Following the overthrow of Husni Mubarak, al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya and members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad created two political parties. This article investigates these groups’ organizational dynamics and internal dialogues in order to uncover the rationale of their political participation after the January 2011 uprising and its internal ideational legitimization. Based on interviews with leaders and members of these two groups and their political parties, this article argues that these formerly violent insurgent groups embraced nonviolent participation in democratic politics through an internal reassessment of the political opportunities afforded to them by Egypt’s brief political opening.
This paper aims to present an informed vision of the educational and civilizational roles of al-Azhar University as a soft power of Egypt after Mubarak and its future prospects after for Africa. As a result, the study seeks to achieve two main objectives: First: present an overview of al-Azhar educational and religious roles in Africa, second: present a holistic perspective about the role of al-Azhar University in Africa. There is a strong consensus among Egyptians after the 25th of January Revolution of the Arab Spring that al-Azhar must be an independent, respected, and yet supportive of Egypt’s many roles and development and political interests in Africa.