Founded in 1928 as a nationalist social-welfare and political movement in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood began to attack British soldiers and police stations in the late 1940s. Founded and led by Hassan al-Banna, it also assassinated politicians seen as collaborating with British rule, most prominently Egyptian Prime Minister Nuqrashi in 1948. In 1952 a military coup overthrew British rule, and shortly thereafter the Muslim Brotherhood went underground in the face of a massive crackdown. Though sometimes banned or otherwise oppressed by the Egyptian government, the group continues to exist in present-day Egypt.