| Muslim Brotherhood – Islam's Global Challenge to the West |
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By Moshe Dann With branches in 70 countries, and linked to major Islamic organizations, the MB has an extensive and well-financed network of educational, social and cultural institutions which promote a strategic MB plan for Islamic dominance – not through violence, but integration, becoming part of the national social and political life, and the application of Shariah law. These connections give it access to political power, and explain why it and the organizations it supports, are courted by governments and NGOs. "The Muslim Brotherhood … has for reasons both ideological and tactical tended in recent decades to embrace a more limited conception of jihad combined with missionary activity and organized political struggle." Hillel Fradkin, director of the Hudson Institute's Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World, notes that the MB, founded in Egypt in 1928, is the source of modern radical Islamic movements. An important part of Muslim communities around the world, the take-over of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, changed the picture. For the first time, the MB had its own territory, a virtual state, and an army. "The Brotherhood-offshoot Hamas, which since 2006 has officially ruled over the Gaza strip, is the first Palestinian militia to consistently limit its activities to the territory of pre-1948 Palestine—meaning Israel, the West Bank and Gaza… In the process of consolidating its power, [it] subsequently repressed Gaza’s al-Qaeda-inspired groups. Nowadays, al-Qaeda’s ongoing conflict with Hamas has become one of the main liabilities to al-Qaeda’s propaganda and its efforts to establish itself as the leader of the worldwide jihadist movement. "
The North American Connection The most comprehensive study of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States is Steven Merley's monograph published by the Hudson Institute (April 2009). He concludes: "(The MB's) extensive history of support for Islamic fundamentalism, anti-Semitism, and support for terrorism … includes ideological, financial, and legal support, particularly for Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations." MB organizations, like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which grew out of the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), a front group fund-raising for Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist organizations, are not outgrowths of popular, or communal expressions, like Christian and Jewish organizations, but are self-appointed representatives, combining a volatile mix of religion and politics. Most MB organizations are funded by Saudis and Gulf States, representing non-American, predominantly Arab Muslims. With over 30 branches in North America, CAIR presents itself as the largest "Muslim civil rights organization," seeking to "enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding." A few years ago, CAIR was included in a list of unindicted co-conspirators alleged by prosecutors to have participated in a conspiracy to funnel money to Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation. Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha write: "Perhaps the most obvious problem with CAIR is the fact that at least five of its employees and board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities … CAIR has a key role in the "Wahhabi lobby"—the network of organizations, usually supported by donations from Saudi Arabia, whose aim is to propagate the especially extreme version of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia … CAIR has consistently shown itself to be on the wrong side of the war on terrorism, protecting, defending, and supporting both accused and even convicted radical Islamic terrorists." The Muslim Student Association (MSA), the largest Muslim campus organization, with more than 250 chapters at nearly every university, was also initiated by the Moslem Brotherhood. Although the MB's current involvement is unclear, the agenda is similar. Engaged in protests against Israel and disrupting pro-Israel speakers and forums, assisted by left-wing student organizations, and, of course, tolerated by administrators, this explains the upsurge of hostility towards Israel, opposing America's involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and "American imperialism." Not limited to campus activities, however, in 1981 the MSA and MB morphed into the Islamic Society of North America to carry on its "after-school" activities. Saudi prince Alweed Bin Talal is a major financier of Muslim Brotherhood fronts in the U.S. via his Kingdom Foundation, which supports the American Society for Muslim Advancement, and the Cordoba Project, backers of the "Ground Zero Mosque.
Its fundamentalist ideology and political activities, however, don't fit their lofty words and ideals. According to reports, their goal is the radical transformation of America into a Muslim society under strict Shariah law. The Islamic American University, a MAS project, is a training center for the MB philosophy, associated with Sheikh Yousef al-Qardawi, who promotes Jihad, proclaims that Muslim forces fighting American troops are "martyrs," and supports Arab Palestinian terrorist organizations, like Hamas. MAS publishes a magazine, The American Muslim, which supports suicide bombings as "martyr operations" sanctioned by the Qur'an, and portrays Asian Muslim terrorists as "freedom fighters." With all of this information available, one would think that US government officials would be concerned about the activities of these MB-supported organizations. Instead, they are feted by the White House, and supported by the State Dept and CIA, according to www.globalmbreport.com – which systematically tracks the MB. Their allure," according to counter-terrorism researcher Steve Emerson, "to governments and non-Muslim agencies in foreign countries is that these MB groups have a monopoly on the leadership and representation of most Muslims, due to the fact that the MB in the Muslim world occupies the center of political and religious gravity and does not tolerate dissent." And it can, when necessary, call upon its adherents to act, using "soft power" to influence, rather than "hard power." Take-over the world The MB is a critical part of a vast Islamic movement that uses a religious identity to mask its political agenda. Represented by hundreds of social, political and cultural organizations, banks and financial institutions in the United States alone, the MB is able to infiltrate and exert influence in every aspect of national and international affairs. According to Islamic expert Bat Ye'or, the MB (through it's Muslim World League) is involved with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a religious and political organization representing 56 countries (and "Palestinian," which they consider a state under the PA), with a permanent delegation at the UN. Like the MB, the OIC supports Islamist rule -- the establishment of Shariah (Islamic) Law, the rule of a Caliphate -- Islamic political and cultural take-over of the world; because of their political and diplomatic role, however, they use a more subtle, incremental approach. In Jordan, the main opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, represents the MB's "political wing." Islamists, they call for a boycott of elections, hoping to topple the current government and assume control of Parliament. Although banned from politics in Egypt and Syria, and accused of being behind terrorist attacks, the MB runs networks of social and charity organizations, giving it a firm popular basis. The MB is also a major opposition group in Egypt, and will be decisive when Egyptian President Mubarak dies. Egyptian Brotherhood leader, Mohammed Badie, recently decalred that "waging Jihad is mandatory." The MB is also expanding in Canada, where they recently hosted "the largest Islamic conference in Montreal's history." Lorenzo Vidino's new book, The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Columbia U Press) is thorough and authoritative. His earlier study of the European MB is at: How It Happened The growth and spread of the global MB network appears to be the result of a carefully planned organizational strategy: (1) Funded by Saudi Arabia, Gulf States and wealthy Arab Muslim families, MB promotes a strict interpretation of Shariah, and Islamic rule through educational, social and religious organizations, in schools, campus organizations and study centers, and Muslim professional and "civil rights" organizations. Their extremist brand of Islam in the West, based on Wahhabism and Jihadism, however, is rarely exposed. (2) Focusing attention on the Palestinian issue, they joined with "liberal," "progressive," and anti-Jewish elements around the world, especially in the media, and use their influence in the UN and international bodies and agencies to demonize, delegitimize, isolate and boycott Israel. A carefully planned strategy of deception, masking their sources of support, activities, philosophy and goals, MB-sponsored organizations are able to present themselves as religious and/or civil rights groups, and thereby avoid scrutiny. Numbed by words like "peace," and "justice," unable to understand Arabic used by clerics and in printed material, non-Muslims have little, or no understanding of what goes inside mosques and Muslim social and cultural centers and are unaware of the threat posed by the Moslem Brotherhood. Despite efforts of some academics and government officials to portray the MB as "moderate," the facts prove differently. "The MB actively seeks to destroy America's status as a world power and to replace it with an Islamic power whose foreign policy will be based on jihad and the spread of Islam." What can be done? The first step in countering the MB is identifying their organizations. In addition to those cited above, here are some of the most prominent in the US: Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Global Jihadist groups In the late 1970's as the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement was taking shape, a new terrorist organization was formed by members of the MB in Egypt, Islamic Jihad; the name was chosen to justify terrorism in the name of Islam, not only as a PLO tactic, but to attack anyone, anywhere, including one's own family, without approval from any authority. Like other totalitarian movements, it was intended to break traditional discipline and encourage terrorism as a religious obligation. Islamic Jihad (IJ) was declared a terrorist organization by the United States in 2005, and later by the EU, UN and other countries despite the fact that it had been carrying out terrorist attacks for more than a decade – primarily against Jews in Israel.
IJ is reported to receive funding from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries; currently based in Syria, but today it is funded mostly by Syria and Iran. Members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad work with Hamas and Fatah (PA); it has no direct ties to MB. IJ is also active in Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and other areas in the region. American Muslims need to take seriously why their non-Muslim neighbors are suspicious, just as those neighbors must be careful of prejudice. Hiding agendas and intentions are as bad as bigotry. Underestimating the message and influence of the Moslem Brotherhood is a threat to global, and especially Western security. That is the message of "9/11" and terror attacks in London and Madrid. It is a message we ignore at our peril. The author, a writer and journalist, taught History at CUNY.
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