Hassan AL Banna

Hasan al-Banna (1906–1949) was an Egyptian Islamic reformer and the founder of the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimmen. Raised in a religious household, he combined traditional Islamic education with modern schooling. His early exposure to Westernization in Cairo deeply concerned him, particularly the spread of secularism and the moral decline of Muslim society. Influenced by reformist thinkers such as Rashid Rida, al-Banna believed that Islam’s decline could only be reversed through a return to its original principles.

In 1928, he established the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimmen to promote Islam as a comprehensive system governing individual, social, and political life. The movement emphasized moral reform, social welfare, and Muslim unity while opposing Western cultural and political dominance. Under al-Banna’s leadership, the Brotherhood expanded rapidly in Egypt and across the Muslim world through a structured and gradual reform strategy.

Although initially committed to peaceful reform, growing political repression in the late 1940s led to increased tensions with the Egyptian state. The Ikhwan-ul-Muslimmen. was banned in 1948, and al-Banna was assassinated in 1949. Despite his death, his ideas continued to shape Islamic movements globally and remain influential in contemporary Islamic revivalism.