The Muslim Brotherhood in North America

Abstract

Although the name Muslim Brotherhood is never used explicitly in North America by its adherents, and connections to the organization are denied publicly, the Brotherhood has a large number of institutions and supporters in the United States and Canada. Their objectives and ideologies are similar to that of the Brotherhood elsewhere in the world. In 2005, the Egyptian Brotherhood’s leader Muhammad Mahdi Akif referred to his group as “the largest organization in the world,” whose members cooperated globally “based on the same religious worldview—the spread of Islam, until it rules the world.” He added, “Jihad is the only way to achieve these goals.”¹ According to Akif, Western democracies are corrupt, “false,” and determined “to destroy the [Islamic] nation, its faith and tradition.”² Akif also called the United States “a Satan that abuses the religion” and predicted that it would “collapse soon.” He also stated he had “complete faith that Islam will invade Europe and America.”³