During the 1950s, the Muslim Brotherhood was used against Nasser in Egypt, and a group of clergy against Mossadegh in Iran. If Mossadegh's nationalization policy represented the potential for what secular nationalists in power might do to Western oil interests, Nasser represented Washington's nightmare scenario in the region. Though Egypt does not possess oil, Nasserism, with its emphasis on pan-Arab unity, sought to unite the technologically advanced urban countries and their large, highly skilled working classes with the vast wealth of the oil-producing countries. The combination of Cairo and Riyadh would have severely hampered Western domination over the oil resources. Thus, in addition to hatching coup plots against Nasser and carrying out various assassination attempts on him (such as poisoning his chocolates), the CIA began to cultivate the Muslim Brotherhood and to rely increasingly on Saudi Arabia as a counterbalance.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 227