The Influence of Religious Life of al-Banna on The Mystical Identity of Muslim Brotherhood

The Society of Muslim Brothers, better known as the Muslim Brotherhood, is a major and most influential institution as well as cultural and political-social current in the Islamic world. Undeniable is al-Banna’s influence in the capacity of the founder on MB, especially through the mystical kind of his religious life. The impact of Sufism and mysticism on his religious approach went back to his teens, when he was officially an acolyte in a Sufi branch Tariqa Hisafiyyah Shadhiliyyah, and was influenced and taught by the latter’s Sheikh and founder. Since its inception, MB’s design and hierarchical system as well as the relationship of the members with each other and with the supreme guide (mūrshīd ām) all have been adapted from al-Banna’s religious Sufism-impacted life which penetrated the warp and woof of MB. His efforts to apply Sufi content and methods have always given rise to criticisms from the Salafis. Although MB came to distance themselves from Sufism and count as a Salafi denomination, the religious life which is influenced by Sufism via Hassan al-Banna in the inner layers of MB is still visible today. Emphasis on the Sufi and mystical approach in MB can form an obstacle to their being driven into Salafi extremism. This study shows and analyzes the role in founding MB played by Hassan al-Banna’s religious life deriving from Sufism and mysticism.