Modernity, Civil Society, and Sectarianism: The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Takfir Groups

By emphasizing civil society’s ambiguous relationship with modernity, the author proposes a discursive definition of civil
society that draws on conflict theory. The author distinguishes between a civil society and a sectarian approach to politics
from a theoretical perspective. Accordingly, a juxtaposition of the Muslim Brotherhood and its splinter groups in the Egyptian
political arena epitomizes the opposing ideals of a civil society and a good society. Thus, the author moves away from the
theoretical debate on the compatibility of Islam and democracy and suggests the possibility of a learning process of democratic
practices by means of participating in the public sphere.