THE ANATOMY OF AN OPPOSING SUNNI MOVEMENT IN SYRIA: THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD (AL-’IHWĀN AL-MUSLIMŪN)

In this study, such questions as how the Muslim Brotherhood did emerge; how did it develop; what kind of effects had it on the Syrian politics, will be answered. As a strong opposition movement which had a wide base and a solid organizational structure, how did it try to spread the invitation at homes, mosques and teahouses; and by this way finding an echo at the base of society especially among rural people, how did it influence the Syrian people and the political line of Syrian State, will be evaluated. The formative phase of the movement, its administrative structure, the classes which formed its base, its interaction with other intellectual movements, the attitudes of the Baath Party to the secularism and its role on Syrian politics, and the transformation with Bashar al- Assad period, will be discussed. In addition, events in Hama, the repercussions of the Arab Spring and the effects of Muslim Brotherhood to the Arab Spring process, will be examined.