Wednesday, September 11, 2013, 7.30 p.m.

Hilton Hotel Gendarmenmarkt, Mohrenstraße 30, 10117 Berlin

Video Documentation

On July 3, 2013, Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi was ousted after mass protests which were unprecedented in Egyptian history, with the help of the military. This caused a major defeat for the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood in its stronghold Egypt.

Mursi's downfall is seen as a direct result of the unscrupulousness with which the Muslim Brotherhood tried to impose its notions on the Egyptian society. Hopes were high that the Muslim Brotherhood would turn out to be pragmatic and capable to reform itself. The ideological roots of the Islamist movement and how the Brotherhood considers its own development were hardly discussed so far.

While German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called Mursi's overthrow "a severe backlash for democracy" and the Obama administration still lacks a clear policy concerning Egypt, the Egyptian military started a bloody fight with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood refused every offer of political participation and demanded Mursi to be restored to power. In recent weeks this fight caused hundreds of casualties and threw Egypt into domestic instability and uncertainty.

What is the impact of the power struggle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood on Egyptian society? What are the implications for the Muslim Brotherhood's numerous offshoots like the Palestinian Hamas or the Tunisian Ennahda? Can the Muslim Brotherhood become moderate in a democratic process? What is the Brotherhood's basic ideology? We invite you to discuss these issues with our distinguished speakers.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bock is a jurist with a focus on public law, canon law, legal theory and legal history. Numerous publications on the topics of Islam and legal systems in Islamic societies. Since 2012 he's Studienreferent for Constitutional and International Law at the Berlin-based Federal College for Security Studies and Adjunct Professor at the Law Faculty of the Justus Liebig University of Giessen.

Dr. Matthias Küntzel is a political scientist and publicist. He is author of "Jihad and Jew-hatred", a book that illuminates the history and ideology of the Muslim brotherhood between 1928 and 2001. He was honored with the Paul-Ehrlich – Gunther Schwerin Human Rights Award of the American Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2011.

Event in German language.

A Berlin Middle East Talk (B'EMET) by Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) and the Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin (MFFB).