RUTHFULLY YOURS

Canadian media is reporting on comments made by Tariq Ramadan in which he attempted to reassure the West about the potential for the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power in Egypt and Tunisia. According to a report in the Ottawa Citizen, Ramadan made the following comments during a lecture titled “The Arab Spring and the West” and sponsored by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East:

Ramadan also said he believes that western concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood waiting in the wings to impose Islamist regimes in Egypt and Tunisia are overblown. This fear was promoted by the dictators to stay in power. Certainly, members of the Brotherhood were active in the uprisings, but they were not controlling them, he said. Indeed, according to Ramadan, the Muslim Brotherhood is divided. The older leadership doesn’t necessarily represent the aspirations of many of its younger members, some of whom have formed their own political parties. Nor do the Muslim Brotherhood, or Islamists in general, represent the majority in, say, Egypt or Tunisia.

The website of the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East reveals that the organization is part of the far-left/Global Muslim Brotherhood network attempting to delegitimize the State of Israel.

Tariq Ramadan is perhaps best described as an independent power center within the global Brotherhood with sufficient stature as the son of Said Ramadan, and the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood to challenge positions taken by important Brotherhood leaders. His statements and writings have been extensively analyzed and he has been accused by critics of promoting anti-Semitism and fundamentalism, albeit by subtle means. On the other hand, his supporters promote him as an example of an Islamic reformer who is in the forefront of developing a “Euro Islam.” Ramadan is currently professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Theology and senior research fellow at St. Antony’s College (Oxford), Dohisha University (Kyoto, Japan) and at the Lokahi Foundation (London).

Previous posts discussed his dismissal from his positions as an adviser on integration for the city of Rotterdam and from a Dutch University over his role as a talk show host on Iranian TV. A ban on Ramadan traveling to the US was lifted in January 2010 and several posts have discussed his recent visits to the US where he appeared at various US Muslim Brotherhood venues including giving the keynote at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Chicago annual banquet in April 2010. He was scheduled to give the keynote address at the 16th annual CAIR banquet in October.

Related posts:

According to a PR announcement, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) joined with two other organizations in an Islamic finance training program that featured an inaugural address by a former Pakistani Islamic judge who has called for “aggressive military jihad” to establish global Islamic supremacy. According to the announcement:

What does it take to bring 7 million American Muslims Islamic finance? Maybe training only 100 prominent religious leaders as a small first step. That is what the founding members of the American Islamic Finance (AIF) Project have now successfully accomplished. Jointly founded by Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, Guidance Financial, and the Islamic Society of North America, the AIF Project seeks to promote standards-based Islamic finance among Muslim communities in North America. The training program began with an inaugural address by Mufti Taqi Usmani, chairman of AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions), the world´s leading standard-setting body. Ethica´s spokesperson said, “Muslims in America rely on their imams for all kinds of information. By giving these community leaders direct training in the practical application of Islamic finance, Ethica now equips them with an understanding of global standards.” Ethica´s two-month imam training program looks to become an annual event. The program was successfully completed this month after Ethica delivered a rigorous blend of e-learning, including case studies, exercises, and exams, in addition to intensive classroom instruction. With fewer banks and universities opting for face-to-face training, and more institutions adopting the increasingly popular e-learning option, Islamic finance is set to become more accessible to countries outside of the Gulf.

In 2007, the U.K. Sunday Times published a comment piece detailing the views of Mufti Usmani on jihad which argue that aggressive military jihad should be waged by Muslims to establish worldwide Islamic supremacy. According to the piece:

One of the world’s most respected Deobandi scholars believes that aggressive military jihad should be waged by Muslims “to establish the supremacy of Islam” worldwide. Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani argues that Muslims should live peacefully in countries such as Britain, where they have the freedom to practise Islam, only until they gain enough power to engage in battle. His views explode the myth that the creed of offensive, expansionist jihad represents a distortion of traditional Islamic thinking. Mr Usmani, 64, sat for 20 years as a Sharia judge in Pakistan’s Supreme Court. He is an adviser to several global financial institutions and a regular visitor to Britain. Polite and softly spoken, he revealed to The Times a detailed knowledge of world events and his words, for the most part, were balanced and considered. He agreed that it was wrong to suggest that the entire non Muslim world was intent on destroying Islam. Yet this is a man who, in his published work, argues the case for Muslims to wage an expansionist war against non Muslim lands.

Read the rest here.

The book in question can be found here.

According to his biographical profile, Mufti Usmani has serves as an Islamic law scholar for a wide variety of financial institutions all over the world. A previous post discussed ISNA’s involvement with Islamic finance though its affiliated North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) where Usmani had served as member of the Board of Trustees for its Dow Jones Islamic Fund until the fund was renamed and Usmani removed from the Board. No reason was given for his removal.

A report by the Hudson Institute has identified ISNA as a major part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. The organization has a long history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism and during the recent Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, ISNA was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. Although recently ISNA has issued

condemnations of terrorism which for the first time identify Hamas and Hezbollah by name, there is no indication that the organization has ever addressed or acknowledged its history.

Related posts:

Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi has denied an earlier media report that he was backing former Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdel-Moneim Abul-Futuh’s candidacy for Egyptian President. According to another OnIslam report:

CAIRO – Prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has denied media reports about his support for senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdel-Moneim Abul-Futuh’s bid to run for Egypt’s presidency.

“I would like to make clear that I did not engage in any media or intellectual activity for the past month and half after I had an illness that had isolated me from the whole world,” Qaradawi said in a statement on his official website.

“My doctors…had told me to keep a distance from politics and its troubles…until I recovered.”

Last week, Egyptian newspapers cited a report from the Qatari newspaper Al-Arab that Qaradawi is backing Abul-Futuh’s bid to become Egypt’s president.The report came after Abul-Futuh said that he has consulted the prominent Muslim scholar on his presidential bid. The report also claimed that Qaradawi believes the chances of prominent scholar Mohamed Salim Al-Awa to become a president were slim. But the president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) denied the report.

“A few days ago, some journalists came and heard some words from me about the issue, which were not directed to the press,” Qaradawi said.  I was surprised to find out that the journalist published the words as if they were a political opinion from Qaradawi.”

The prominent scholar said that he had not uttered any words that commit him to a certain position.

“As far as I remember, when Abul-Futuh visited me, he was aiming to inquire after my health,” Qaradawi said. At the time, Qaradawi said, no other Muslim candidate has unveiled plans to run for presidency.

“That’s why we supported Abul-Futuh at that time,” Qaradawi explained. “And when Awa unveiled his bid after that, I said they should coordinate their positions, given that they – in addition to Dr Hazem Salah Abu Ismail – are Muslim candidates.”

The renowned scholar said he has no favorite candidate in Egypt’s presidential elections.

“Each (Muslim) candidate has his merits and strengths,” Qaradwai said……”The issue is not up to Qaradawi but to the voters who will cast their ballot to choose (their favorite candidate),” the prominent scholar said.”

A previous post reported that according to local experts, Mohamed Selim al-Awa is actually the “undeclared nominee” of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood for the presidency of the country.

Mohamed Selim al-Awa is actually a close associate of Youssef Qaradawi who is a director of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), launched on July 11, 2004 in conjunction with a visit by Qaradawi to London for a meeting of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. The IUMS board of directors is comprised of many leaders of the global Brotherhood and is headed by Qaradawi. Al-Awa served as IUMS Secretary-General from 2004-2010. A previous post discussed an interview with Al-Awa in which he accused Egyptian Coptic churches of storing weapons in their monasteries to be used against Muslims.

Qaradawi, a virulent anti-Semite is often referred to here as the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, an acknowledgement of his role as the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to lead the Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. Based in Qatar, Sheikh Qaradawi has reportedly amassed substantial wealth through his role as Shari’ah adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were instrumental in the development of the phenomenon. A recent post has discussed a video compilation of Qaradawi’s extremist statements.

Related posts: