Why the US must beware these terrorists in suits

A new campaign to promote freedom, democracy, justice and human rights has been taking place on the streets of New York. Such a cause is considered noble, especially in a state that is influenced by the far-left progressive wave.

It is ironic that the campaign was launched by a new nonprofit organization in the name of the late Mohamed Morsi, the former Egyptian president and Muslim Brotherhood leader who collapsed and died in Cairo in 2019 while on trial for espionage.

The goal of the campaign was to show the American people that Morsi was a US-educated political leader who wanted justice and prosperity, according to the group’s ads and slogans. This organization, like others that operate with a clear Muslim Brotherhood agenda, such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), takes advantage of the average American’s lack of knowledge of this terrorist organization and its undeclared goals under the pretext of human rights and racial justice.

The Morsi Foundation for Democracy posted an online video message from Yasin Aktay, a chief aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he praised the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in the Middle East and North Africa. “We will not forget the president’s position on justice issues in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia, and his position on our main cause, which is Palestine,” he said.

Atkay added that Morsi was viewed in Turkey as a symbol of commitment and peaceful struggle, despite the fact that the Brotherhood has been designated a terrorist group in several Muslim-majority countries.

The Morsi Foundation for Democracy was registered and set up in London as a private limited company in May 2020 According to its Arabic website, it has offices in Washington, Italy, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, and of course Turkey. Itsdirectors are two of Morsi’s children, Ahmed and Al-Shimaa, both US citizens who live in Egypt; Mohamed Gamal Elsaid, an Egyptian TV presenter who lives in Turkey; Osama Khalefa, a British journalist; and Maha Azzam-Nusseibeh,an associate fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

In an recent interview with the Center for International Relations in Washington, Dr. Nusseibeh pointed out the similarity between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas as charitable groups with important social networks that have existed foryears and won “hearts and minds.” She said such groups were essential components of the democratization process in the Middle East. “These are real forces on the ground which represent an important constituency within society. In order to have a democratic environment, these Islamic groups will have to participate in the political process. Otherwise, what would happen is a very warped and limited democratic process that is ultimately unrepresentative of some of the most important forces in society,” she said.

Islamists are not victims. Islamists are not oppressed. They are the oppressors in their own homelands, and now abroad. They are terrorists in suits.

Dalia Al-Aqidi

Such a statement highlights the real agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Western world — hiding behind slogans that sound neither suspicious nor harmful. It aims to monopolize Muslim voices in the West by creating organizations with the same school of thought that work locally, nationally, and internationally.

With its generous funding (mainly from Qatar), its influence, and access to politicians and elite groups, the group has managed to manipulate the Western political system by portraying itself as the only entity that represents Muslim voices and protects Muslim rights. Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who is close to the emir of Qatar,Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has said on several occasions on his weekly show on Al Jazeera TV, in which he promoted suicide bombings and the killings of US soldiers, that Islam will conquer America and Europe without resorting to the sword.

In the US, we have seen before our eyes how these ideologies are being implemented by well groomed politicians such as Representative Ilhan Omar, who is CAIR’s spoiled daughter.

With calculated and clever political maneuvers, CAIR is attempting to change US policies through its politicians in local and federal governments to further the agenda of radical Islamist groups.

It comes as no surprise that CAIR’s director Nihad Awad officially supports the Erdogan regime, leading a rally outside of the White House to condemn the coup attempt against his friend, the Turkish president. It comes as no surprise that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar votes against recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s genocide of Armenians. It comes to no surprise that Representative Rashida Tlaib tweets a phrase known as a call to wipe Israel out: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”  

While the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and several other countries designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the group continues to receive support from Qatar and Turkey, providing a haven for terrorists such as Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh.

What more does America need to see before it says its final word and cuts the lifeline of the Muslim Brotherhood and its tools? How many Omars and Tlaibs do Americans need to see in public office to be convinced that their own principles and beliefs are being misused to fool them?

Islamists are not victims. Islamists are not oppressed. They are the oppressors in their own homelands, and now abroad. They are terrorists in suits.

• Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi