Mainstreaming the Muslim Brotherhood

Welcome to everybody visiting today from my FrontPage Magazine article, "Mainstreaming the Muslim Brotherhood". The article is in response to Robert Leiken and Steven Brooke's piece in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, "The Moderate Muslim Brotherhood", where they claim that the MB has abandoned violence and embraces democracy. This, of course, is categorical BS, but it is sentiment common enough these days, as seen in a Washington Post op-ed a week ago, another op-ed in the Boston Globe this past weekend, and an article in the Toronto Star. It seems that the Brotherhood is going on the offense to try to get the Bush Administration to begin dialogue with the MB.

Here's my conclusion:

I would contend that when the advocates of engagement with the Muslim Brotherhood make their case, they never do so as honest brokers. As we can see in the current Foreign Affairs piece, any evidence that would immediately contradict their thesis is not only excluded, but intentionally obscured. Their message is clearly directed at an audience unfamiliar with the Brotherhood’s history, message and program, and insults the intelligence of anyone somewhat familiar with such.

In arguing that the Brotherhood is presently “rejecting jihad”, even the limited examples they cite don’t hold up under scrutiny; and in claiming that the organization is “embracing democracy”, they are clearly equivocating in their use of the term.

To make a case for the “Moderate Muslim Brotherhood” requires nothing short of blind faith. No amount of spin offered by the “progressive” policy wonks or media pundits can account for the fact that not only has the Muslim Brotherhood spawned virtually ever single Islamic terrorist organization in the world, but they have used the financial network established by the Brotherhood to conduct their bloody business (an excellent and concise treatment of this subject is available: Douglas Farah, “The Little Explored Offshore Empire of the International Muslim Brotherhood”). This direct support for terrorism is not just past, but present, policy on their part.

Policymakers in Washington should not be fooled by the carefully manicured, but entirely misleading, presentation of the Muslim Brotherhood offered by their US defenders. If any policy change is needed, it isn’t to engage them as a force for moderation and positive change in the Middle East, but to finally designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Terrorist Organization and make any exceptions from that point.

For some required reading on the Muslim Brotherhood, check out this previous post, "More on the Muslim Brotherhood".

Thanks to Douglas Farah for plugging my article at Counterterrorism Blog and an entry on his personal blog today, and thanks to Charles at Little Green Footballs for the plug as well.

UPDATE: And a special welcome to the folks visiting from the Nixon Center, Leiken and Brooke's place of employment. We're glad to see you were able to stop by earlier today!