A Map to Understand the Muslim Brotherhood's Maze of Malevolent Front Groups
Here are the experts and resources I most recommend after more than a decade of working in this counter-Islamist activism space.
This is the 29th installment of the “Axis of Genocide” series at this Zionist Substack, the successor to the “Antisemitism and Culture” series which can be read in two 30-essay collections here and here.
This series will document and analyze the antisemitic genocidal war waged against Israel by the Hamas terrorist group and its primary supporter, the Islamic regime in Iran. The accomplices in this attempt at a second Holocaust — Vladimir Putin’s criminal-gangster state in Russia and the authoritarian regime in China — will also come in for scrutiny and loud condemnation, as will the non-state actors supporting them, particularly the international Muslim Brotherhood propaganda network, and radical activists of both the far left and the far right. Other evil states and terrorist groups will also receive scrutiny. You can find a list of previous installments at the end of this post. Thank you for your support.
Yesterday I received an email from a gifted writer I regard as both a friend and something of a writing mentor - the rare one outside of the counter-Islamist, Zionist-activist space which I’ve regarded as a professional home for years.
He sent me the video embedded above and commented that he found interesting the expert analysis beginning at 7 minutes.
I was curious about what had so grabbed his attention. Watching it, I soon understood: Lorenzo Vidino, the Director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, offered an erudite, measured, and entirely accurate introduction to a subject I’ve spent years studying: the Islamist-activist network built by Muslim Brotherhood operatives in America, beginning in the 1960s. This interconnected web of dozens of groups across the country — what Vidino correctly describes as an “alphabet soup” of organizations — is today the primary accelerant to the protests we’re seeing in support of Hamas across America.
The Hamas advocacy network has grown substantial and influential for decades. In responding to my friend, I sought to point him in the right direction to better understand this very complicated subject, which can take years to just begin to grasp.
I thought others might appreciate the resources I suggested to my friend, and so thought it an appropriate installment as we conclude “The Axis of Genocide” series, since this network is a very important component in the war against free societies. I have edited and slightly expanded the letter, but the meat of it remains the same.
Hi!
Thanks for sharing. What a great video for explaining this.
First, for some context, Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is the most respectable and prominent think tank that has views comparable to mine on foreign policy. JNS publishes Clifford D. May, their founder/president, regularly and I often re-publish his columns at The Algemeiner. So FDD is very much a reliable source of information and reasonable analysis/commentary. They're more scholarly and serious than most of the various groups I've worked with in the past. So do keep an eye on what they release.
Second, the Islamist network this expert describes has been one of my career’s primary subjects for my writing, research, and activism. I've known about it since 2008 and have done so much work on this collection of Muslim Brotherhood-based groups and activists — from tracking their political donations to mapping their fundraising sources to actually going to their conferences undercover to record their speakers' antisemitic talks. I've even tangled with them face-to-face when I've gone to cover their protests.
The Holy Land Foundation trial of 2008 that Vidino talks about in this video is a big, big, big event that happened in this Islamist network, and it exposed so much of it. Definitely learn more about that. See here for a description from the Department of Justice.
The very best summary of this network, which I can't recommend enough, is this documentary here, “Jihad in America: The Grand Deception,” made by Steve Emerson, the best investigative journalist digging deep and writing about this space since the 1990s. No one in the world knows more about all this than Emerson.
See here for his research about the various key groups involved.
Here, from the research organization Canary Mission, is another collection of the groups in the network, as well as various far-left and far-right allies.
This book here, Emerson’s Jihad Incorporated, is also the best one I'd recommend for understanding this network in America.
And here is a scholarly book on the Muslim Brotherhood explaining it more globally, circa 2010, edited by my late mentor, Barry Rubin.
Any questions?
This subject is very, very complex - all the various groups that the Islamists have created for decades are just a maze, and it’s easy to get lost. And it's not helped by the fact that many of the right-wing groups trying to expose it are simply untrustworthy in what they release. Some are even anti-Muslim bigots.
But if you dig into this enough, it becomes clear that these various Islamist groups are genuinely extreme - and that going after them isn't at all an expression of anti-Muslim bigotry. Serious people like FDD, Emerson, and others learned very quickly that moderate, modern Muslims are central to defeating the Islamists.
best,
David
Here are some further resources which I encourage everyone to check out in order to better understand Islamism both in America and abroad:
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA)
Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz
Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller. This is the form of chop-your-hand-off Islamic law which the Muslim Brotherhood believes in and seeks to implement globally.
Here are the primary Islamist front-groups which I regard as the most important and influential and would encourage you to most familiarize yourself with:
Here are some of their primary leftist fuckin’ “useful idiot” antisemitic allies:
What? It’s possible to be both Jewish and antisemitic? My goodness, I have never heard of such an odd idea! How on earth could such a thing be?
Surely, surely, it could be impossible for someone born Jewish to reject their family’s Jewish values and instead embrace the sort of secular, far-left, neo-Marxist ideology which would lead them into the moral confusion of choosing to support a genocidal antisemitic terrorist group.
Finally, here are some videos which you may find enlightening on this subject:
The previous pieces in the “Axis of Genocide” series:
Mainstream Political Positions Argued in Extreme Ways: A Manifesto of Sorts
The Vicious Vladimir Putin Is a Disgusting Antisemite Who Is Helping Hamas
Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Conversion to the Wrong Christianity for the Wrong Reasons
A Huge Collection of Statistics That Reveals Americans' Ignorance and Moral Confusion Today
5 Doubts and Fears About the Future Upon Turning 40 This Week
Vladimir Putin Is a War Criminal and Mass Murderer Propped Up by Evil Narcissists
Hamas Says It Does Not Know Where the Hostages Are Or Who Is Alive
Both Left-Wing and Right-Wing People Are Missing the Threat of TikTok
Hamas Releases Video of Hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin Missing His Left Hand
The Illuminati: Origins, Goals, Accomplishments, and Our Next Targets
Click here to read Volume 1 of the “Antisemitism and Culture” series and volume 2 here. Five of the most important installments from this series for better understanding this Substack’s approach to fighting hate include:
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded on March 22, 1928, was responsible for introducing modern Islamism. This was achieved through their Secret Apparatus, which can be seen as a deceptive tactic; with a relatively moderate public face known as the General Apparatus and a hidden extremist militia called the Secret Apparatus. Since 1951, the organization has been using doublespeak to maintain this facade, with one side promoting democratic values while the other preaches extremism and terrorism.
However, it has always been clear that the role is primarily focused on public relations and perpetuating the myth that the Secret Apparatus is no longer active
—when, in reality, it continues to operate. Both the public and hidden factions are united by Banna's concept of permanent jihad, which allows illegal and criminal activities to take place under the guise of religious duty.
This deception also extends to their claim of giving up violence in favor of legitimate politics - in reality, they simply continue their jihadist activities under different banners. Giving up force would mean dismantling the entire organization, as it is central to its legitimacy and purpose.
The Secret Apparatus has a strategy of infiltration to deceive their enemies. They have a unit dedicated to gathering intelligence by "infiltrating and internally subverting" various influential groups such as political parties, militaries, intelligence agencies, media outlets, educational institutions, governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The main focus of this campaign is the Egyptian government, but they also target other institutions like charitable organizations, Egypt's Communist Party, and al-Azhar University.
As you read these words, shivers should run down your spine. Do you remember the horrors of November 7th? Listen closely to this: al-Azhar University, a powerful force in the spread of the Muslim Brotherhood, promotes a twisted ideology that justifies inflicting harm on those who do not share their beliefs. They condone killing apostates and cannibalizing them, as well as slaughtering non-Muslims without regard for age or gender. The thought of such brutality should send chills through your entire being.