Muḥammad Mahdī ʿĀkif was born in Daqahlīyah province, Egypt, in 1928. In 1940 Muḥammad Mahdī ʿĀkif became involved with the Muslim Brotherhood. In August 1954 he was arrested and stood trial on charges of helping in the escape of Major General ʿAbd al-Munʿim ʿAbd al-Ra'ūf, a top member of the army who supervised the expulsion of King Fārūq from Egypt. Being the leader of Egypt's biggest Islamic organization (considered one of the most influential movements in the Islamic world), which in 2005 obtained 20 percent of the seats in the national parliament ʿĀkif is influential in politics and public opinion.