Thursday, May 11, 2017

Are We Prepared If Congress Declares the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Entity?

The Muslim Brotherhood is digging trenches in case they beome labeled a FTO.

Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession. ~ George Washington

When a government refuses to acknowledge an entity’s declared war against it, it becomes susceptible to the dangers of infiltration and seditious activity within its own borders. In 2004, the United States learned that the Muslim Brotherhood within North America had declared war against America, Canada and Mexico. Knowledge of this declared war became public information through the Holy Land Foundation vs. USA (2008).
The FBI had known of the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee as evidenced by records provided at the trial of wire-tapping which was used in the HLF trial. Evidence provided through these transcripts proved that members of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America had formed a Palestine Committee, which had intent to funnel finances to Hamas (a chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood).
In addition to this threat Yousef Al-Qaradawi, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood issued a fatwa in 2003 “that anybody killed in a military operation aimed at expelling American occupation forces from the Gulf is a martyr due to his good intention” (Al-Uwaydidi, 2003).
Threats from the Muslim Brotherhood have continued. One was given on a televised broadcast from Turkey in 2015. There was little to no reaction by the Obama administration.
In addition to this many of the Islamic terror organizations active today have been found to have their roots in the Muslim Brotherhood. Middle East Monitor (2013) pointed out the connection of ISIS to the Muslim Brotherhood.
For these reason the American public has been actively pursuing a course to have the Muslim Brotherhood declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
There have been several attempts since 2013 to have federal government list the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity. Politically this has taken on different forms. For example, under President Barak Obama a petition site was established for the people of the United States to share needs and concerns. If the petition garnered 20-30,000 signatures, a promise was given to answer the petition. In 2013, a petition was written to have the United States designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist entity had garnered 213,146 signatures! But no response was given for a year. When the Office of President responded on the site it claimed the Muslim Brotherhood was a non-violent entity ignoring decades of assassinations bombings, and more.
Since 2015, there has been a change where bills have been submitted in Congress to do what the State Department has not – name the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist entity.
In the House of Representatives HR 5823 submitted on July 2016 was sent to Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. HR5823 was submitted by Rep. Brat and was entitled: “Naming the Enemy Within Homeland Security Act.” 
February 24, 2016 the Judiciary Committee of the House called on the White House Administration to label the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
In 2017, Senator Ted Cruz proposed a repeat of a bill he submitted in 2015 that died in committee. The majority of the text is exactly the same. These bills proposed the label of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Whether the FBI considers the Muslim Brotherhood a current threat or not, may be irrelevant. It is possible that the efforts of the American people through their elected officials will push the bills proposed that label the Muslim Brotherhood a FTO into law. It is also possible, that under President Trump, the State Department will declare the Muslim Brotherhood a FTO.
The Muslim Brotherhood has operated both discreetly and openly in the United States of America for over 50 years. For this reason President Washington’s words have special meaning. It will be a difficult assignment to clean the USA of the Muslim Brotherhood presence if it is declared a FTO.
Current estimates of the number of Muslim Brotherhood entities within the United States are in the hundreds. These include large entities such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) and individual mosques and Islamic Centers. This does not even include an analysis of who should be arrested under the Patriot Act if the Muslim Brotherhood is declared an FTO.
NCIS has had investigations into interactions of Navy personnel and members of CAIR. This was revealed through a FOIA sent to the Navy which was passed on to NCIS. NCIS promised to partially fulfill the FOIA.  
DHS has had personnel openly confess to being a part of the Muslim Brotherhood while appointed to a committee to decide if the Muslim Brotherhood should be designated as a FTO.
Sutliff (2015) shows that the Office of Management and Budget in the White House had a member of ISNA’s Shura Council overseeing the budgets of cabinet members under the last President. This threat of harm is deeper than most think.These are government positions. What about entities and personnel engaged in colleges?  Would the FBI recognize those who espouse affinity towards supporting Hamas, a designated FTO, and a chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood as persons in violation of the Patriot Act? They have yet to act at all on this as evidenced by the bold public declarations found in Middle East Forum (2002).

What about persons actively engaged in misinformation campaigns. Specifically, the Institute on Religion and Civic Values (IRCV), which works with many major textbook industries in America. Its original name being the Council on Islamic Education (CIE), which has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Is the FBI ready to act if the State Department or Congress declares the Muslim Brotherhood a FTO or possibly a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity?
According to the Muslim Link Paper (2017, March 7), one of the online papers for the United States Muslim Council of Organizations (USMCO), a known umbrella group of Muslim Brotherhood organizations, whether the USA is prepared or not to take on the task of dealing with a FTO label on the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood community is preparing for the FBI.

References:
Al-Uwaydidi, N. E. (2003, January 28). Those Who Die Fighting U.S. Occupation Forces Are Martyrs: Qaradawi. Retrieved May 09, 2017, from https://archive.islamonline.net/?p=15197
Egyptian FM: Daesh are an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. (2017, April 13). Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170413-egyptian-fm-daesh-are-an-offshoot-of-the-muslim-brotherhood
HLF vs. USA: Philadelphia Meeting Wiretap Transcript. (2008). Retrieved May 9, 2017, from http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/2039.pdf  
Middle East Forum. (2002, October 21). "Campus Watch" Lists 108 Academics Supporting Apologists for Terrorism. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.meforum.org/505/campus-watch-lists-108-academics-supporting
Muslim Link Paper. (2017, March 07). Lawyers: Masajid, Islamic Orgs Should Prepare for Raids, Seizure of Documents. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://muslimlinkpaper.com/community-news/4314-lawyers-masjid-islamic-orgs-should-prepare-for-raids-seizure-of-documents
On Muslim Brotherhood TV from Turkey: Threats of Terror Attacks against Foreign Nationals, Interests of Egypt. (2015, January 28). Retrieved May 09, 2017, from https://www.memri.org/tv/muslim-brotherhood-tv-turkey-threats-terror-attacks-against-foreign-nationals-interests-egypt
Sutliff, P. (2015, April 17). Assentors and Infiltrators in the Executive Branch Part 3a of 4. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://paulsutliff.blogspot.com/2015/04/assentors-and-infiltrators-in-executive.html