Most of us are familiar
with Islam, especially in its radical forms. How could we miss it when it is on the news
almost every day? Not to mention the
fact that the United States and its allies have been in the crosshairs of its
most violent tendencies repeatedly.
No one will dispute that Islamic aggression is a real threat, even on American soil. However, what is less known is Islamism. It’s also known as political Islam—a broad set of political ideologies that utilize and draw inspiration from Islamic symbols and traditions in pursuit of a sociopolitical objective. According to Newsweek:
“Islamism is the religio-political-cultural belief system
that the state should have an Islamic identity and be guided only by shariah
law (Islamic jurisprudence). Islamists
are part of a global political movement that ultimately seeks power and
international hegemony. Like all
totalitarian systems, Islamism is not compatible with Western secular
democratic ideals. Not all Muslims are
Islamists, but all Islamists are Muslims.”
It is alive and growing in America and one of the many tools Satan currently uses to destroy our nation from the inside out. Islamism can be traced back to the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928. Initially, it focused on educational and social programs but embraced violence during and after World War II. The Egyptian government under Nasser repressed it ferociously, forcing the Brotherhood underground. It experienced a revival in the 1980s and spread rapidly throughout the Middle East with a new approach: “Islamism-from-the-ground up.” The goal is the same: global hegemony through Islam as an all-encompassing way of life, including Islamic law.
The popularity of violence and terrorism as a way to accomplish this has waned because of groups such as Al-Qaida and ISIS and other violent splinter groups such as Al Shabab in East Africa and Boko Haram in Nigeria. Instead, they favor a more insidious approach: well educated, well-funded Muslims who have taken advantage of the relative freedom of entry we offer are running for office in everything from school boards to Congress, buying up businesses large and small, and establishing social outreach programs through fronts like CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) and ISNA (Islamic Association of North America). Those are all independent organizations but united by common sources of funding, interlocking boards, and collaboration in the same initiatives. And they are all related to the Muslim Brotherhood—the hidden driving force behind Islamism in America.
Money appears to be one of their most powerful weapons. The Islamist Watch, which tracks Islamist money in politics, lists a number of familiar names as recipients of donations from Islamist organizations. Among them are US Representatives Omar and Tlaib, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Jay Jalisi, a Pakistani Muslim and member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015-2023.
One intermediary in Maryland has had firsthand experience with Islamism-from-the-ground-up. In her school district, she ran against an Islamist for school board and lost. She recalled how aggressive Muslim influence led to the district incorporating Islamic holidays in its calendar. At a higher level, she recounts how a ceremony was held at the Maryland State House under the previous governor, declaring Maryland an “interfaith, open state.” During the ceremony, a Koran was displayed in favor of a Bible.
On the surface, these efforts may seem like Muslim immigrants protecting their right to practice Islam, build mosques, and contribute to society through social programs. But there is more than meets the eye. While they pretend to be on the side of persecuted minorities and the poor, they exercise more aggressive influence once in positions of leadership. It’s an age-old tactic of totalitarian ideologies: present yourself as people of goodwill, make use of the welcoming nature of a people or country that values diversity, and then strike once you have gained political, social, and financial clout.
Proof of that exists in a document found in the home of Ismael Elbarasse, a founder of the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, in relation to the Holy Land Foundation trial in 2008. Elbarasse was a member of the Palestine Committee, which the Muslim Brotherhood had created to support Hamas in the United States. The document was a Strategic Plan formed at a 1991 meeting in which the Muslim Brotherhood outlined its priorities for America. The most revealing excerpt from the document reads: “The process of settlement is a ‘Civilization-Jihadist Process’ with all the word means. The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers ...” It also included a list of its organizations, including CAIR and ISNA.
While the trial did much to expose what was behind the façade of charitable organizations, it did not heighten awareness of or stop Islamist efforts in the US. Nearly 20 years later, we have pro-Palestinian, Islamist representatives in Congress, Islamist politicians in city councils and on school boards, lobbying groups, and powerful business networks—all well-funded from mostly the Middle East through the Muslim Brotherhood and its fronts. There is even a city in Michigan—Hamtramck—run entirely by Muslims.
Islam is no longer the fastest-growing religion in the US (approximately 3.85 million, according to a Pew Study of 2020). Still, its numbers are high enough to have significant influence, especially through slow, methodical expansion of influence in all spheres of life.
In my next posting, I’ll address our need to pray about this.
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