With the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood has stepped into everyone’s eyesight. For those of you who have never checked these guys out, it is, simply put, an anti-American group. While that might sound a bit harsh, it has been calling for an Islamic political and social system and opposing Western power and cultural influence.
It has been defined as an organization which attacks liberal democracy as a façade for middle-class, business, and landowning interests for the preservation of Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood has been in the United States since the 1960s. Why isn’t anybody concerned? Its members are living among us.
With America being the model for democracy, the Muslim Brotherhood would cut U.S. ties with Egypt. Congress is getting anxious about whether this Islamic extremist group will turn into an opponent which would harbor militant groups and potentially act as a threat to Israel.
The MB has said things such as “The U.S. will collapse,” and “Jews are our primary enemies.” Founded in Egypt in 1928, it has produced branches all over the Middle East and have influenced radical groups such as al Qaeda.
It really isn’t as harmless as it pretends to be. In last November’s first round of parliamentary elections, which were heavily rigged by the Mubarak regime, the Brotherhood won no seats and joined a general boycott. The unfair election made the organization extremely angry and gave it more reason to jump in after Mubarak’s fall.
Also, we must keep in mind the MB is all about Islamic domination, which, unlike Judeo-Christian beliefs, is collective. While Christians are all about the well-being of themselves, Islam, especially the Sunni branch, is about maintaining the well-being of the religion as a whole. For some extremists, this reasoning leads to strapping a bomb to your chest, but, to them, it’s for the well-being of Islam.
In one of their documents titled “Ikhwan in America”, the author alleges that the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. include going to camps to do weapons training and engaging in counter-espionage against United States agencies like the CIA and the FBI.
In November 2008, the Holy Land Foundation was found guilty of illegally funding the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, which is like the baby of the MB. Hamas doesn’t recognize the existence of Israel, and has the “obliteration or dissolution of Israel” set as one of its goals.
However, Hamas’ most controversial statement, “The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews,” has been an even greater concern. Countries like Canada and Japan consider the group terrorists as well.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fl., the Republican chairwoman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, warned against allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to emerge as a powerful force.
President Barack Obama must step in and ensure the MB does not gain any power seat in the Middle East. While it might be violent talk, we don’t have room for any walk.
The organization is all around horrendous. Since it has been in the U.S., its main goal has been aimed at destroying the U.S. from within. We must ensure the Egyptian military listens to Egypt’s citizens to keep heading toward a democracy and an election in September.
