In the heart of Cairo, a huge banner hung in front of a building approaching 100 years old indicates that the Muslim Youth Association has changed its name to become the International Youth Association.

The new banner caught the attention of the Al-Jazeera Net correspondent while she was touring the center of the Egyptian capital, to investigate and it became clear that the board of directors of the association, which was established more than 90 years ago, decided to change its name for a strange reason, which is to avoid resembling the name of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is currently banned by the Egyptian authorities.

Dropping the Islamic character from the name of the association that was established with the aim of developing Muslim youth in various fields;

It sparked controversy first among circles familiar with the history of the association, then between pedestrians on Ramses Street near Tahrir Square in central Cairo, who were surprised by the huge sign hanging in front of the ancient building.

It turned out that placing the new sign was just a practical step to implement a decision issued by the board of directors of the association that includes amendments to the internal regulations, most notably changing the name of the association, which was approved by an emergency meeting of the general assembly in mid-2019.

According to a statement issued by the association under the new name, changing the "Muslim Youth Association" to the "International Youth Authority" comes within the framework of the plan pursued by the political leadership to combat sectarianism and block the noose in the face of what it called terrorist Brotherhood members in the trade to exploit the name of the association to serve its malign interests.

160 branches and two million members

It is worth noting that the Muslim Youth Association is a social association that was established in Cairo in 1927 and has branches in all governorates of Egypt, and its current president, Counselor Ahmed Al-Fadali, says that it has 160 branches inside the country and has two million members.

According to what the association announces, it offers many activities in the fields of thought, culture and sports through subsections within it, which are the socio-cultural club, the women's club, and the children's club, in addition to playgrounds for various sports.

Some branches of the association include libraries, nurseries, expatriates, centers for training girls in handicrafts, centers for information technology and language learning, in addition to providing a service for memorizing the Holy Qur’an.

It also seeks to provide assistance in the fields of care, social development, environmental conservation and health care advancement.

The age of the Muslim Youth Association in Egypt is approaching 100 years (Al-Jazeera)

Young men and brothers

According to the Brotherhood's Wikipedia section on the official website of the Muslim Brotherhood, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al-Banna, contributed to the establishment and founding of the Muslim Youth Association, after seeing the need for Muslim youth to have a club that would bring them together and he was leading his hope to establish a forum for them to his friend Abdul Hamid Saeed Who will then become president of the Muslim Youth Association.

The association's birth came in November 1927, that is, one year before the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the board of directors was formed by Dr. Abdel Hamid Saeed as chairman, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Jawish as deputy chairman, Ahmed Taymour Pasha as treasurer, and Mohebuddin Al-Khatib as the keeper of the public secret, while Hassan Al-Banna remained a member until his death.

Al-Banna was keen on rapprochement between young Muslims and his group, and emphasized in many of his statements that, in the message of the Fifth Conference of the Muslim Brotherhood, he said, “People often come up with this question: What is the difference between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Young Men? One?".

Regarding the differences between Muslim youths and the Muslim Brotherhood, the founder of the latter explained, "There are only minor differences in the method of advocacy and in the plan of those involved in it and directing their efforts in both groups."

According to the Brotherhood's Wikipedia, some of the Brotherhood’s people used to hold their lectures and meetings inside the homes of Muslim youths, including the lecture that Al-Banna gave at the Muslim Youth House in Benha during a trip to visit some of the people of Qalyubia.

During the Palestine war in 1948, close cooperation emerged between the two groups, and they formed a supreme body to aid Palestine.

The end of Al-Banna's relationship with Muslim youth was dramatic to the fullest extent, as it was linked to his assassination. On February 12, 1949, the founder of the Brotherhood finished a meeting held inside the headquarters of the Muslim Youth Association, and in front of the building where the sign that abandoned the old name was currently hung. For the association, bullets were fired from among the darkness to settle in Al-Banna's body, to die.

It is worth noting that the Egyptian authorities announced in late 2013 the classification of the Muslim Brotherhood as a "terrorist organization," and in the following year the judiciary decided to dissolve the Freedom and Justice Party, which represents its political arm.

The group, which was the most prominent opposition figure during the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, which lasted for nearly 3 decades, has jumped to the fore after the January 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak, as its party won first place in the parliamentary elections, and then its candidate Mohamed Morsi won the presidency to become the first elected civilian president. For Egypt in the modern era.

But President Morsi only completed one year in power, as he was dismissed after a military coup in July 2013 led by the current President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi when he was Minister of Defense, and since that time the new authority has led a crackdown against the opposition, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, where he was imprisoned Most of its leaders, including the ousted president, who died in his prison in mid-2019.