| FrontPageMag.com | By Robert Spencer | By Hugh Fitzgerald | Books | Dhimmi Watch | Islam 101 | Qur'an Blog | Raymond Ibrahim | Robert Spencer |  |
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
The Muslim Brotherhood, as I explain in Onward Muslim Soldiers, is the father of virtually all of today's jihad terrorist groups. And as this Washington Post article shows, it has not been inactive here in the U.S. -- yet State, demonstrating more of its astounding and suicidal myopia, is trying to find "friends" in the Brotherhood. (Thanks to Miss Moneypenney for the link.)
When U.S. immigration officers in New York City whisked away Ishaq Farhan as he stepped off an incoming international flight in May 2000, his Jordanian diplomatic passport was no help to him. Federal agents questioned him for hours before barring his entry into the country. Then they made him pay for the flight back to Jordan.The U.S. Embassy in Jordan lost no time making amends to Farhan, a leading opposition politician who has been closely affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide movement opposed to Western influences. A State Department official visited his home, issued him an immediate visa and passed on the United States' "deep regret for the difficulties Dr. Farhan experienced."
The episode demonstrates the U.S. government's dilemma. Some federal agents worry that the Muslim Brotherhood has dangerous links to terrorism. But some U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials believe its influence offers an opportunity for political engagement that could help isolate violent jihadists.
Dream on.
"It is the preeminent movement in the Muslim world," said Graham E. Fuller, a former CIA official specializing in the Middle East. "It's something we can work with." Demonizing the Brotherhood "would be foolhardy in the extreme," he warned.
Foolhardy, I suppose, is in the eye of the beholder. Read on:
The Brotherhood's history and the challenges it poses to U.S. officials illustrate the complexity of the political front in the campaign against terrorism three years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. FBI agents and financial investigators probe the group for terrorist ties and legal violations, while diplomats simultaneously discuss strategies for co-opting at least its moderate wings. In both sectors of the U.S. government, the Brotherhood often remains a mystery.The Brotherhood -- or al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun, as it is known in Arabic -- is a sprawling and secretive society with followers in more than 70 countries. It is dedicated to creating an Islamic civilization that harks back to the caliphates of the 7th and 8th centuries, one that would segregate women from public life and scorn nonbelievers.
In some nations -- Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Sudan -- the Brotherhood has fomented Islamic revolution. In the Palestinian territories, the Brotherhood created the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, which has become known for its suicide bombings of Israelis. Yet it is also a sophisticated and diverse organization that appeals to many Muslims worldwide and sometimes advocates peaceful persuasion, not violent revolt. Some of its supporters went on to help found al Qaeda, while others launched one of the largest college student groups in the United States.
For decades, the Brotherhood enjoyed the support of the government of Saudi Arabia and its oil billions, which helped the group expand in the United States.
Read it all.
Posted by Robert at September 12, 2004 9:03 AM
Print this entry
| Email this entry
| Digg this
| del.icio.us
Can someone tell me what the hell the State Department is playing at ? Is this some clever ploy to get to know the inner-workings of the Brotherhood before using that information to destroy them? Or is the US so unsure of it's own strengths that it is extending the hand of friendship to it's avowed enemies in the hope of not being attacked ? Please someone tell me that State isn't riddled with PC liberals who seriously believe they can "work" with these fanatics. This is like the sheep inviting the wolf round for dinner. What are our politicians playing at ? It really is time to clean house amongst our government bodies ....
Posted by: Son Of Albion![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 12, 2004 9:32 AM
The State Department is full of degenerate appeasers of Jihadism. The CIA has it's share too. All will get larded up Federal pensions after putting in their 20-25 years of "service".
The Muslim Brotherhood assassinated Anwar Sadat and killed all those (60+) European tourists at the Pyramids. 1996.
at September 12, 2004 9:36 AM
free spirit…free & fearless; seeking truth wherever it may be found, eager for the interpretation of religions in harmony with modern knowledge, which satisfies spiritual cravings without doing injustice to intellectual common sense.
religion is primal, persistent, & the native instinct of the human mind,
serve others with justice & kindness
unifying force in life is common service instead of common belief; we may not believe alike, but share alike; not merely to get something for oneself, but to do something for others.
positive convictions; insist no person has the right or ability to frame a statement of belief, fitted to other minds; the custom of making one belief the only gateway to fellowship is an injustice to thinking minds & at variance with growing intellectual freedom.
everything has its ethical side; the distinction between sacred & secular is misleading & untrue; the whole world is sacred, believe in the indestructibility of moral & spiritual forces & seek to ally ourselves with them.
personal spiritual growth is enriched by participation in your accepting & caring community.
individual freedom of belief & freedom of the pulpit;
strengthen & enrich one another in a free yet disciplined search for truth;
spread the wisdom of the great prophets & teachers from every age & tradition;
defend & promote the supreme worth & dignity of all people;
practice open & democratic procedures, & promote the full participation of all - without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, class, faith, or national origin;
learn together to live more empathetic, & compassionate lives, within & beyond the local community
respond to our times, participate creatively in the eradication of political, economic & social ills implement a vision of one world by striving for a world community secure in peace, free from oppression, & with a minimum level of well-being for all.
these words above, are Christian values in today’s world,
Is Islam also keeping up with modernity, or still back in 7th century A.D…?
Posted by: SFOD at September 12, 2004 10:00 AM
dennisw is correct. I will add to his comment that the State Department blatantly promotes Islam with a series of web pages entitled Muslim life. Notice that they don't promote any other U.S. ethnic or religious group. Isn't that at least a violation of church and state?
Posted by: epg at September 12, 2004 10:35 AM
call me crazy, but after reading the entire article, i got the impression that the muslim brotherhood is metaphorically perceived like a jihad k.g.b. what i'm wondering is how can this be appropriate. i think colin powell should address this issue publicly so that at least we the people have an idea what could be behind this seeming derangement.
Posted by: ted at September 12, 2004 11:21 AM
The "State Department" does not exist. It consists of individuals. Some are people of great talent and understanding. Others are not. Too many of the latter seem to have risen through the ranks of those dealing with Middle Eastern matters. There are several causes of this. One is the tradition of going native -- of beginning to learn Arabic, for example, not from Copts or Maronites or Arabic-speaking Jews, but from Muslims who, with those liquid brown eyes and refreshment -sipping ceremonies and discussions of Israeli injustice, with eyes raised heavenward, give new meaning to Pope's syllepsis, about "great Anna" who "doth sometimes counsel take, and sometimes tea." Arabic language yes, but along with the coffee, or the tea, or the fruit juice, something else is imparted.
There is the pathology of antisemitism, which of course affects some 10-15% of the population, and no doubt the same percentage of those working in the State Department. The end result: "antisemitism lead to antipathy for Israel, antipathy for Israel leads to bland acceptance of the Arab Muslim view of things, bland acceptance of the Arab Muslim view of things leads to belief that the real problem is American support for Israel and otherwise things would be hunky-dory, belief that American support for Israel is the problem and that otherwise things would be hunky-dory leads in turn to a complete misunderstanding of the world-wide threat from those who take the tenets of Islam seriously and are prepared to act on them, and through every possible instrument including, of course, terrorism but also propaganda, economic warfare (including boycotts and bribery), and propaganda and, most importantly, demographic conquest (including subversion, and conversion -- "reversion" -- of Infidels from within the Bilad al-kufr or Dar al-Harb, as you wish).
And thus it is that those who can believe that the Muslim Brotherhood can be appeased, can be worked with, merely demonstrate their innocense about Islam. That innocence, or seeming innocence, can be the result of sinister impulses (antisemitism, anti-Americanism -- i.e. hatred or alienation from one's own society), or silly ones (sheer laziness, and refusal to do the work to learn about Islam, its tenets and the history of how non-Muslims have been treated under Islam).
One never knows what blend of ignorance, laziness, denial of a reality that is too painful to contemplate, hatred of one's own society (god knows it deserves criticism -- but compared to Islam? compared to the complete desertification of the infellect that is Islam? comparied to Islam, that stunts the mental growth permanently?), antisemitism, sympathy for the devil, and -- the greatest problem of all -- Stupidity.
Everything was all right, said the Frenchman, Until That Moment When Stupidity Began to Think -- "Quand la betise s'est mise a penser." Oh, it has got its thinking-cap on, and writing columns, and appearing on talk-shows, and writing policy papers, and writing books that have such words as "Empire" and "Imperialism" in the title. Think, think, think.
Posted by: Hugh at September 12, 2004 11:32 AM
The brotherhood is the head of the snake,
the intellectual jihadi,
who fashions the war-without-guns strategy
for the ummah of islam.
They are the ones who plan
and scheme our country's downfall
(altho their "holy" book says
allah is the best of all schemers)
they have done quite well making
life a hell for unbelievers and hypocrites
for 80 some odd years across the mideast.
Tariq Ramadan, their poster boy,
is the most public of the muslim brotherhood
and trys to twist their message
and the words of the koran to look good.
The brotherhood is more dangerous
than osama bin laden, etc.,
for they are educated in the west,
dress like us, fit in, do their best
to deceive us in every way
until they reach the magic 20%
of the population mark,
when their dark side emerges
and they make their moves
for the sharia,against freedom of speech,
and for the jihadi war of assassination
against politicians, intellectuals, civilians.
How ignorant our government is of history,
how fearful our government is of this evil,
the devil insinuates himself in our midst
and they still debate who he is
and what he wants. They should read and
study the creed of the muslim brotherhood:
allah is our objective
the messenger (mohammed) is our leader
koran is our law
jihad is our way
dying in the way of allah is our highest hope.
Posted by: the poetess
at September 12, 2004 12:11 PM
Annakita: ........
Thanks for the Michelle Malkin 'hyperlink' yesterday.
kleo2x in Anderson, Ca.
Posted by: kleo at September 12, 2004 1:00 PM
WAKE UP!
Once again the liberal press in its misguided attempt to be PC has emerged as the bastion of obfuscation.
Today (Sunday) in the Toronto Star, columnist Richard Gwyn showed the world how little he understands the problems of Islam when he wrote ………
“Despite Russian President Vladmir Putin’s claims, there’s precious little evidence that the massacre of the schoolchildren at Belsan was masterminded by or assisted in any significant way either by Al Qaeda or by Islamic Terrorists.
There may have been a couple of “foreigners” among the hostage takers and other may have provided planning advice and technical know how. But the deed was essentially domestic. Chechen rebels were lashing back at the Russians for the harshness of their occupation”
Mr. Gwyn for the love of Christ, let me make this simple for you. The people who killed these children were not Christians, Jews, Hindi, Mormons or Druids, they were MUSLIMS.
As members of Islam, they committed atrocious acts against little children to achieve their dubious goals …….…………. hence they are I..S..L..A..M..I..C… T..E..R..R..O..R..I..S..T..S.
Were the hijackers on September 11, 2001 anything less than Islamic Terrorists because they were Saudi’s?
Anyone familiar with Islam knows the Muslim problem has nothing to do with concept of country or nation. Countries are the fiction of the infidel. No, religion is where their loyalties lie and their Allah allows any atrocity to support the dominance of their cult and the fact that an ill informed columnist that does not know the difference only furthers the reluctance of the West to act.
Mr. Gwyn your comments are nothing less than spectacularly STUPID. The fact that your opinion gets published is very sad.
Not that I expect much more from that great bastion of Western Democracy, the Toronto Star. Last week columnist Haroon Siddiqui argued that because the Islamic Terrorists were so willing to commit the atrocities of killing children, they must have legitimate complaints that effectively should be heard.
Excuse me. It is the third anniversary since the bombing of The World Trade Centre and still we are hearing this kind of crap from the Media. When will the media wake up and stop spouting this kind of crap.
We have seen the enemy and in any coat it is still ISLAM
As long as we keep avoiding the issue, that Islam has to fundamentally change, there is no hope for a resolution of the problem. As long as the western media is prepared to place each terrorist activity in its own little slot without seeing the larger picture, more of the world is going to suffer.
As far as Gwyn and Siddiqui are concerned, you guys are part of the problem. Face reality for God’s sake (not Allah’s) open you eyes and wake up to the truth.
No Islam Know Peace
Toro
at September 12, 2004 1:45 PM
Toro, I totally agree with your point.
Folks, I request that now on whenever we post instances of egregious dhimmitude in public news, we should strive to also publish the email ID of the said columnist/newsperson so that we can email our objections to him/her.
At least, we will have the satisfaction of knowing we expressed our opinion and that these columnists don't get away with thinking they've successfully fooled all the people out there!
Posted by: voletti at September 12, 2004 2:12 PM
Great idea voletti ! These journalists should no longer be allowed to try and hood wink us without us letting them know that their ignorance may lead to our destruction. It's time these fifth columnists were given the kind of rough ride that they give to those who don't follow their PC agenda. Read Tammy Bruce's "The Death Of Right And Wrong " to see how the PC extreme left in America used the internet and the media to attack those they disagreed with. We have to use those same tactics against them...and the quicker the better.
LOVE LIFE - HATE ISLAM !
Posted by: Son Of Albion at September 12, 2004 2:27 PM
POETESS
Great Poem! If the Muslim Brotherhood has 'moderates' why has Jordan recently arrested
their leaders?Just about everyone knows apart from
some U S authorities [are they blind!] that THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS...
at September 12, 2004 3:59 PM
But some U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials believe its influence offers an opportunity for political engagement that could help isolate violent jihadists.
That's genuinely insane. It's like asking members of the original Nazi Party to mediate between you and present-day Neo-Nazis.
Posted by: John-Paul Pagano at September 12, 2004 6:02 PM
the attitude of the american government towards islam concerns me more than what the moslems are up to.
unfortunately this article is further proof of my belief that america heads up 1/2 of the last days gentile empire of west/islam that comes against israel.
i know this sounds incredible but, i base my contention on daniel 2.41-45.
'i can't believe this is happening'....
even so: Come Lord Jesus!
at September 12, 2004 8:47 PM
The State Department has been bought with Saudi money. Its loyalty is dual. When it has to make a choice, it goes with its pocketbook, not its country.
Posted by: unicorns62000 at September 12, 2004 9:18 PM
Colin Powell must go and the rest of the State Department needs a through house cleaning.
These phony bastards are selling us out to the Islamo-fascists.
Posted by: Son of Infidel at September 12, 2004 10:26 PM
"i got the impression that the muslim brotherhood is metaphorically perceived like a jihad k.g.b."
Posted by: ted at September 12, 2004 11:21 AM
Your impression is right.
http://www.ummah.org.uk/ikhwan/
The Muslim Brotherhood "creed"
Allah is our objective.
The messenger is our leader.
Quran is our law.
Jihad is our way.
Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.
at September 12, 2004 10:47 PM
George W. Bush, U.S. president: Asked "Is the war on terrorism something
our generation and the next generation are just going to have to get used
to?" Bush replied "Yes, I think it is a long-lasting ideological struggle.
Frankly, the war on terror is somewhat misnamed, though. It ought to be
called the struggle of a totalitarian point of view that uses terror as a
tool to intimidate the free." ("I've Gained Strength," Time, Aug. 29, 2004)
-------
how many will have to die before a leader rises up to the challenge of islam?
i think bush really believes that islam means peace.
Posted by: forrest shalom at September 12, 2004 11:21 PM
here's a good article entitled:
a war without an enemy
http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=10595
Posted by: forrest shalom at September 12, 2004 11:23 PM
Poetess, will you marry me?
Posted by: Rikki at September 13, 2004 8:29 AM
to son of infidel: thanks for link. good stuff.
Posted by: ted at September 13, 2004 10:58 AM
I read the Wshington Post article on the Ikhwan just before returning to my work in Taiwan. As a former American foreign service officer, I have this to say:
Two American dips were stationed in a very underdeveloped tropical country, and were captured by cannibals. While being roasted alive, one looks over to the other's spit and says, "Wonderful! They're not going to eat us raw!"
Optimism is to the diplomat what courage is to the soldier. What we see in the cultivation of the Ikhwan is this mindset run amok, without any input from prudence or experience. The Ikhwan types will talk seriously about peace only when confronted with the possibility that their will be a growing numer of post-1492 Spains or post- 1877 Balkan Peninsulas--even in places like Egypt and iran.
Posted by: Kepha1 at September 15, 2004 5:58 AM
(Note: The Comments section is provided in the interests of free speech only. It is mostly unmoderated, but comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying stand a chance of being deleted. The fact that any comment remains on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch, or by Robert Spencer or any other Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch writer, of any view expressed, fact alleged, or link provided in that comment.)