- EditorialMB in International pressOther Views
- August 16, 2008
- 24 minutes read
The Muslim Brotherhood Shows Its Cards
Below is an article by M. Zuhdi Jasser published on Thursday in Family Security Matters, and citing a recent editorial by Ikhwanweb on the resignation of Obama’s Muslim outreach advisor Mazen Asbahi. Though we disagree with the arguments of Jasser, we believe it is a moral duty to present views that are different from, or critical of Muslim Brotherhood views, which can be found under section “Other Views” where we provide a space for any constructive criticism, and post our response when needed. As we publish this article in Ikhwanweb, we request Family Security Matters to kindly give us a similar opportunity to publish a response in its website to the points raised in Jasser’s article, so we can establish a constructive debate and clear any misunderstandings on both parts.
Khaled Hamza Salam,
Ikhwanweb Chief Editor
The Muslim Brotherhood Shows its Cards
by M. Zuhdi Jasser
Family Security Matters
Douglas Farah gives an excellent review yesterday of the domestic fallout from the Mazen Asbahi resignation. From the story reported by Glenn Simpson at the WSJ to the predictable Islamist response of victimology and obfuscation, this cycle has become all too familiar. A prominent Muslim is scrutinized on his ideologies related to political Islam and the ideologies of American Islamist organizations, only to have the American Islamist organizations and their apologists respond with exaggerated claims of Islamophobia and silence on the central question of ideology.
In all that has been written or said about the Asbahi resignation- few Muslims have commented on where the appointee actually stood in reference to the agenda of political Islam and Islamist organizations. Probably because few people know or are willing to address ideology when it”s a lot easier to address victimization.
Back in October 2007, our American Islamic Forum for Democracy laid out simple ideological benchmarks for government appointees about whom Americans have concerns about ideological ties to Islamist organizations. At the time, similar concerns were levied against Esam Omeish of the Muslim American Society after he was appointed by Virginia Gov. Tim Kane. Omeish had a long history of support of transnational Islamist organizations (i.e. HAMAS) and membership in the MAS which multiple reports connect directly to the Muslim Brotherhood (see this extensive 2004 investigative report from the Chicago Tribune). Similarly, the media at the time generally ignored what are legitimate ideological concerns of Americans (including many anti-Islamist Muslims) over Islamists and their legal and transnational agenda. Instead they focused on exaggerated claims of Islamophobia. Gov Tim Kane of
This time around, Americans were again left with little understanding or comfort about Asbahi”s stances regarding the agenda of political Islam or the Islamist organizations and other apologetic organizations which came to his defense.
As our nation continues to try and develop a strategy against militant Islamists, we cannot over stress the importance of our leaders and their appointees having a grasp of the connection of political Islam to the development of militant Islamists. Terror is only a means. The end game of radical Islamists–the Islamic state– needs to be confronted by all of our political leaders, Muslim and non-Muslim, if we are ever to address the root ideological causes of terrorism. Just being non-violent is not good enough.
The Muslim Brotherhood Responds
A most interesting development in this whole story is an op-ed yesterday out of London, by Khaled Salam, chief editor of the Muslim Brotherhood”s English website (www.Ikhwanweb.com) giving an Islamist MB take on the whole Asbahi affair. It looks like the “Godfather” of global Islamist organizations, the MB, just could not hold itself this time from weighing in on the changing climate of acceptability of Islamist ideology in the
“The MB has repeatedly denied it has any representation in the
During the 1960s, many members of the MB have fled
The so called Global Network of the Muslim Brotherhood is merely a Hollywood fiction that only exists in the minds of those who created it as part of their scare tactics to insight fears among the public and instigate government hostilities. There is no “global network” for the Muslim Brotherhood, but rather coordination among the different MB chapters in various countries, in which the MB has formal presence or representation, which clearly does not apply to the
It”s the Ideology not the Party!
Oh, all right, now I get it. There”s clearly no association between the MB and all these Islamist organizations! Hardly. At the risk of being trite, if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck and sounds like a duck, what is it?
Salam must think his readers have no capability of independent thought. Very few people I”ve ever met actually believe the MB has membership cards that it gives to it members internationally. He, however, admits to exactly what makes them brethren organizations—their shared religio-political ideology and Islamist ideological mindset. He dismisses their shared ideology as a manifestation of “mainstream moderate Islamic thinking.” Sorry, but this is not Islamic ideology (related to the religion). It is actually Islamist ideology related to establishing Islamic states and the Islamization of governments (i.e. establishment of governmental shar”ia). That is a distinction which Islamists will never make in the west since it will expose their long term goals while disrobing their false religious cloak. Being a part of the MB does not mean carrying a card of the party in 2008. It simply means following the political ideology of Islamism (political Islam) in your native country as taught by the forefathers and legacy of the MB ideology over eighty years ago by Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna and all of their succeeding protégés. Salam and his MB leadership can deny the connections of organizations like CAIR and MAS, from here to eternity, in order to help their brethren, but until we begin seeing these American Muslims join our effort to frontally counter Islamist movements and their ideologies of political Islam, they will remain part of the Islamist brotherhood whether they publicly accept it or not. The inconsistencies above in Salam”s denial are evidence
enough.
*Links to previously published MB views on the topic:
?MB Secretary General: Alleged MB Plan to Islamize US Preposterous
?Habib: Democracy is Our Choice Toward a Civil State
Dr.Mohamed Habib, IkhwanWeb –
?El-Shater: We Do Not Promote An Anti Western Agenda
IkhwanWeb –
?Habib: Muslim Brotherhood is Not Anti-American