Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

The President and his Generals

One of the best things that has happened since Barack Obama took over from George W. Bush is that 'the most powerful man in the world' no longer sounds like he is speaking to 11 year olds...

Embracing Human Rights: Islamists Renouncing Violence

Why should we care about the human rights of people who themselves don't appear to respect them? Statements made this week by a former member of an armed Islamic group suggest that it is the best way to change hearts and minds...

New Books On Hamas: Government Or Terrorist Organization?

Amid the wreckage of Gaza, Hamas's officials struggle to sound upbeat. The burly interior minister, Fathi Hamad, whose predecessor was killed by an Israeli bomb, defiantly shuns security precautions at his makeshift office in Gaza City's main police station..

Dear America: Letter From a Muslim-American

I write to you, America, as a Muslim-American who is frustrated at seeing both sides of my identity spreading myths about each other. In part one of this two part article, I address America from a Muslim perspective. In part two, which will follow in the coming weeks, I shall write to the Muslim community, from an American perspective...

If Only the Uighurs Were Buddhist and China Was Israel

Pity the Uighurs -- the wrong kind of minority, the wrong kind of Muslims, fighting the wrong kind of enemy...

Obama-Mania: An Opportunity but Also a Bottom Line

"How long will this excitement last?" Recent visits and meetings in the Gulf and Egypt reinforce the excitement, hopes, concerns and some cynicism engendered by President Obama’s messages to the Muslim world, in particular his Cairo speech. The effects of Obama-mania can be seen at the Sultan Hassan Mosque where Obama’s visit to the mosque transformed it into an Egyptian tourist site, often disrupting the quiet of Friday congregational (juma) prayers...

How Not to Support Democracy in the Middle East

President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo to the Muslim world marked a welcome departure from the Bush administration’s confrontational approach. Yet many Arabs and Muslims have expressed frustration that he failed to use this opportunity to call on the autocratic Saudi and Egyptian leaders with whom he had visited on his Middle Eastern trip to end their repression and open up their corrupt and tightly controlled political systems...

Is Obama America’s first Muslim President? I wish!

Yes, I mean it - I really do wish President Obama was America’s first Muslim President! (For reasons I’ll explain below.)..

Detained in Cairo, Leila El-Haddad Shares Experience On Twitter

Leila El-Haddad is from Gaza. Maybe you know her: She’s a journalist and pundit, but perhaps even more prominently she is a blogger, writing about her experiences in Gaza and the United States, and her proud role as a mother of two, Yousuf and Noor...

On Interference

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returns from her travels to Europe and the Middle east, including Egypt it is worth wondering about the place of human rights in U.S. relations with states with poor human rights records that are vital to U.S. strategic interests. In her visit to China earlier this month, Secretary Clinton’s remarks about not letting human rights issues "interfere" with climate change, the economic crisis or security gave the impression that the U.S. may be relega..

Why Did Obama Choose Al-Arabiya for His First Major Interview?

The crowd laughs, perhaps thinking such a thing quite unlikely. One can dream! Here’s the video of Carpenter (go to 29:25). (Carpenter first made his recommendation in a POMED publication released earlier this month). Who knows - perhaps an Obama advisor was in the audience or heard about it after and thought, well, hmm, "that’s actually a pretty good idea." Indeed it was. The more important point, however, is that, for too long, we had been used to a president who failed to surprise u..

What Was Hamas Thinking? Understanding the Events in Gaza

So what are Hamas’s strategic imperatives? There are a few things going on here. Hamas is effectively the government of Gaza, but this does not mean it acts like a state might in similar circumstances. Hamas still behaves like a traditional guerrilla or terrorist group. Such groups are interested in relative, not absolute, victory. As long as they survive, this can be spinned as victory, which makes them impossible to defeat in any conclusive sense...

Mumbai Is Quiet, But What’s Next?

"An example of an organization that could be helpful to the fight against Al Qaeda is the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. They hate Al Qaeda. The Brotherhood has worked to try to be a part of the political process and have tried to be a part of the Democratic system. They are viewed by Al Qaeda as sellouts and committing heresy by supporting Democracy. This does not mean that the U.S. should whole-heartedly embrace them. They are against U.S. foreign policy, but a dialogue should take pla..

To Cover Honor Killings in Eygpt, Must Blog Anonymously

I am visiting the US for the first time in my life in order to blog the presidential election. Many things have amazed me in this great country. I’ve had an American education my entire life, so I believe I’m well acquainted with the American election spirit. But when I stepped foot on American soil I was amazed by how Americans ..

Arab Public Opinion & the U.S. in 2008

In 2008, Arab attitudes toward the U.S. remain at alarmingly low levels. Concern with U.S. policy is the reason. And because the U.S. role in the region is so critical, interest in the American elections is high across the Arab world...

Iraq Was Not A Preemptive War

This week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain claimed that he would reserve the right to wage preemptive war, and with good reason. After all, preemptive war could one day be necessary, and every president should reserve the right to wage it...

Destroying Islam and How Not To

A story involving a Canadian Muslim reporter in Indonesia, who was told by the religious police to "show some respect!" and cover her hair, has prompted me to have a few thoughts about Islam and American responsibility...

"I Have a Mirage!" Bush Declares to the Arab World

George Bush’s magical mystery tour of the Middle East found him inside the insanely opulent Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi Sunday where he delivered his much-anticipated "I Have a Mirage" speech (you gotta see that hotel to believe it!). ..