ANALYSIS OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD'S GENERAL STRATEGIC GOALS FOR NORTH AMERICA MEMORANDUM

By Pentagon Joint Staff analyst Stephen Coughlin, 7 September 2007

http://www.douglasfarah.com/article/245/the-muslim-brotherhood-in-america-defined-as-threat-organization-in-dod-memo.com

INTRODUCTION

The following is a brief analysis of a Muslim Brotherhood document entered into evidence in the U.S. v Holy Land Foundation trial (Trial) that the U.S. Justice Department is currently prosecuting in Federal Court. Analysis is based on this document as well as other publicly available documents. (For a broad offering of Trial documents, see here). The attached documents relate to ISNA and the Trial.

The first document is a Muslim Brotherhood memorandum that was accepted into evidence in the U.S. v Holy Land Foundation (HLF) case. The first 16 pages are in the original Arabic and the second are English language translations of the same. It is dated 22 May 1991 and titled "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America" (Memorandum). The document includes an Attachment 1 that contains "a list of our organizations and the organizations of our friends."

Among those noted in the Attachment are ISNA, MSA, AMSS, AMSE, NAIT, IFC, IPAC, IAP, UASR, ICNA (typo in the second listing) and IIIT. ICNA and ISNA are the only two organizations named in the body of the text. ISNA is additionally represented on the list as IFC (ISNA Fiqh Committee - now the Fiqh Council of North America) and IPAC (ISNA Political Awareness Committee). The second document is a signed letter from Members of Congress Pete Hoekstra and Sue Myrick to the Justice Department dated 28 August 2007 formally requesting that Justice stand down from "co-sponsoring" a conference with ISNA due to its very close relationship to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Justice attended anyhow. The Memorandum was admitted into evidence at the same time the Letter was sent addressing Congressional concerns.

DISCUSSION

ACCEPTED AS EVIDENCE

It should be noted that the Memorandum met evidentiary standards to be admissible as evidence in a Federal Court of law.

THE ENUMERATED ENTITIES ARE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

As noted, both ICNA and ISNA are identified and described in the body of the Memorandum in these contexts:

• The positive development with the brothers in the Islamic Circle in an attempt to reach a unity of merger.
• We have the seed for a "comprehensive Dawa' educational" organization: We have the Dawa' section in ISNA.

The enumerated recognition suggests that ISNA and ICNA, as elements of the entity that drafted the Memorandum, are likewise elements of the Muslim Brotherhood. Additionally, the Memorandum refers to the entities designated in Attachment (1) as currently held possessions:

• What encourages us to do that - in addition to the aforementioned - is that we possess "seeds" for each organization from the organization we call for [See attachment (1)].

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN CHARGE IN NORTH AMERICA

The Memorandum expressly recognizes the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikkwan) as the controlling element. For example, the first authority identified as the basis of the Memorandum is the Muslim Brotherhood:

• The general strategic goal of the Group in America which was approved by the Shura Council and the Organizational Conference for the year 1987 in "Enablement of Islam in North America, meaning: establishing the effective and stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims' causes domestically and globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslims' efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic State wherever it is." [emphasis added]

Next, the Memorandum expressly identifies the Muslim Brotherhood as the leadership element in implementing the strategic goals:

• Also, we must summon and take along "elements" of the general strategic goal of the Group in North America and I will intentionally repeat them in numbers. They are:

*(1) Establishing an effective and stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood.*

The status of the Muslim Brotherhood as being in charge of all Muslim organizations in North America is reinforced in a statement asserting that establishing Islam as a part of America is to be done through a civilization level Jihad:

• In order for Islam and its Movement to become "a part of the homeland" in which it lives, "stable" in the land, "rooted" in the spirits and minds of its people, "enabled" in the lives of its society and has firmly-established "organizations" on which the Islamic structure is built and with which the testimony of the civilization is achieved, the Movement must plan and struggle to obtain "the keys" and the tools of this process in carry out this grand mission as a "Civilization Jihadist" responsibility which lies on the shoulders of Muslim and - on top of them - the Muslim Brotherhood in this country.

An analysis of the entities designated in Attachment (1) of the Memorandum, along with those entities that can be reasonably assessed to have spun off from them since 1991, should be assessed to see what organizational presence they represent.

CIVILIZATION-JIHAD: THE STRATEGIC GOAL OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

Having established its leadership, the Memorandum states the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America:

• The process of settlement is a "Civilization-Jihadist Process" with all the means. The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is not escape from that destiny except for those who chose to slack. [emphasis added]. But, would the slackers and the Mujahedeen be equal.
• As part of the process is "[the] conviction that the success of the settlement of Islam and its Movement in this country [America] is a success to the global Islamic Movement and true support for the sought after state [caliphate] God willing." [emphasis added]

The first bullet is a clear threat statement of hostile intent while the second speaks to foreign agency to a transnational movement with stated objectives that overlap with al-Qaeda's. When assessing members who belong to organizations known to be identified with the Muslim Brotherhood, the inference should be that their designated leaders have knowledge of its identified roles and missions. It is not reasonable to do otherwise. [emphasis added].

The strategic goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America is multifold: the destruction of Western civilization through a long-term civilization-killing Jihad from within ("by their [our] hands") and through sabotage ("the hands of the believers") and, secondly; to support the global Islamic movement to establish an Islamic super-state, the caliphate. [emphasis added].

When conducting outreach with organizations identified as being a party to the "strategic goals" identified in the Memorandum, the gain/loss assessment of associating with them should be undertaken in light of their clearly stated hostile intent that includes the subversion of American institutions through outreach, strategic deception and perception management. To undertake outreach with known identified organizations without knowledge of their objectives is to run the extreme risk of strategic manipulation by declared Jihad entities in ways that fulfill stated Muslim Brotherhood objectives as enumerated in the Memorandum.

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