Our Ambiguity on the Muslim Brotherhood
By Douglas Farah
The United States and most of Europe has maintained what can be called, at best, an ambivalent policy toward the international Muslim Brotherhood, often arguing that leaders of the _Ikwan_ are, in fact moderates who want a dialogue with the West.
But the Muslim Brotherhood's official website, if anyone in the policy-making world wanted to read it, tells a different story, in fairly clear English. This again is not a hidden site, but the official site of the Brotherhood, putting out its official positions.
What baffles me is that, if we listened to what they said, we could decide rationally how to deal with them: no contact, limited contact, contact based on the reality of what the MB says it is etc. Instead, we have an inconsistent policy of occassional contact and high-level contact with MB front groups that pretend to be what they are not. Since neither side is based in reality, little serious analysis can be done.
Here is just a sample of what the MB writes to its own, in English. I am told the Arabic is far harsher. My full blog is here.
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