On 21 September 2023, the MENA Prison Forum hosted a conversation with Dr. Michael Farquhar on his upcoming project addressing how Islamist political activists have experienced and been affected by state violence. His research focuses on Egyptian state crackdowns on Muslim Brotherhood members in the late 1940s to 1970s, and places this period of violence in conversation with a wider set of theoretical debates about Islamists and state violence, throughout the MENA region and historical and contemporary periods. The dominant academic focus has been focused more on Islamist groups as actors of violence, not as targets, which is what Farquhar’s research aims to address.
In looking at political violence against Islamists in Egypt specifically, Farquhar notes that that political violence exercised by the state has been indiscriminate in targeting many sections of society, but has also specifically targeted Islamist movements over the years. His research contextualizes political violence against these groups in light of recent seminal types of violence, such as the Rabaa massacre in 2013 and the large incarceration of Islamists in recent years.
His research aims to add to and complicate existing theories used to explain the dynamics of group reactions to state policies, such as social movement theory and anthropology. However, Farquhar has identified shortcomings to these theories in capturing the interplay between political violence and Islamists groups, as they do not adequately take into account the religious underpinnings and guidance within these types of movements.
Farquhar has also noted a recent phenomenon of human rights approaches stopping short of being extended to the treatment of members of Islamist groups as part of securitization concerns, counter-terror policies, and overall dehumanization of members of Islamist groups.
The conversation subsequently allowed for an open Q&A session of suggested readings, approaches, and methods among Farquhar and the event participants.