« Sociaux-démocrates » ou « fanatiques » ? Les Frères musulmans au prisme des renseignements britanniques pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale (1939-1945)

Abstract

This article analyses how British authorities, diplomats and intelligence officers dealt with the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood on the Egyptian political scene during the Second World War. Subject to close surveillance, the Muslim Brotherhood were seen as subversive agents, whose threats to British interests were to be assessed with a view to containing their expansion. Bolstered by the advent of war, the British security agenda drove certain officials at its Embassy and intelligence services in Cairo to attempt to thwart the success of the Muslim Brotherhood. Oscillating between pragmatic interests and cultural tensions, the repertoire of analytical tools and actions deployed to this end helps to explain the reticent stance of Western foreign policies toward Islamist actors.