Muslim Brotherhood in Libya changes its name to "Revival and Renewal" to run elections

CAIRO – 4 May 2021: In a surprising move, the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya announced that it had transformed into an association called "Renaissance and Renewal," according to a statement published on its official page on Facebook.

The step comes as a prelude to the Brotherhood’s running in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. The Brotherhood said that the Renaissance and Renewal Association will fulfill its mission in the Libyan society through tireless work in various fields.

According to Libyan websites, the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya announced that the reason behind this change was "to intensify its efforts to prepare for the upcoming presidential elections, and it came after a series of seminars and workshops that were held in preparation for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Brotherhood’s statement indicated that “taking into account the variables of reality “is a matter required by wisdom and imposed by logic,” and that the group “deals with each stage according to its demands of diligence and duties.”

Munir Adeeb, an expert on extremist movements and international terrorism, said that the aim of the Muslim Brotherhood’s decision in Libya is to try to bring themselves back into the political scene after the Libyan people discovered that the group’s agenda was against the state.

Regarding the interpretation of the behavior of the Libyan Brotherhood, Adeeb indicated in statements that the fall of the main organization in Egypt harmed the organization's presence in several countries, so it was compelled to give up the name to reduce the risk of weakening the group’s popularity and its collapse with the approaching elections.

Adeeb also said the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine had dismantled their association with the Brotherhood in Egypt; Hamas announced this through its Basic Law after the disastrous failure of the Brotherhood in Egypt.

He added that the Brotherhood in Libya found themselves trapped with a bloody history, whether because of their practice after the events of February 2011 in Libya or after the events of January 2011 in Egypt, so they searched for a new color and shape like a chameleon feeling danger.

The researcher on extremist movements and international terrorism concluded his statement that the organization’s behavior in Libya is evident of its bankruptcy and an affirmation of its opportunism and failure at the local level, as well as its failure in all the countries in which it tried to gain power. The Libyans have realized their danger to global peace and security and not only to Libyan stability, and they will not be welcomed in Libya, as they are not welcome outside Libya.

Libyan observers and analysts unanimously agreed that the Brotherhood’s announcement of changing its name and identity into an association under the name of “Revival and Renewal” is a “Brotherhood maneuver” aimed at reorganizing its ranks to gain power during the upcoming elections.

This comes in light of the decline in the popularity of the group inside Libya and its infliction of several blows and losses that led to its division, in addition to the exposure of its plans and its links to extremist and terrorist organizations, according to Al-Arabiya channel.

Political analyst Faraj Al-Farkash considered that changing the name is an admission that the name "Muslim Brotherhood" has become a burden after it was classified in some Arab countries as a terrorist group, according to Al-Arabiya TV.

Farkash added that it would be difficult to abandon the Brotherhood’s legacy with the current leaderships closely related to the traditional "Muslim Brotherhood" group, and it would be difficult for them to restore the confidence of the Libyan street.