Welcome to Islam, people and power on the BBC World Service. I'm Safa al Ahmed, journalist and documentary

maker. In this series I've been talking to people across the Arab world about a battle of ideas

that's been raging since the uprisings began in 2010. Discussions that had once

been taboo were suddenly possible.

Before the revolution, I didn't know there's a lot of different schools of thought.

Things became clear after the revolution. In a region where Islam is the dominant faith, Muslims have been debating what

role Islam should play in government, and whether rebelling against an oppressive ruler

is a religious obligation or a sin.

I've talked to Sunnis and Shia, ordinary citizens and top Islamic clerics from across the region.

For this, the final episode of Islam People in Power,

and back in the BBC in London,

where I'm joined by three experts on the Arab world.

What impact do they think the debates of the moment will have on the future.

My first guest is Professor Hazam Kandil of Cambridge University. He's a political sociologist with particular expertise on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Hazim, the Arab Uprising they give you unique opportunity as an academic. Can you tell

us a little bit more about that? Well I was very interested in studying the inner logic of the Muslim Brotherhood.

And of course the revolutionary period was a period that helped many members start questioning things, reflecting on things, which I think was very useful to be able to understand relations within the movement and the internal logic by which it functions.

The Arab Uprising has also changed the life of my next guest.

Duktorra Maha Azam was for many years an associate fellow at Chatham House,

specializing in the Middle East and political Islam.

But she now has an organization called the Egyptian Revolutionary Council.

Meha, what does the Egyptian Revolutionary Council do?

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