Scott Burgess takes a close look at the so-called “moderate” Islamic advocacy group, the Muslim Association of Britain: Today a Small Glasgow School, Tomorrow…

Although the group - which organised last weekend’s march against “Islamophobia” in London - is often presented in the press as “moderate”, the MAB is widely regarded as the UK arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. While some dispute this absolute statement, the close ties between the two organisations are acknowledged by all - indeed, the MAB was founded in 1997 by Kamal Helbawy, a long-term member of the Brotherhood and an influential leader within that organisation. In a very enlightening article in the Economist, published this month, Mr. Helbawy discusses an organisational strategy of the Brotherhood:

“The Brotherhood claims to have millions of adherents all over the world. Since it cannot operate openly in many places, the figures are vague. To borrow an expression from Marxism, the political strategy of the Brotherhood is ‘entryist’ - it believes in participating in any democratic process that is available, and in taking advantage of the freedom the western world allows. ‘There are members of the Brotherhood in many western countries, but they don’t operate under that name - they work within different groups to spread their ideas,’ says Kamal Helbawy, a London-based Egyptian who for years was among the few people in the West who spoke openly in Brotherhood’s name.”

In light of this statement, and of the fact that he was part of the formal leadership of the Brotherhood until just before his establishment of the MAB (and still considers himself a member), it seems fair to say at the very least that the ideals of the MAB and its spokesmen (including support for suicide bombers, equation of Israel and Nazi Germany, and the identification of Jews as being subhumans who should either leave Israel or be drowned) have been heavily influenced by the principles of the Brotherhood. (Also of note is the fact that the father of Mr. Altikriti, another former MAB president, was the founder of the Brotherhood in Iraq).

It’s also worth pointing out that, for all intents and purposes, the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine is the same movement as Hamas. Hamas and its tactics have repeatedly received the strong support of senior MAB spokesman Azzam Tamimi, who would like to be a suicide bomber himself.

LGF search: Muslim Association of Britain.