1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum

Explanatory Memorandum by the Muslim Brotherhood is a memorandum written in 1991 in Arabic and attributed to Muhammad Akram, a senior Hamas leader and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's executive committee in North America. The memorandum outlines a strategic plan for the United States and Canada whose objective is to "eliminate and destroy Western civilization from within".

Discovery of the memorandum

The document was discovered accidentally by the FBI in 2004 during a search of the home of Ismail Elbarasse, who was acting as a fundraiser for Hamas, in Annandale, Virginia. Elbarasse had been stopped by a traffic officer in Maryland, who suspected a woman of filming the support structures of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The FBI obtained a search warrant for Elbarasse's residence and, during the search, a hidden basement was found containing more than 80 boxes of the Muslim Brotherhood's archives in North America. The memorandum was one of the most important documents found in this search. A document was also discovered linking the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), initially set up as a tax-exempt charity, to supporting terrorist organizations and subsidizing Hamas.

Contents of the memorandum

The memo sets out the Muslim Brotherhood's plan to gain influence in the United States and Canada through the following strategy: unify all Muslims under Brotherhood leadership, establish powerful organizations, and cooperate with non-Muslims.

These actions are part of a settlement process called the "Civilization-Jihadist Process".

The document portrays life in the United States as a form of grand jihad aimed at destroying Western civilization from within.

The memorandum aims to "sabotage" the structures of Western society by the hands of believers, so that it is annihilated and "the religion of Allah becomes victorious."

According to the memorandum, the Muslim Brotherhood's plan to achieve its objective includes several tactics.

Notably, create a coalition of Muslim organizations and establish Islamic centers in every city; these social community centers are to disseminate Muslim Brotherhood propaganda through its various channels (CAIR, ISNA, MSA).

According to the plan, each central organization in a city should have its own local branches that it coordinates. The local branches of Islamic organizations would include communication and arts centers: print shops, media libraries, publications in Arabic and English, artistic groups, photographers, producers, journalists, and communications specialists.

In addition, the memorandum proposes a strategy of cooperation with a wide range of intermediaries such as research and study centers, universities and schools, teacher training centers, scientific associations in schools, university training centers, and organizations dealing with Islam, etc.

Reactions

The memorandum posits that there is in the United States a network of radical Islamist groups operating in a manner contrary to democratic values.

However, some point out that the wording does not dictate action under a single directive, which could suggest that these organizations might not actually operate under the command of the Muslim Brotherhood.

External links

• FBI - Transcript of the Palestine Committee summit held on October 2-3, 1993. The Palestine Committee is a Hamas support network in America created by the Muslim Brotherhood. This conference is known as the 1993 Philadelphia meeting.
• The explanatory memorandum
• PDF file - Global political Islam? Muslimska brödraskapet & Islamiska förbundet en Suède
• A court document related to the Holy Land Foundation