This thesis looks at the Ikhwan movement from an historical point of view and focuses on going back to the roots of the movement which is tied to the religious revivalism initiated by Muhammad al-Wahhab in the late 1700s. The religious doctrine which evolved from this religious revival movement condoned and legitimized both the formation of modern Saudi Arabia under the rule of the al-Saud family and the Ikhwan. Hence, Wahhabism is the underlying theme to three historical events: the first Wahhabi movement of the 1700s, the Ikhwan under Ibn Saud and the Neo-Ikhwan under al-Utaybi. All of these events should be regarded as one movement, where Wahhabism provides the link or key to understanding the Ikhwan not only as a political/military organization but as a religious movement as well.

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Recent events suggest Islamism is a relatively new trend; however, Islamist organizations have functioned in the Middle East as entrenched social movements, religious groups, and even political parties since the onset of the 20th century. Moreover, the portrayal of these organizations as stagnant or reified is inaccurate; these groups often display both verbal and behavioural signs of tactical, strategic, and in some cases, ideological change over time. This study explores if and how Islamist organizations change their platforms and pattern of action in the context of the state-led liberalization (and its aftermath) that swept the Middle East in the 1970s and 80s. This period of time is quite revealing with respect to state-Islamist relations due to economic constraints compelling the state to negotiate with domestic social forces that it would have otherwise repressed. In many of these phases of controlled liberalization, the state and prominent Islamist groups entered into an informal 'pact', which delineated the demands, promises, and boundaries involved in this process of 'opening'. This study suggests that it is not solely the violent or non-violent approach by the state to these groups that determines whether Islamists employ conflictive or cooperative patterns of action. Instead, this study hypothesizes that it is the convergence or divergence of the state from the 'pact' that determines the Islamist response; this allows us to better understand Islamist activity that seems 'unexpectedly' cooperative or conflictive vis-a-vis the state. The case studies of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and Egypt, and the Front Islamique du Salut in Algeria allow for a comparative exploration of this phenomenon.

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