professional associations in Egypt step by step.In the late 1990 s,Mubarak began to restrict the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood.The new students in the Muslim Brotherhood proposed the Islamic intermediary trend and believed that Islamism and modern constitutionalism were compatible.