The Egypt Coup's Implications for Mainstream Islamism

Because the Muslim Brotherhood is the largest international Islamist movement, the ouster of Egypt's Brotherhood-led government has implications for the broader Arab and Muslim world. The military coup, which followed days of mass protests in the streets of Egypt, will shape the behavior of Brotherhood organizations and their opponents throughout the region. Although these Islamist groups, having long sought to establish an Islamic state through democratic politics, will be forced to further temper their ideological agendas, many that have only recently joined the political mainstream (Salafists), or are in the process of doing so (Afghanistan's Taliban), will see the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's experience as vindication of their use of armed struggle.