Communication strategies of winning hearts and minds: The case of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political communication campaign post Morsi’s downfall

Abstract

This article examines how social movements attempt to repair a tarnished image and win the hearts and minds of the public. It studies the Muslim Brotherhood’s political communication campaign post-July 2013. A content analysis of a census of the Brotherhood’s communiqués issued during a 5-year period was performed. Considering social movement theory, this case study reveals that strategic framing can be employed as a strategy to win the hearts and minds of the target audience and to repair tarnished images. It also argues that legitimacy is a critical moral resource that lies at the heart of Islamist movements’ communication campaigns.