The Muslim American Society, Anti-Terror Paragon?

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Mahdi Bray, the executive director of the Muslim American Society's (MAS) Freedom Foundation, appeared on Fox News today to discuss MAS's new anti-terror campaign.  Bray stated that it was MAS's goal to "inoculate our young people by making sure they're actively and constructively engaged in positive activities that reflect the main views of their faith tradition, as opposed to someone who would want to influence them into extremist points that would certainly lead to death, destruction and mayhem."  He spoke about how MAS has created a number of free-standing youth centers, and will build more, in order to guarantee young people a place where their faith can develop free from the influence of extremists.

MAS's website further fleshes out MAS's program by explaining its "comprehensive and multifaceted approach to proactively combat terrorism."  This includes an emphasis on its youth and scouts work, which is designed "to inculcate in our youth the proper understanding of Islam, help them fulfill their potential, and keep them away from the voices of extremism."  MAS also promises to work with imams and Islamic centers "to consolidate and solidify the prevailing moderate and mainstream orientation of our community."

While these goals sound laudable on their face, MAS does not come close to being an organization likely to advance a truly moderate interpretation of Islam.  In fact, an explosive investigative report published in the Chicago Tribune late last year revealed MAS to be the arm of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood in the United States.  The Brotherhood is a largely underground international Islamist group that, according to former Kuwaiti minister of education Ahmad Al-Rab'i, is the ideological fountainhead of al-Qaeda's terrorism.  The 9/11 Commission Report concurs that the Brotherhood was an inspiration to al-Qaeda by noting Osama bin Laden's reliance on Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb, who argued that Islam and disbelief (what he called jahiliyya, a reference to the "era of ignorance" in the Arabian peninsula that preceded Muhammad's prophethood) are locked in a mortal struggle, and all must choose sides.

MAS's top leaders, such as Shaker Elsayed, admit that MAS was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood, but claim that the organization "went way beyond that point of conception."  If true, perhaps the group's questionable origins would be forgiveable.  However, MAS shows no signs of having moved away from the Brotherhood's ideology.  In fact, the exact opposite is true.  After a debate that I had with Mahdi Bray was broadcast on PAX-TV's Faith Under Fire back in May, I wrote an article for the Weekly Standard that explains what MAS -- which has a standardized reading list and curriculum that applies to all of its members -- is teaching behind closed doors.

Here I'll provide two quotes from MAS's curriculum that should cause concern about the fact that MAS is positioning itself as a bulwark against extremism in the Muslim community (and these are only two; if you read my Weekly Standard article, you'll see that there are many, many more).  I gleaned MAS's curriculum from the Minnesota chapter's website.  As I suspected, the website removed the pages that I quoted from after my Weekly Standard article came out, but I saved them. 

(NOTE: The web pages linked below are visible only in Internet Explorer - Andrew Cochran) �MAS Active Membership� shows the centrality of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna�s Message of the Teachings to MAS. It states that two of the group�s goals for active members are to �[c]ontinue building the correct unified comprehension of Islam as outlined in the Message of the Teachings by Imam Al-Banna,� and to �[m]ake the member fulfill his duties as outlined in the Message of the Teachings by Imam Al-Banna.�  Active membership is MAS�s highest membership level.  �MAS Regular Membership� shows that even lower membership levels are required to base their understanding of Islam on al-Banna�s Message of the Teachings.  This webpage states that regular members must also �[b]uild the correct unified comprehension of Islam as outlined in the Message of the Teachings by Imam Al-Banna.�

• The referenced book, Message of the Teachings, was pulled from the Young Muslims Canada website after my Weekly Standard article linked to it. In that book, al-Banna makes clear that Islamic government must become predominant, and states that violence is an acceptable means of spreading Islamic ideology:  "Always intend to go for Jihad and desire martyrdom.  Prepare for it as much as you can."
• The MAS Minnesota website made clear that MAS even requires its adjunct members (another saved page) to read Milestones by bin Laden's ideological comrade Sayyid Qutb.  Milestones contains the essay "Jihad in the Cause of God," which explains that spreading Islam is an acceptable reason for undertaking jihad:  "The reasons for Jihad which have been described in the above verses are these:  to establish God's authority in the earth; to arrange human affairs according to the true guidance provided by God; to abolish all the Satanic forces and Satanic systems of life; to end the lordship of one man over others since all men are creatures of God and no one has the authority to make them his servants or to make arbitrary laws for them.  These reasons are sufficient for proclaiming Jihad."

The Muslim American Society:  No anti-terror paragon.

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