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New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Muslim Brotherhood's ‘grand jihad' is growing— just over the US border
In a chilling internal memo, the Muslim Brotherhood laid out its long-term strategy to conquer North America through what it called a 'civilization-jihadist process' aimed at 'sabotaging' and 'eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within.' The detailed 18-page document, written in 1991, surfaced in 2007 during the Holy Land Foundation trial — the largest terrorism financing case in US history. More than three decades later, the Brotherhood's strategy is no longer theoretical. It is materializing just north of the US border in Canada. Advertisement 7 Murad Adailah, head of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, in an interview. REUTERS The Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Sunni Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928, is committed to establishing a global caliphate governed by sharia, an often extreme set of laws on a range of religious and societal matters that Muslims believe was given to them by God. Though often cloaked in the language of charity and civil society, the Brotherhood's true objective remains Islamist dominance — something its leaders have repeatedly emphasized. Indeed, the group's founder Hassan al-Banna once declared, 'It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.' Advertisement And while the Brotherhood renounced violence in the 1970s, its ideology is broadly seen as a 'stepping stone' to violent jihad. Its teachings provided the foundation for jihadist groups like Hamas and al Qaeda and inspired notorious terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. 7 Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie walks out of a defendant cage to speak before judge during his trial in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, May 18, 2014. AP Advertisement State actors like Qatar and Turkey strategically lend the Brotherhood substantial support, giving it the resources and legitimacy needed to expand its influence across the West. In Canada, though, these realities are almost entirely absent from public conversation or debate. The country's shockingly permissive immigration policies, multiculturalist ethos and general complacency toward national security threats have made it fertile ground for the Brotherhood's insidious ambitions. 7 Sealed entrance to the Muslim Brotherhood's office in Amman. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Brotherhood-affiliated organizations have proliferated in Canada for decades, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy warned last month, methodically expanding and spreading radical Islamist ideology without fear of repercussion. These organizations, often posing as benign religious or charitable entities, have built an extensive infrastructure of mosques, schools and community centers across the country — with the help of significant taxpayer funds. Senior Brotherhood leadership in Canada has reportedly encouraged followers to take up key government positions to push policies in line with sharia. This strategy mirrors the Brotherhood's operations in Europe — and there, authorities have begun to take notice. A recently leaked French government report described the Brotherhood's European activities as a political project designed to gradually transform democratic societies through 'strategic ambiguity.' 7 Senior Brotherhood leadership in Canada has reportedly encouraged followers to take up key government positions to push policies in line with sharia. REUTERS The report warned of the Brotherhood's duplicitous nature — charming in public, conniving in private — and of its aspirations, which are fundamentally at odds with democratic pluralism. The British government reached similar conclusions in a 2015 investigative review. In Canada, these warnings have gone largely unheeded. Politicians fear losing the increasingly important Muslim vote, and dread being labeled 'Islamophobic,' the most feared word in the country. Advertisement As a consequence, the country is witnessing troubling symptoms of burgeoning extremism. 7 Muslim Brotherhood supporters protesting in Cairo. AP Antisemitic incidents in Canada spiked by a staggering 670% in 2024, and the 83 terrorism-related charges filed between April 2023 and March 2024 represented a 488% jump. Those figures, along with the increasingly menacing nature of pro-Hamas demonstrations and widespread youth radicalization, all point to the Brotherhood's growing grip on the ideological landscape. Advertisement And they pose serious ramifications for US national security. The porous northern border, combined with Canada's lax immigration vetting procedures, creates an ideal launch pad for extremist cross-border propaganda and recruitment — and even terror operations. 7 Antisemitic incidents in Canada spiked by a staggering 670% in 2024, and the 83 terrorism-related charges filed between April 2023 and March 2024 represented a 488% jump. dts News Agency Germany/Shutterstock 7 Protestors in Amman, Jordan, waving flags and signs against the US-led Middle East economic conference. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Last year, for instance, a Pakistani national was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States via Quebec to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass attack on the Jewish community in New York. A new bill in Congress seeks to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization — but it would mean little to continental security if Canada doesn't follow suit. North America urgently needs a coordinated response. The United States must press Canada to blacklist Brotherhood front groups masquerading as religious and charitable organizations, and to scrutinize its activists' and ideologues' activities. Advertisement Further, US authorities should pay closer attention to a wide range of cross-border activities that could have Brotherhood connections — including academic exchange programs, live speaking events and asset transfers. The Canadian fentanyl threat that President Donald Trump decries pales in comparison to the Muslim Brotherhood's aspirations of a North American Islamic caliphate. Trump must get Canada to prevent its Islamist threat from metastasizing further — or risk the United States becoming collateral damage in the Brotherhood's 'grand jihad.' Casey Babb is an adviser with Secure Canada and director of the Promised Land Project at Ottawa's Macdonald-Laurier Institute, where Joe Adam George is a national-security analyst.
San Francisco Chronicle
15-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Photos in southern Syria after soldiers move in to quell sectarian violence
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Injured government soldiers and civilians were treated after Syrian troops moved into the city of Sweida and surrounding areas after clashes broke out between Druze militiamen and Sunni Bedouin tribes in southern Sweida province. Government forces also clashed with Druze militias. The bodies of Druze fighters and their rocket launchers were left scattered along village roads, the day before a ceasefire was announced on Tuesday. Israel launched airstrikes on convoys of Syrian security forces, saying it aimed to protect the Druze. In neighboring Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. The Druze developed their own militias during Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, and some of them have had tense relations with Syria's new government after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Hamilton Spectator
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Photos in southern Syria after soldiers move in to quell sectarian violence
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Injured government soldiers and civilians were treated after Syrian troops moved into the city of Sweida and surrounding areas after clashes broke out between Druze militiamen and Sunni Bedouin tribes in southern Sweida province. Government forces also clashed with Druze militias. The bodies of Druze fighters and their rocket launchers were left scattered along village roads, the day before a ceasefire was announced on Tuesday. Israel launched airstrikes on convoys of Syrian security forces, saying it aimed to protect the Druze. In neighboring Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. The Druze developed their own militias during Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, and some of them have had tense relations with Syria's new government after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Immediate strike': Netanyahu orders IDF to hit Syrian forces in Sweida; cites threat to Druze community
Image used for representative purposes Israel's armed forces announced they were conducting strikes against military vehicles of Syrian government forces in Sweida, southern Syria, following reports from Syrian state media about a fresh attack on the predominantly Druze city. "A short while ago, the (Israeli army) began striking military vehicles belonging to Syrian regime forces in the area of Sweida in southern Syria, " a military statement said, quoted by AFP, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered the army to "immediately strike regime forces and weaponry that were brought into the Sweida region in the the Druze mountains in Syria in order to carry out operations against the Druze." Israel has adopted an aggressive stance towards Syria's new leaders following the ousting of former President Bashar Assad during a rapid rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups in December last year, stating it did not want militants near its borders. Israeli forces seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 20 Signs That A Heart Attack Is Imminent Learn It Wise Undo Earlier Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions clashing with govt forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities as they entered the provincial capital of Sweida. One of the main religious authorities later released a video statement retracting the call. The initial statement urged armed factions in Sweida to 'cooperate with the forces of the Ministry of Interior, not to resist their entry, and to hand over their weapons to the Ministry of Interior.' It also called for 'opening a dialogue with the Syrian govt to address the repercussions of the events.' Brigadier General Ahmad al-Dalati, commander of Internal Security in Sweida Governorate, welcomed the statement and called for 'all religious authorities and social activists to adopt a unified national stance that supports the Ministry of Interior's measures to extend state authority and achieve security throughout the province.' Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader opposed to the govt in Damascus, stated in a video message that the previous statement by Druze leaders had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but 'they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians.' 'We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation,' he said.
Hamilton Spectator
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Here's what triggered the latest deadly sectarian clashes in Syria, and why it matters
BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes between Bedouin tribes, government forces and members of a minority sect in Syria have left dozens dead and once again raised fears of a breakdown in the country's fragile postwar order. The country is deeply divided as it tries to emerge from decades of dictatorship and nearly 14 years of civil war. Clashes have on several occasions broken out between forces loyal to the government and Druze fighters since the fall of President Bashar Assad in early December in a lightning rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups, but Monday's fighting threatened to escalate into a larger conflict. Here are the main reasons the clashes expanded in recent days and background on the two sides: The Druze and Syria's new government The Druze religious sec t is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. In Syria, they largely live in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south. The transitional government has promised to include minorities, including the Druze, but the new 23-member government in Syria announced in late March only has one Druze member, Minister of Agriculture Amjad Badr. Under the Assad family's tight rule, religious freedom was guaranteed as the country then boasted about its secular and Arab nationalist system. The Druze have been divided over how to deal with their issues with the new status quo in the country. Many Druze support a dialogue with the government while others want a more confrontational approach. What lies behind the tension between the two sides Syria's religious and ethnic communities are worried about their place in Syria's new system that is mostly run by Islamists, including some who have links to extremist groups. The country's new President Ahmad al-Sharaa himself is a former militant who once was a member of al-Qaida. Although al-Sharaa had said that the right of ethnic and religious minorities will be protected, there have been several rounds of sectarian killings since Assad's fall. The Assad family rule that was dominated by members of the Alawite sect had oppressed much of the country's Sunni majority while giving minorities some powers. During Syria's 14-year conflict, the Druze had their own militias, in part to defend against Muslim fundamentalist militants who consider them heretics. Members of the Islamic State group in 2018 attacked the Druze in Sweida province, killing more than 200 people and taking more than two dozen hostage. Clashes began after checkpoint robbery The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups. Government security forces deployed to the area to restore order, but were seen as taking the side of the Bedouin tribes against Druze factions. Israel, which has periodically intervened or threatened to intervene in support of the Druze in Syria, said it struck military tanks in southern Syria Monday. In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. Israel does not want Islamist militants near the country's northern border. Since Assad's fall, Israeli forces have seized control of a buffer zone in Syria near the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan and have carried out hundreds of airstrikes on military sites. While many Druze in Syria have said they do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf, factions from the Druze minority have also been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus. Concerns that sectarian violence could rise The clashes raise fears of another spiral of sectarian violence. In March, an ambush on government security forces by fighters loyal to Assad triggered days of sectarian and revenge attacks . Hundreds of civilians were killed, most of them members of the minority Alawite sect that Assad belongs to. A commission was formed to investigate the attacks but has not made its findings public. There have also been rising tensions between authorities in Damascus and Kurdish-led authorities controlling the country's northeast. Despite having reached an agreement in March to merge their forces, the two sides have since come to an impasse and the deal has not been implemented. The ongoing instability threatens to derail Syria's fragile recovery after more than a decade of war that devastated its infrastructure and displaced half the prewar population of 23 million. In 2017, the United Nations estimated that rebuilding Syria would cost about $250 billion. Since Assad was overthrown, some experts say that number could be as high as $400 billion. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
