By Marina Ottaway and Amr Hamzawy
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2008.
On-going ideological debates within Islamic parties often pit hard-line elements against reformers. When allowed to operate openly, most Islamist parties gradually moderate their agendas in order to widen their base of support. In contrast, politically constricted environments provide few opportunities to win new supporters, leaving Islamist parties to appeal to their base.[PDF]
