A report released on May 27 has reintroduced the Islamist bogeyman into the Canadian consciousness. Unlike past manifestations, this time the enemy has a relatively well-known name: the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the most widespread Middle Eastern Islamic revivalist movement. It has been making headlines in Egypt, where it was ousted after a year in power by a military coup in July 2013 and is now being hunted nearly to extinction.
Well, not quite, at least according to Tom Quiggin, member of the previously unknown Terrorism and Security Analysts of Canada Network (TSEC) and senior fellow at the Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies at Carleton University. According to his findings in “The Muslim Brotherhood in North America (Canada/USA),” TSEC’s first official publication, the Muslim Brotherhood is not only alive and well, but has a “significant presence in Canada” and “represents a greater existential threat to North American civilization than violent extremist movements such as al-Qaeda.”
This comes on the heels of a U.K. decision to begin a probe into the organization’s activities in Britain and a January statement by Prime Minister Harper’s spokesman accusing the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) of being “an organization with documented ties to a terrorist organization such as Hamas.” Hamas, blacklisted by Canada, the U.S. and the European Union, has historical roots in the MB movement, dating back to Brotherhood activities in Gaza during the 1950s. The NCCM denies the allegation and has initiated libel proceedings against both the spokesman and the PMO...
If it all sounds a little far-fetched, that’s probably because it is.In other words: no jihad to see here, Canucks. Best move along, now.
Update: "Adnan Khan is a writer and photographer who lives in Istanbul and Islamabad"--which might have something to do with his worldview and call into question his "bogeyman" assertions, no?
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