Cynthia Farahat on the Muslim Brotherhood’s „Secret Apparatus“

by Marilyn Stern
Middle East Forum Webinar
March 10, 2021

„Cynthia Farahat, a Middle East Forum writing fellow, spoke to participants in a February 1 Middle East Forum webinar (video) about the Muslim Brotherhood’s covert terror apparatus and the threat it poses to the West, the topic of her forthcoming book, The Secret Apparatus: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Industry of Death.

Founded in Cairo in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood organization operated as a terrorist group from the start, according to Farahat, albeit a „much more sophisticated“ one. Its political activities in Egypt and later other countries are designed to support its violent mission. Indeed she characterized the Brotherhood as „more of a secret military apparatus with a political façade … than a political group with a terrorism apparatus.“

Although violent arms of the Brotherhood are typically franchised under different names, the connection to the Brotherhood of many contemporary jihadist groups is not difficult to trace. Al-Qaeda was „founded by active members of the Muslim Brotherhood,“ said Farahat, adding that she has compiled evidence that Osama bin Laden „remained a member of the Muslim Brotherhood until the day he died.“ The late ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was well known to have been „a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood.“ Muslim Brotherhood operatives have also „governed several countries, such as Sudan.“ “ (…)

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